Welcome to Day 4 of our 13 Days of Christmas Cookies. Today, we’re featuring a recipe for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies, shared by a fierce chef I had the opportunity to meet at an organizational meeting for Women Chefs & Restaurateurs in Springfield, Mo., this year.
Melinda Burrows, CEC, CCA, is the Executive Chef for Hickory Hills Country Club, in Springfield—the oldest and one of the most prestigious in our region. I tell her she’s the best kept secret in the area, having led the culinary team at Hickory Hills since 2014.
Chef started her career on the West Coast and, over the years, has served A-list celebrities, musicians and rock-star royalty as a professional caterer and personal chef. She’s also directed culinary for a state university and worked for Hilton Worldwide. Like I said, one of our best kept secrets. More on that later, when we profile her in our Meet The Chefs series. But for now, it’s all about her Chocolate Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies.
They’re perfect with a cup of hot cocoa that’s topped with marshmallows with a peppermint stick. All that’s missing is your fireplace.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1-1/2 cup cane sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups good quality all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 pound semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups chopped macadamia nuts (not toasted)
Preparation
- 1 Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and on medium speed, cream together the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Alternately you can mix by hand using a wooden spoon.
- 2 In a separate bowl, using a whisk, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
- 3 With the mixer on low speed, gently add the dry mix to creamed mix about one cup at a time (so the dry mix doesn’t fly out of the bowl) until well incorporated. Alternately, you can mix by hand using a wooden spoon.
- 4 Continuing on low speed, gently add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and macadamia nuts until well incorporated. Or, alternately add by hand using a wooden spoon. Black walnuts may substitute in place of the macadamia nuts for a wonderful Ozark treat!
- 5 Using a one-ounce metal scoop, portion the cookie dough into balls, placing them on a paper-lined un-greased half-sheet tray (or cookie sheet).
- 6 Flatten cookie dough balls slightly with the tines of a fork.
- 7 In a conventional oven bake at 350° F for 10 minutes. In a convection oven, on a low fan setting, bake at 325° F for 10 minutes. The texture of the baked cookies is like that of a brownie.
- 8 Cool baked cookies on a rack.
- 9 Store baked cookies in a cookie jar or other container of choice.
- 10 Note: The cookie dough balls may also be frozen for later and baked freezer-to-oven (FTO). They take approximately 15-17 minutes to bake.
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