Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies (Gluten Free Option)
Jul 11, 2019 • Updated Jun 20, 2023
This page may contain affiliate links, which means I will make a small commission for products purchased through my link.
vegan white chocolate macadamia cookies!
I’ve been dreaming of vegan white chocolate macadamia cookies since going vegan 5ish years ago. Let me explain–they exist, but they’re usually made with processed vegan white chocolate chips, and gluten ingredients that I am sadly allergic to OR on the other end of the spectrum, they’re a raw vegan “cookie” which are delicious, but don’t quite hit the cookie craving. So, I set out to make a version, and I had the cookie thing down, but couldn’t figure out the white chocolate part.
Until, this week, I discovered a bag of cacao butter in my pantry, that I used to use a lot during my raw vegan days, and I was inspired to try my hand at vegan white chocolate again. I had come across many vegan white chocolate recipes online, like this one, which by the way, works really well, but I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted to make a healthier alternative that didn’t call for added butter or refined sugar. Spoiler alert: I’m going to share 2 methods, one which requires making it yourself, and the other being using a store-bought vegan white chocolate chip.
What’s in these vegan white chocolate macadamia cookies? The base of the cookie is a version of my tried and true combo of a gluten-free flour + a nut or seed butter, macadamia nuts of course, and our cacao butter white chocolate, sweetened with maple syrup.
the details
These cookies are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and refined sugar free.
The combination of creamy “white chocolate” and buttery macadamia nuts makes the perfect bite to satisfy any sweet tooth. It almost tastes to good to be healthy, you know what I mean?
Probably the best part of this recipe is the fact that you can eat the cookie dough raw. Perks of vegan baking.
secrets to success
Cacao butter is a key ingredient if you’re going to make your own vegan white chocolate chunks. I recommend this TerraSoul brand, or Navitas, but you might also check your local health food store for bulk purchasing options. Listen, it’s not a cheap ingredient, but I happened to have some leftover from older recipes in testing, so if you’d prefer, you can also use storebought chips.
Storebought chips work just as well (if not better, and with more ease) and nowadays, there are SO many options including chips from King David, No Whey Foods (bars) and my favourite, Pascha Organic Chips.
Like my other cookie recipes, this recipe calls for a very short baking time. When you remove the cookies from the oven, they may seem underbaked, but they firm up AND continue to bake as they cool on the baking sheet. Don’t be fooled or tempted to over-bake them, unless of course, you prefer a crispier cookie. I use a nonstick baking sheet for best results, or you can use parchment paper.
if you like this recipe, try…
- Maple Tahini Cookies
- Hot Chocolate Cookies
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Tahini Teddy Graham Cookies
White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies (vegan, gluten-free, wfpb)
Ingredients
- Cookie Base
- 1 1/2 cups fine oat flour
- 1/2 cup creamy almond butter or other nut/seed butter
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts crushed
- 1/4 cup vegan white chocolate chips OR..
- Vegan White Chocolate
- 1/4 cup cacao butter
- 2-3 tsp maple syrup
- 2-3 tsp almond butter
Instructions
- Start by prepping your vegan white chocolate, by chopping cacao butter into small pieces, and melting, double boiler style. Boil water in a small sauce pan, and place a heat-safe bowl on top of that, to melt the cacao butter without directly putting it in contact with heat. As it melts, add in maple syrup, and almond butter, and whisk until completely smooth. Remove from heat, and transfer into a small ramekin, greased, or lined with parchment paper. Allow to cool, or place in the fridge or freezer until solid/firm. Once solid, remove and chop into small chip sized pieces, or chunks!
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F to make cookie base.
- In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Sift in remaining dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until combined. Mixture should be a slightly sticky cookie dough texture.
- Add in macadamia nuts (and storebought white chips if using) and roll batter into tablespoon sized balls of dough. Place on baking sheet, lightly pressing down to form into cookie shapes. If batter is sticky, use slightly damp hands.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until they are starting to firm up around the edges.
- Remove from the oven, press in small chunks of white chocolate, and allow cookies to cool completely. (I know this is an odd backwards process, but baking with the homemade vegan white chocolate will melt it down a little too much, so I recommend doing it this way).
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post may contain affiliate links.
4 Comments