These easy and Healthy White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are softy, chewy, and sure to be your next favorite cookie recipe! Made with no added sugar, flour, or oils!
By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Mauna Loa and I am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.
I wouldn't put it passed me to have shuffled a stack of chocolate chips and glass of milk into my face and called it the most important meal of the day once or twice, but I'm talking about these bad boys, that you can actually eat for breakfast and still earn your gold star for whole grains and fruit first thing in the morning. Coconut? Check. Macadamia nuts? Present. Choco-flippin'-late?! SIRYESSIR.
Why this recipe works:
The bananas and applesauce give these cookies moisture without any oil.
Macadamia nuts & coconut add a nuttiness and crunch.
The extra drizzle of white chocolate adds just the right amount of sweetness.
How to Make these Cookies:
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F, and lining a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or coating with cooking spray. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of rolled oats (gluten-free if necessary), 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.
In a separate bowl, mash together 1 very ripe banana, ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir banana mixture into oats.
Stir in ⅓ cup of unsweetened shredded coconut, ⅓ cup white chocolate chips. and ⅓ cup chopped macadamia nuts. Drop batter by the spoonful onto prepared baking sheet, and shape with hands if necessary into 12 flatten rounds. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until firm. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to wire cooling rack to cool completely.
If desired, melt ¼ cup of white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, heating for 30 seconds, stirring, and repeating until melted. Drizzle onto cookies, and let dry completely before serving.
Pro Tips:
- Using a ripe banana that has been frozen & thawed actually works best. Freeze those bananas before they go bad & you'll always be prepared to make a batch of these!
- The drizzle of white chocolate at the end isn't necessary, but definitely kicks these cookies up a level.
- Shaping the dough with your hands or a clean spoon is the best way to make sure they stay together before baking.
FAQs:
Are these gluten-free?
If you are using certified gluten-free oats, than these can easily be made gluten-free.
How long do they keep?
Since these are a more moist cookie, they keep best in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen to be kept up to a month.
What if the cookies aren't staying together?
The dough does require a little handling to form into cookies, but using your hands or a clean spoon to shape them into rounds is generally all you need to keep the batter together. If the mixture is too dry, you can always add a couple tablespoons more of applesauce.
Money Saving Tips for these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies:
- Freeze your ripe bananas. Everyone learned this from their grandma, right? Saving those dark and handsome bananas saves food waste, money, and also makes these cookies even better. Just make sure you peel before freezing.
- Buy in bulk. Buying the coconut in the bulk section and a larger container of oats are both cheaper alternatives to smaller, prepackaged options.
More Cookie Recipes:
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Healthy White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 1 dozen 1x
Description
These White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are sure to be your next favorite cookie recipe! Made with no added sugar, flour, or oils!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats*
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 very ripe banana, mashed
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup chopped macadamia nuts
- ⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ⅓ cup white chocolate chips
- extra ¼ cup white chocolate chips (optional for drizzling)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cover baking sheet with parchment paper, or coat with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together oats, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add mashed banana, applesauce. and vanilla, and stir to combine.
- Stir in nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips.
- Spoon onto prepared baking sheet for 12 servings.
- Form and flatten into rounds using hands or clean spoon.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until firm and golden brown.
- If using, heat extra white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 30 seconds at a time until melted.
- Drizzle over cookies, and let dry on cooling rack until chocolate is firm.
Notes
- *use certified gf oats to make recipe gluten-free.
- I get the best results using a frozen banana that's microwaved. It releases a lot more sweet liquid to help moisten the cookies, but ripe, fresh bananas work fine as well.
- Forming the cookies into shape with your hands is KEY. Since there's no flour, the dough is a bit crumbly, but forming them on the sheet pan works wonders.
- If you prefer a sweeter cookie, you can use sweetened applesauce and sweetened coconut. And don't skip the extra drizzle of chocolate. 😉
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: hawaiian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 154
- Sugar: 9
- Sodium: 70
- Fat: 9
- Saturated Fat: 4
- Unsaturated Fat: 5
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 18
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 0
Keywords: cookie, white chocolate, macadamia, healthy, dessert
Make it a great day!
What's your favorite kind of cookie?
White, milk, or dark chocolate?
Becca | Rabbit Food Runner
YUM!!!! I didn't know the tip about using frozen bananas - thanks!
Carrie A Groff
These look so yummy! White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies were always my favorite! Great tip for the frozen banana too!
Emily Cooper
They're so good! I always have frozen bananas laying around too!
Deborah Brooks
well don't those look just delicious!
★★★★★
Rachel
I love that you don't use sugar in these. They look amazing!!
Emily Cooper
Thank you Rachel! Fruit is sweet enough, right?!
Mikki
OH MY!! These look fantastic!! Almost too beautiful to eat... and I love all the healthy ingredients too!
Emily Cooper
Thanks Mikki! I sure enjoyed them!
Abbey Sharp
these cookies definitely beat the store bought macadamia variety!
★★★★★
Emily Cooper
You got that right! 😉
Natalie
Oh wow.. these cookies look really great. I love that these are healthy, made with all the wonderful healthy stuff. Yum!
★★★★★
Emily Cooper
Thank you! You wouldn't even know they're super healthy! 😉
Summer Price
How fun, I hope you win! These cookies look amazing and I had no idea about your tip with the bananas. I will definitely have to try that.
★★★★★
Emily Cooper
Thanks Summer! Hope you enjoy if you give them a try! 😀
Sheila
They're so good and I definitely love these white chocolate macadamia cookies. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe and the tips. Will definitely keep them in mind.
Kathy
I was searching for a healthy, macadamia nut cookie recipe and found this one. I was out of applesauce so I substituted a mixture of fresh pineapple purée and apple butter. I just took them out of the oven and ate half the pan they were that good! The white chocolate chips add just the right amount of sweetness and the other ingredients are all healthy making it a less guilty indulgence. Thanks 😊
★★★★★
Emily Cooper
Aw yay! I need to try that version now. Sounds tropically delicious!
Rebecca
So good! I used your frozen banana trick. I also accidentally ground the oats into oat flour, but they actually still turned excellent! I didn’t have any problems with them being crumbly when forming them on the pan. I did have to cook them about 15 minutes and I also put them in the fridge to firm up more after cooling. That top drizzle is KEY!! Thanks for adding. Oh and I also added a few dark chocolate chips to half the batch.... yummy!
★★★★★
Emily Cooper
SO happy you enjoyed them Rebecca! Thanks for sharing your tips too. 🙂