These Keto White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are everything good in the world. Tender and a little chewy, with plenty of nuts and white chocolate. You’ll find it hard to believe they didn’t come from a bakery!
I started baking with low carb ingredients a long time ago, long before keto was a trendy way of eating. Back then, in those long ago days, we didn’t have very many options when it came to keto chocolate. And we had zero options for sugar-free white chocolate!
I tried a few times to make my own at home, but it just never really lived up to the promise. So I made up my mind to just go without, rather than settle for something sub-par. And then suddenly, in 2019, several different companies came out with good low carb white chocolate chips all at the same time. And of course, the very first thing I made were these keto cookies.
Since then, I’ve made any number of luscious creations, including keto peppermint cheesecakes and keto white chocolate fudge. But these cookies! Oh these gorgeous chewy cookies. You want these in your life, preferably as soon as possible.
Why we love this recipe
This recipe has long been one of my most popular. Here’s why:
- Chewy texture: Using a little collagen or gelatin helps give keto cookies a wonderful chewy texture.
- Classic flavor: These have all the flavor of conventional cookies.
- Easy to make: I tinkered with the recipe a bit and now they are even easier to make!
- Easy to store: You can make a big batch and freeze them for when you need a little treat.
- Low carb: Each serving of 2 cookies has less than 7 grams of carbs.
Reader’s Thoughts
“Just made these cookies. First time since going keto that I’ve ventured into something sweet. They are delicious and will definitely be part of my Christmas treats over the holidays.
Thank you Carolyn!” — Sharon
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: Always use a finely ground almond flour, as it gives keto cookies the best texture.. You can use sunflower seed flour as a nut-free alternative, but your cookies will be more gray in color.
- Collagen powder: This is optional, but it makes the cookies extra tender and chewy. You can replace this with 1 tablespoon of grass-fed gelatin or 1 envelope of Knox gelatin.
- Sweetener: I like to use a combination of brown sugar replacement and regular granular sweetener. I recommend erythritol in both cases, for the best texture (see Tips for Success for more information).
- Macadamia nuts: It’s best to chop these fairly finely so that the cookies hold together a little better. But you can have some bigger chunks in there too, for texture and visual interest.
- Sugar-free white chocolate chips: I recommend Lily’s or ChocZero for the best taste and texture.
- Pantry staples: Butter, egg, vanilla extract, baking soda and salt.
Step by Step Directions
- Chop the nuts: In a chopper or a food processor, process half a cup of the macadamia nuts until they resemble coarse crumbs. Use a sharp knife to coarsely chop the remaining nuts.
- Whisk the dry ingredients: Whisk together the almond flour, collagen, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract until the dough comes together. Stir in the macadamia nuts and half of the white chocolate chips using a rubber spatula.
- Form the cookies: Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place several inches apart on two large baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Press down to about 1/2 inch thickness with the heel of your hand.
- Bake the cookies: Bake at 325ºF for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown around the edges (If your oven cooks unevenly, you can switch the pans halfway through baking). The cookies will still be very soft. Remove and gently press a few more white chocolate chips into the top of each cookie. Let cool completely on the pan.
Tips for Success
It’s important to note that keto white chocolate chips don’t bake exactly as the conventional kind do. They have a tendency to melt during baking. This is why I always recommend holding back half of the chips and pressing them into the tops of the cookies right after you take them out of the oven.
I find that the Bake Believe brand of white chocolate chips is really bad in this way. They pretty much melt and disappear during baking. If you can use Lily’s or ChocZero, I recommend those instead.
Give the cookies some space! They do spread quite a bit during baking so you don’t want them to run altogether.
Be careful when grinding the nuts in a food processor. Macadamias contain a lot of oil and can become nut butter very easily.
Sweetener Options: I really think that erythritol based sweeteners work best in keto cookie recipes. Allulose tends to make them softer but they also brown too quickly during baking. That said, you can certainly use it if you prefer. Just keep a close eye on them in the oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store your cookies in a covered container on the counter for up to 5 days, or in the fridge for up to 10. You can also freeze them, both before and after baking, for up to 2 months. Make sure they are tightly wrapped up to avoid freezer burn.
I have found that Lily’s white chocolate chips perform best during baking, but ChocZero is a good option as well. Bake Believe white chocolate chips tend to melt and disappear during baking. They also tend to seize more when melting them for glaze or drizzle.
This keto white chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipe has 6.7g of carbs and 3.4g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.3g net carbs for two cookies.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup raw macadamia nuts, divided
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar replacement
- 1/3 cup granular sweetener
- 2 tbsp collagen protein powder, (optional)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup sugar-free white chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- In a chopper or a food processor, process half a cup of the macadamia nuts until they resemble coarse crumbs. Use a sharp knife to coarsely chop the remaining nuts.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweeteners, collagen, baking soda, and salt.
- Stir in the melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract until the dough comes together. Stir in all of the macadamia nuts and half of the white chocolate chips using a rubber spatula.
- Roll the dough into 1 1/4 inch balls and place several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets (they will spread). Press down to about 1/2 inch thickness with the heel of your hand.
- Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown around the edges (If your oven cooks unevenly, you can switch the pans halfway through baking). The cookies will still be very soft. Remove and gently press a few more white chocolate chips into the top of each cookie. Let cool completely on the pan.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Thank you for the tips on the Bake Believe chips. I have the white chocolate ones and haven’t baked with them because I have been snacking on them with macadamia nuts LOL! The chips are very sweet on their own but with the salt from the macadamia nuts they are perfect. I would love to use the Choc Zero chips but sadly their products spike my BG like crazy. So happy to have an alternative 🙂
Did anyone actually make these? I was so excited. Followed the recipe exactly and they did not turn out at all. The cookies did not spread at all. Remained in a ball. I see lots of comments saying they were looking forward to trying them, but few who actually reported on how they turned out after making them.. I’d look elsewhere. This recipe did not turn out at all.
Hi Jean, if they stayed in a ball, then you did not actually follow the recipe, as it instructs you to press them down with the heal of your hand to 1/2 inch thick – thus already they would no longer be a ball.
As for people who actually made the recipe, many have and love them. Here are a few comments from folks you clearly missed…
“I just wanted to add… HOLY MOLY… these cookies are friggin AHHHHMAZING!! YAY!! Even with the melted chips the flavor is perfect!! Thank you for this awesome recipe!!!”
“Made these today and they are a homerun! What is the best way to store them? Thank you for another great bake!”
“I baked these cookies last night at 9pm! Oh my goodnees! They are delicious! Did not use gelatin and put chips on top of cookie after 12 minutes…put them back in oven for just a couple of minutes. I just love them!”
So you can see that people who did make them as written had no issues.
I’ll have to try the choczero white chocolate chips because the bake believe ones cause me TREMENDOUS gas. It’s crazy, because it’s only the white chocolate chips in that brand.
I baked these cookies last night at 9pm! Oh my goodnees! They are delicious! Did not use gelatin and put chips on top of cookie after 12 minutes…put them back in oven for just a couple of minutes. I just love them!
Do u think u could bake this as a bar cookie ? In one pan ?
Absolutely!
Made these today and they are a homerun! What is the best way to store them? Thank you for another great bake!
Depends on how quickly you will eat them. On the counter is fine for 4 to 5 days, but refrigerate or freeze if you think they will be around longer.
I just wanted to add… HOLY MOLY… these cookies are friggin AHHHHMAZING!! YAY!! Even with the melted chips the flavor is perfect!! Thank you for this awesome recipe!!!
I just made these and they smell and look delicious. I am waiting for them to cool to taste but I’m drooling just looking at them!! LOL I followed your instructions exactly and I think that I would try what another reviewer mentioned, and that is add the chips half way thru the cooking process. My chips melted by the time the 14 min cooking was done, but I did check them at 7 min in and they looked perfect. So my only recommendation (and what I will do next time) is take out the cookies half way through cooking and add the chips then! Thank you so much for all of your incredible recipes, it makes doing the Keto Diet so much easier and so much more fun!
Thanks, Wendy. I had the ones I put on top look great after baking but who knows exactly what makes the difference!
These are the best cookies!
I hope my local walmart begins carrying these chips soon because I am dying to try these cookies! This is by far my fav flavor!
These are incredible. I was a little skeptical but they came out amazing!
I can’t wait to try these!! They sound incredibly delicious!!
SO good! The flavor is spot on. I can’t believe these are keto.
Hi Carolyn, could you please let me know what the difference gelatine makes to the recipe? I’m contemplating waiting until I have some before I make them. Thanks
It makes them chewier.
I used Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Natural Almond Flour and wonder if I should have used Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour from Blanched Whole Almonds? Although they are DELICIOUS the texture and taste of the cookies seemed to be a tiny little bit “off”. I used all almond flour, no coconut and omitted the gelatin otherwise following the recipe as written. Any feedback would be appreciated:) Thanks!
Well, yes the natural includes the skins which is never going to give you as fine a cookie as the blanched. And the skins do have a certain flavor so that was probably part of it.
These are the best white chocolate macadamia nut cookies I’ve ever had, keto or not! They are insanely good! They taste like something from Mrs. Fields or a similar shop. I got my chips on Amazon, and I used all almond flour and left out the gelatin. Also, I used roasted, salted macadamia nuts from Costco. Perfection!
Wow! I am delighted by your review!