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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These are so good!! I added a tablespoon or so more almond flour because my dough was really loose for some reason but they’re fantastic – no other changes. They’re chewy and soft and they spread like normal cookies. 10/10.
Wow!! These cookies are AMAZING! I had decided quite a while back that keto cookies were terrible, because I had yet to try a recipe where the cookies came out with both a great taste and a great texture. These cookies have both!! They are delicious and have a great chewy yet slightly crispy texture. I couldn’t be more impressed! I will definitely be making these often and can’t wait to try more of Carolyn’s cookie recipes!
I am printing out this recipe and saving it in my keto recipe files. This is excellent. I cut the recipe in half cuz keto baking is so hit or miss for me… I should have made the whole batch. I should have know , I haven’t gotten a bad recipe from your website. The coconut really adds to this ! Thank u !
I made these tonight with a few modifications. I used half the erythritol based sweetener and added some stevia glycerite. I used one cup of almond flour and one cup of coconut. I didn’t have any macadamia nuts so I just left them out. I baked them in a convection oven at 300 degrees. I didn’t have gelatin (and I’m vegetarian) so I used agar agar instead. I really enjoy these a lot! I used Bake Believe white chocolate chips. They did kind of disappear into the cookies as you said they would, so I added some on top right after taking them out of the oven. Thank you for all of your amazing recipes! They make my low carb life so much happier! These are a real treat to me!
Made these tonight and they were so delicious! Thank you for sharing!
These are the first cookies I made, my oven cooks very unevenly so some were perfect and some very done, not burnt just very brown so some were chewy and other crisp like a store bought cookie…..I’ve already eaten 6….thank you so much for your holiday cookie email!
If you can remember to, rotating you pan halfway through cooking can help when you have hot spots like that.
I just made these and they smell amazing. But, they really spread out thin. I used 1 stick of butter. Do you think that instead of 1/2 cup of coconut, I could use 1/2 cup of coconut flour? Would that help soak up the butter?
Okay, I just re-read your comment… a stick is only 1/2 cup so that’s fine. PHEW. But no no no to the coconut flour – 1/2 cup of coconut flour is a HUGE amount, you’d only want about 2 tbsp (that’s why I said it sounded like you had never worked with coconut flour). If your cookies are thin, they really just need a bit more almond flour. Sounds like yours was under-measured. Or you are using a more coarsely ground one, which let’s the butter leach out.
Thank you!
I made the cookies again. The almond flour is super fine. I used 2 cups of almond flour this time and added 2 tablespoons of coconut flour. After mixing it, I let it sit in the fridge over night. These turned out awesome! They look the way they are suppose to and taste like regular cookies! Thanks for such a quick response. I will be checking out more of your recipes.
p.s.
My husband can stay out of the cookies!
Thats suppose to read my husband can’t stay out of the cookies!
Baking these up as I type! My husband is a white chocolate fanatic, so when the chips arrived in the mail today, I knew I’d have to bake these immediately (before he could eat the chips right out of the bag!). Thanks for a nice, easy ingredient list – they smell fantastic!
Lily’s now makes a white chocolate chip that works beautifully with thus recipe. And this is the BEST recipe for lie carb cookies ever.
Made these today and they are delicious. I followed the recipe exactly and used choc zero chips. Thanks for the recipe!
I am concerned about the corn fiber in the ChocZero products. Please advise.
All I care about is whether it spikes my blood sugar. These chips do not. But you must do what makes you feel right.
I just made these cookies and they are delicious.
The only issue I have is that I used the Bake Believe White Chocolate Chips and they dissolved while baking. I used Lily’s semisweet chocolate chips for another bath and they turned fine.
Yes, those ones do. I recommend the ChocZero chips instead. If you use FOODDREAMER, you can get 10% off anytime on their products. http://shop.choczero.com/?utm_campaign=fooddreamer&utm_source=leaddyno&utm_medium=affiliate#_a_fooddreamer
I have made these cookies three times in one week because everyone just LOVED them. I quote from multiple anti-keto family members, “these taste just like subway cookies!” Subs I used was 1/4 tsp Xanthan gum instead of gelatin because I didn’t have any. Also, added 3/4 cup Bochasweet in place of both sugars. Just fantastic! I wish I could give you more stars. I always come to you when looking up new keto recipes!!!
Fabulous! The coconut and gelatin were perfect additions, gave them the best texture I have had in a keto cookie. And they had the same texture the next day. I used Lilly’s dark chocolate chips. Thank you.
Made these as directed, with the exception of also adding in some dark chocolate chips. I used the Choc Zero white chocolate chips (available in single or multiple bags on Amazon). The only macadamia nuts available at my store were the roasted, salted macadamia nuts; while the recipe does not specific to, I assume it calls for raw. I made sure to use unsalted butter in the recipe, and did not adjust the amount of salt. No issues, and these were a huge hit!
I also tried a few the WC chips mixed in and afew with them placed on top (per the directions). Can confirm that the latter works much better, as the chips do dissolve into the dough while baking. I expected these to spread due to the high butter content, but they kept their shape. I used a melon ball scoop to keep the sizes consistent.
It does call for raw but honestly, the salted ones might be kind of good!
I would love to make the dough for these and refrigerate the dough for company. Will these work after being refrigerated a few days (the dough?) Thank you!