white chocolate chip-macadamia nut cookies

First, let me provide relief to those of you who might have been worrying about the suspicious absence of the gigantic moth: he reappeared near the door and I tricked him into flying outside. Win-win. He gets to live, and I don't have to deal with killing something the size of my fist.

Now, onto the cookies.

I've been conducting a chocolate chip cookie bakeoff (with myself) in search of a decent recipe. More on that later, but suffice it to say that during the experimentation process, Josh complained that none of the cookies had enough white chocolate or macadamia nuts. I decided to honor this request and thought it would be a good opportunity to give the Toll House recipe a fair shake. Let me say that for at least a decade, this was my go-to CCC, but in recent years, I have liked it less and less. Seems like the more exacting and discerning I've gotten about baking, the less I like this recipe. For one, it's really greasy! I probably used to bake them with margarine, which I assume is part (or most) of the difference. They end up flat, spread out, and with crunchy edges. Not my ideal. But more importantly, I don't love the taste of the dough or the baked cookie.

As you can imagine, this cookie was not my favorite. Let me count the ways:
1. Has nuts
2. Has white chocolate
3. Does not have real chocolate
4. Greasy

Also, going all out for Josh's ideal cookie, I made them big - at least twice as big as my normal cookies. Even he allowed as how they were too big. (I pointed out that he could eat half of one, and he said yeah, that was unlikely.)

I did have fun taking pictures of them, however:

(Shh, I know it's not totally in focus. Can't Photoshop that.)



I can't imagine there is anyone in this part of the planet without access to a bag of chocolate chips (to get the recipe), but here it is just in case you have recently emerged from under a rock.
Toll House Cookies, adapted
2 1/4 cups (9 5/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (I also used 5 1/4 ounces, though officially it's probably supposed to be 6) packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12 ounces) white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 375° F. (Interesting. I probably baked at 350F without even thinking about it.)

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Final note: I will say that my friend Jodi always makes the best CCCs, and she says her secret recipe is Toll House. So maybe I have just lost the touch. Either way, Jodi's cookies are soft, chewy, chocolatey, and meltingly delicious.