Recipe: 'White Chocolate-Macadamia Nut Cookies'

If you are a white chocolate lover, this is the cookie for you. I love this combination; white chocolate and macadamia nuts are perfect partners — rich and sweet.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Vanilla Base Dough

At Milk & Cookies, this is the dough we use most frequently. It is the base for our classic chocolate chip cookies as well as many other popular variations. The inclusion of finely ground oats or oat flour gives the dough a texture that is both crispy and chewy. Only the best pure vanilla extract is used because it gives a truer and deeper vanilla essence than any imitation flavor does. You can add just about anything you want to this dough and it will always be scrumptious! Or, you can bake it plain and still have a wonderful, simple, dunkingly delicious cookie.

2 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups (8 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar

1 cup (7 ounces) light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line two baking sheets with nonstick silicone baking sheets or parchment paper. (Alternatively, use nonstick baking sheets or lightly butter conventional baking sheets.) Set aside.

Put the oats in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until finely ground. Transfer the ground oats to a mixing bowl. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Put the butter in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle. Begin beating on low speed to soften. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, or until light and creamy.

With the motor running, gradually add the granulated sugar and then the brown sugar, beating until very light and creamy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat to incorporate, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, and when blended, slowly beat in the reserved dry mixture.

While the dough is still streaky, remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape the paddle clean.

Lightly flour a clean, flat work surface.

Scrape the dough onto the floured surface. Lightly flour your hands and finish mixing the dough by using a gentle kneading motion, working until the dough is just blended. Do not overwork the dough; you want to be certain that all of the ingredients are blended together.

Using a tablespoon or small ice-cream scoop, make mounds of dough. Roll the dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place the balls, about 2 inches apart, on the prepared baking sheets. Using your palm, gently flatten each ball to make a pucklike shape about 2 inches in diameter.

When all of the cookies are formed, place in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges and set in the center. Do not overbake; you want some chewiness in the center.

Remove from the oven and, using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool.

Store, airtight, at room temperature for up to a week.

Note: Dough can be stored, airtight, in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month.

White Chocolate-Macadamia Nut Cookies

Vanilla Base Dough

2 cups (12 ounces) white chocolate chips

2 cups (8 ounces) chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line two baking sheets with nonstick silicone baking sheets or parchment paper. (Alternatively, use nonstick baking sheets or lightly butter conventional baking sheets.) Set aside.

Prepare the Vanilla Base Dough. While the dough is still streaky, remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape the paddle clean.

Lightly flour a clean, flat work surface.

Scrape the dough onto the lightly floured surface. Lightly flour your hands and finish mixing the dough by using a light kneading motion, working until the dough is just blended. Do not overwork the dough; you just want to be certain that all of the ingredients are just blended together.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate and macadamia nuts, mixing until evenly distributed. You can also do this in the mixer, but heavy mixing tends to break up the chocolate and macadamia nuts, and the baked cookies will have an undesirable dry texture.

Using a tablespoon or small ice-cream scoop, make mounds of dough. Roll the dough into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place the balls, about 2 inches apart, on the prepared baking sheets. Using your palm, gently flatten each ball to make a pucklike shape about 2 inches in diameter.

When all of the cookies are formed, place in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges and set in the center. Do not overbake; you want some chewiness in the center.

Remove from the oven and, using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool.

Store, airtight, at room temperature for up to a week.

From Milk & Cookies: 89 Heirloom Recipes from New York's Milk & Cookies Bakery by Tina Casaceli. Copyright 2011. Reprinted by permission of Chronicle Books.