White Chocolate and Walnut Cookies

I based these on this recipe, but due to stinginess I used walnuts instead of macadamias. I’m not a big fan of white chocolate, but I had bought a packet of white chocolate chips in the supermarket a few weeks ago, for reasons known only to some obscure part of my brain. So cookies were on the agenda – I thought perhaps I’d enjoy white chocolate more if it was baked into something. I didn’t fall in love with these – one was definitely enough, as I just found the white chocolate too sweet (shocking, I know, that I would find something overly sweet). But they were quite popular at work, and they’re extremely easy to bake.

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla essence
3 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
240g white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped macadamia nuts or walnuts

Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease cookie trays or line with greaseproof paper.

Cream the butter and sugars in a large bowl until blended and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat well.

Blend in flour, baking soda, and salt. This is a stiff mixture, so it’s going to need some serious mixing before it’s all blended together.

Stir in the white chocolate chips and chopped nuts.

Roll the dough into small rounds, and squash them onto the prepared trays. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until firm. (I always find this step really difficult, judging when to remove them from the oven. These cookies, I found, really do need to be left until the top is dry and firm). Remove to wire racks to cool.