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Although most years I struggle deciding on a Valentine’s Day gift for my husband, this year I KNEW: Honolulu Cookie Company macadamia nut shortbread cookies! Well, I thought I knew, until I saw that shipping from their online store costs more than the actual cookies themselves. Jeremy loves those cookies, though, and we had no plans to travel to Hawaii for the foreseeable future. So, I got down to work to create my own copycat recipe for the Honolulu Cookie Company’s famous butter macadamia cookies!
The real question: does it actually taste like Honolulu Cookie Co.?
Both Jeremy and I think the flavor of the macadamia shortbread cookies from this recipe taste just like the ones from the stores. HOWEVER, there is a slight difference in texture. We felt that the Honolulu Co. cookies were crisper and crunchier. These homemade shortbread cookies, on the other hand, had a softer crumb. They’re buttery and velvety smooth and crumble so finely in your mouth they practically melt, but they’re NOT cakey or chewy at all. I’m team crumble over crisp any day, could you tell? I only feel the difference is worth mentioning because my mom has said she likes the crispier cookies better. Whatever.
What makes these cookies so perfectly crumbly? A secret ingredient!
EGG YOLKS! Egg yolks is what gives these cookies that softer crumb. It also makes the dough easier to roll out and cut into shapes. Because is it even a Honolulu Cookie Co. cookie without that pineapple shape? A traditional shortbread recipe, like my pumpkin spice cookies, uses only flour, sugar, and butter. That kind of dough is best for slice and bake cookies. So if you have an egg allergy or you’re not going to cut out pineapple shapes, feel free to omit the egg yolks. You should still be able to roll the dough into logs and slice into circles, and you can get a crispier snap to your cookies. The ingredients list for the Honolulu Cookie Co. cookies does include eggs, though! So I highly recommend following the recipe as written.
One last note about the ingredients and equipment needed before you get started.
At the time I went grocery shopping, the only macadamia nuts available were already salted. If that’s the case for you, make sure you taste a macadamia nut before cooking to see how salty they are. You can adjust the amount of extra salt in your dough as needed. If you manage to find unsalted nuts, you’ll probably want to increase the amount of salt in the recipe to 3/4 tsp.
Oh, and you’ll need a food process or blender or something that can grind those nuts into a coarse flour. Grind too much and you’ll end up with macadamia butter. Grind too little and your cookies will still taste great, but they’ll have larger chunks of macadamia nut that aren’t present in the Honolulu Cookie Co version.
For the chocolate dipping sauce, you’ll see I have vegetable shortening listed as an ingredient. The shortening helps thin out the melted chocolate so you don’t get a thick, clumpy crust over your cookie. I don’t use shortening often, so I understand if you don’t want to buy a whole tub just for this. I’ve heard you can substitute vegetable oil or butter, but since I haven’t tried it myself, do so at your own risk. Or omit it altogether. One half cup of chocolate chips plus two teaspoons of Crisco was enough to dip about 8-10 cookies for me. If you’re only using one type of chocolate, you can double that amount.
Lastly, my cookies are a little larger than the Honolulu Cookie Co. version. Do you know how hard it is to find a pineapple cookie cutter that’s exactly the right size? I ended up with this set of fruit cookie cutters from Amazon (Disclaimer: this is an affiliate link). The pineapple is 2 by 3 inches, but I actually wound up really liking this larger size. Who doesn’t like a bigger cookie?
Alright, hopefully I didn’t forget anything. If you make these, let me know how they turn out! Have suggestions on how to make the cookies taste more like the original? Or requests for additional Honolulu Cookie Co. flavors? Let me know in the comments! Happy baking!
Macadmia Nut Shortbread Cookies (Honolulu Cookie Co Copycat)
These macadamia nut shortbread cookies taste just like the Honolulu Cookie Company version, maybe even better. They have a velvety crumb that holds well when rolled out and cut. Dip in white, milk, or your favorite chocolate.
4.73 from 69 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 18 minutes mins
Chill Time 30 minutes mins
Servings 21 2″x3″ pineapple cookies
Equipment
Pineapple cookie cutter (optional)
Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (two sticks) softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
- 2 cups bread flour
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup chocolate chips of choice for dipping
- 4 tsp vegetable shortening (e.g. Crisco)
Instructions
Grind macadamia nuts in food processor until they reach the texture of coarse sand.
Cream butter, sugar, and salt in a mixer.
Add egg yolks and mix until hom*ogenous.
Add flour and ground macadamia nuts. Mix until well incorporated.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in fridge to chill for at least half an hour but up to overnight. I pat my dough into a flat disc shape before chilling to make rolling out the dough easier after it's cold.
When ready to bake, prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper (or a silicone mat) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Roll out the dough to approximately 1/4 inch thick.
Use a pineapple cookie cutter (or other shape of choice) to cut out cookies and arrange on your baking sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Watch carefully as baking time will differ depending on the oven and type of baking sheet used.
Allow cookies to cool to room temperature. If dipping in chocolate, heat chocolate and shortening in microwave at 30 second increments, stirring in between until chocolate is smooth. For both milk and white chocolate dip, I used 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 2 tsp of Crisco in each bowl.
Dip pineapple cookies in chocolate dip, using a spoon to cover all desired areas and scrape off excess chocolate. Place bake on baking sheet to set.
When chocolate has hardened, eat and enjoy!
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