| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Inactive: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 5 dozen cookies |
Ingredients
- 2 cups macadamia nuts
- 11/2 cups sugar
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon almond extract
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1 cup pistachios, roughly chopped
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 48 to 60 red-and-white striped chocolate kiss candies
Instructions
- Put the macadamia nuts in a food processor and process until smooth and buttery (this should measure about 1 cup). Add the sugar, butter and shortening and pulse until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and almond extracts and pulse until blended. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and pulse until just incorporated. Transfer the cookie dough to a medium bowl and fold in the white chocolate chips, pistachios and cranberries. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower thirds and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
- Scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough, roll into balls and space about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. (You will need to bake the cookies in batches; be sure to allow the baking sheets to cool in between batches.)
- Bake until the bottoms and edges of the cookies are golden brown but the middles are still soft, about 10 minutes. (The cookies will bake a bit after they come out of the oven) Press a chocolate candy kiss into each warm cookie. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 54 servings |
| Calories | 289 |
| Total Fat | 15 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 39 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 31 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 15 mg |
| Sodium | 62 mg |
Reviews
These cookies were a hit with my family and friends. A little costly for ingredients but for special occasions… While working on one batch, suggest keeping rest of dough refrigerated until ready to make next sheet.
This recipe has so much going on – it’s ridiculous. It’s a clear out the cabinet type recipe with every possible flavor thrown in but the only flavor that comes out is almond extract – with $15 worth of macadamia nuts.
Delicious! Your family/friends will rave about these cookies – they are so super good. Do yourself a favor by buying shelled pistachio nuts and unwrapping the candy kisses before you start baking. Also, while baking, try and keep the dough in the fridge when not scooping it on to the cookie sheets. This dough seems to warm up quickly and I think makes the cookies spread more. After baking, putting the kisses on, and letting cool for a while, I put the cookies in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to harden the kisses, then stored in Ziplock bags in the freezer. One change I made was using coconut oil in place of the vegetable oil. All in all, well worth all the effort!