I just had to know how adding some white granulated sugar back into those White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut cookies I made the other day would affect the texture and taste, and how it might change the cookie shape. I’m not going to become a test kitchen, making cookies endlessly, each with small additions of sugar, just to calculate the differences, but I wanted to follow up on that first test for some comparisons.
I was surprised that just a 1/4 cup extra sugar added a slight crispness, but not surprised that it didn’t really make the cookies spread. Adding 1/2 cup made them spread out a little, without taking away that softness of the interior, but adding a little crispness to the bottoms and edges. For me, because I like a soft, rounded cookie, it’s good to know that I can cut out some sugar to achieve that, but still have a good tasting cookie. Of course, I can’t discount the presence of those white chocolate chips in adding sweetness, but it’s one reason I felt I could cut out some extra sugar.
Update: My husband comments that the first thing you taste in the ones with less sugar is the butter. In the ones with more sugar, you taste the sugar first.
In the photos below, the cookies with the 1/4 cup addition are on the right and the ones with the 1/2 cup addition are on the left. I hope you can see the slight difference in size and shape. This all goes in my mental cookie file for when I’m thinking of changing a cookie recipe to achieve a particular purpose. I’ve added the same recipe below that I posted the other day, but with the granulated sugar options included.
More White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies
Preheat oven to 350°
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar*
Optional: 1/4 or 1/2 cup granulated sugar; original recipe calls for 3/4 cup
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
12 oz white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth, then add the vanilla and eggs, beating until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients (soda, salt, flour) and mix to combine.
- Stir in the white chocolate chips and chopped nuts.
- Form in 1 tablespoon balls and place on lined cookie sheet. You can flatten the balls if you don’t want them to keep the ball shape.
- Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. They will be done with only slight browning.
The cookies with only brown sugar will be soft. The cookies with added granulated sugar will have some crispness to the bottoms and edges, which adds a nice flavor and texture.
Kitchen Portfolio 