Macadamia Butter Cookies with Dried Cranberries

Am making another batch of these cookies as we just demolished the first batch!  Left dried crans whole and added in about 1/2 teaspoon of orange extract.  O.M.G... yum! I veganised it by replacing the egg with 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 1/4 cup warm water.

These tasted pretty good, but had something left to be desired.

This is the third year that I have made these cookies for Christmas. I love the subtle flavor of the macadamia nut, but to get an extra punch--I tried adding orange flavored dried cranberries (found at Trader Joe's) and they were wonderful. The orange added a lot of flavor to the cookie without being over-powering. I highly recommend it.

I used a Cuisinart (took a lot longer than 2 min. to get a smooth butter) and a stand mixer and had no trouble at all with the recipe as written. The problem is that other than a slight nutmeg flavor, they are very bland. I will not make them again, but I would suggest to others who want to try these to leave the cranberries whole so that there is more cranberry flavor. I used a round tablespoon size measuring spoon to form the cookies. I flatened the first tray, but we like chewy cookies, so for the second tray, I left the dough in a dome shape and baked one minute less. The texture was much better!

So how much nut butter does the 2/3 c nuts yield? I'm wishing the recipe had just called for the quantity of macadamia nut butter. I had a hard time making such a small quantity of nut butter in my blender - I would have rather used a whole jar-ful of nuts and then measured out how much nut butter was needed, or just bought macadamia nut butter at the store. Yummy cookies, but I'll skip this one in the future and instead look for a recipe that tells you how much macadamia nut butter to use.

These are decent cookies. Used a blender to make the "butter" but also added 1/2tsp of olive oil since the recipe didn't call for any butter/oil. The batter was very stiff once I added all the flour so I was glad I was using the stand up mixer. Chilled for probably 45 minutes. Had very little trouble with batter becoming sticky and the batter was not crumbly at all. Baked one pan at a time exactly as directed. The cookies came out great. Really loved the chopped dried cranberries and the subtle nutty flavor.

haven't made these yet, they sound so good....going to make them next week after I buy the nuts... here is MY complaint....hate the way you have your printing set up, I do NOT want the store info on my recipe...so if someone knows how to NOT print that stuff I would find that most helpful....I print front to back and this recipe if printed in full is 3 pages....to include the store info...ANNOYING!!!! thank YOU for the printing info... baked these this morning...very tasty....I did have to add 1 tablespoon of water, live in the desert and it's very dry here...so the cookie dough was very crumbly...

These are the best cookie I have ever made. I get compliments every time i make them. People don't believe me when I tell them that they have NO butter in them! Follow all directions like everyone else says. Make sure you process the nuts until they get creamy/buttery looking or they won't turn out right. DO NOT add butter as some people advise. The nuts are your butter substitute except they are a good fat, not an unhealthy one. The dough will be very hard to mix, this is normal. Make sure you undercook them just a bit. They will stay chewy that way.

I so wanted to like this cookie because so many people have given 4 and 5 star reviews. I thought the cookie was missing something. This cookie is not memorable in anyway and I cannot say I would go through the trouble of making them again. If I do, I will definitely jazz them up. I them made to give away as Christmas gifts, boy was I disappointed.

While I've been cooking from Cooking Light for years, this is the first time I rated a recipe because it was THAT good. The texture and flavor were perfect. It's sweet but not to overwhelmingly sweet. Next time I'm going to try 1/2 the cranberries (which taste great in the cookies) + 1/2 nuts to add an extra texture. The macadmia butter makes the cookie really stand out!

Please beware!!! This makes an extremely STIFF dough. Made these last Christmas and BURNED OUT my hand mixer on them. I also added some white chocolate chips with the cranberries, and they tasted quite good.

Fabulous cookie! You must READ and FOLLOW the directions precisely. If you undermix the macadamia nuts, they don't turn into the buttery smooth consistency needed and your cookies will be too dry. There is NO butter in this recipe, and it does not need it. (You are making a nut "butter" by processing the macadamias.) These are a family favorite now for several years!

Did anyone notice that "Butter" is in the recipe name, but not in the recipe content?? Of course the cookie dough was crumbly and didn't hold together. One of the MAIN INGREDIENTS is MISSING!

These took a little work, but if you have time, they're worth it! The dough is crumbly but I pickede it up and packed it together with my hand and then chilled it. Some of the cranberryies flew off while i was rolling them. I didn't wet the fork which worked fine. I'll probably make these again if i'm bored.

Came out a bit too cooked (even though they were golden brown on top). Will try less time next time. Otherwise, very tasty!

these are a christmas staple in our house since first appearance in CL. great as written, but dried cherries also work. not a beauty pageant winner but the macadamia nut butter flavor is sublime.

Very very good....didn't yield as many as the recipe stated but I might have made them a bit big. Still super good! Will def make again!

I added almonds to my nut butter since I didn't have enough macadamias and used craisins whole. They were a bit crumbly when forming them but they baked up nicely. When I first tasted them I thought the nutmeg was over powering. Now I can't stop eating them. Very good and after a week, still a little chewy inside. I'll make again.

I substituted cashews to make the butter. I think these are absolutely 5 star if you have a good food processor and standing mixer. I did not find the dough crumbly at all. I can see how it would be if you do not have a good strong standing mixer such as a kitchen-aid. These will become a regular on the holiday cookie list or for other special occasions.

I followed the recipe exactly as directed and these cookies were great. I weighed the flour (5.6 oz.), processed the nuts until very creamy and smooth, and used a stand mixer. I found the dough very easy to work with and I will definitely make these again. Would make great gifts around the holidays!

too much effort for a so-so cookie. Will not make again.

Yes, the "butter" mentioned in this recipe is the macadamia butter you make by tossing them in the processor. These dudes are subtly flavored, buttery, and indulgent. I'm not a huge peanut butter fan so these were nutty without that pungent, over-the-top nut taste. I suggest adding whole cranberries instead of chopped, and I tossed in a quarter cup of currants because it looked a little barren and I was out of cranberries at that point. I did a double batch and only got about 55! I think I need to press them thinner next time... they don't spread at all. Also, the batter was not sticky at all but super crumbly. As you warm it in your hands to make it into a ball and dip it in sugar, it comes together nicely. Loved these, though my boyfriend still prefers peanut butter cookies.

Very disappointing. The dough was like a bowl of crumbs, even after refrigerating and they baked up like hard little disks. The reviews are so varied that I wonder if there might be something different regionally in the make up of one of the ingredients. Anyway, threw away the recipe and the cookies.

Not bad. Since macadamia nuts don't have much flavor, you will have to add it via spices or other additives. I would suggest substituting almond butter for the macadamia butter. Check out the organic food section of your grocery store to get macadamia, cashew, almond, or natural peanut butter.

I added applesauce, too crumbly to make into balls. The cranberries give it taste, other than that there is no taste, kind of blah. See what my neighbor thinks, oh, ehhh. Give it a 3.

A lot of people in the reviews have asked how much butter to put in the recipe. It does not list butter as an ingredient. When you blend the macadamia nuts into a paste, you have just made "macadamia butter". It is similar to making peanuts into a paste, you have "peanut butter". These cookies are essentally peanut butter cookies made with a different kind of nut. Since you can't buy "macadamia butter" in the store, you have to make it.

I didn't add butter to the macadamia nuts, but I recommend that you do so. My cookies were okay, but it seemed as if they were missing something. If I ever make this recipe again, I will alter it.

Good recipe. I did add 2 Tablespoons of butter to the macadamia nuts. I only have a blender and the nuts got stuck. The butter helped smooth out the paste. My husband really enjoyed them. I do want to state they were chewy the first day but the next day they got crispy. I liked them chewy. I don't know if it was the butter or they are suppose to be crisp.

Followed the recipe exactly, but ended up with dry cookies. Perhaps I overworked the dough. It became too stiff for my hand mixer, and I had to mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Other than that, dough easily formed balls and behaved as expected. Will try baking a minute or two less next time, or upgrading to a stand mixer.

These are delicious! I made them exactly as the recipe states, except that I didn't accurately measure the macadamia nuts or the cranberries -- just estimated. I processed the nuts until they were a smooth, thick liquid. The dough was NOT sticky, and I didn't have to refrigerate it before working with it. It was, however, one of the stiffest cookie doughs I've ever worked with. I used a stand mixer, and in retrospect, I think it might have burned up my hand mixer if I had tried to use it instead. Guess I made them a little smaller than intended, because I got 84 cookies out of a double batch. If I change anything next time, I'll increase the cranberries a little and not chop them -- they sort of get lost in all the other flavors -- but the cookies are delicious the way they are. Definitely a keeper!

The dough mixed up and baked exactly as described. The only thing I did differently was to divide it into 35 cookies (inadvertently) instead of 30 and plop a half macadamia nut in the center of each after flattening with the fork. I still baked the same length of time. They turned out lovely. Since I have a prolific macadamia tree, I will be baking these often as holiday gifts.