Method

• 1.
  Heat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan-forced.
• 2.
  Chop each macadamia in half. (If you bought macadamia halves, skip to the toasting.) Place on a shallow baking try and toast in the oven for around 30-40 minutes until the colour of pale honey. Low and slow toasting is imperative with macadamias, given their high oil content. I like the toasted nuts to match the dough colour for maximum cookie aesthetic. Cool the nuts quickly in the fridge.
• 3.
  Place the cold butter, sugars and vanilla in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on speed 2 (above low) for about 5 minutes, until the mix looks like sugary mash – no need to go to pale and fluffy. Scrape the sides down once during this process. I keep this base mix cold and mashed rather than warmer and fluffier so my cookie dough texture is closed and dense rather than porous with air. They will also spread less when baked.
• 4.
  Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb and 1 tsp fine salt into a small bowl and set aside. Weigh the white chocolate chips with the cooled chopped nuts and set aside.
• 5.
  Keeping on speed 2 (above low), add the egg to the butter mix in one go and beat for 5 minutes, scraping side of bowl once or twice during this stage. The butter/sugar/egg mix will be brown with a wet porridge consistency.
• 6.
  Reduce to speed 1 (low), then add the dry ingredients and mix just until no flour is visible. Tip the chocolate and nuts in and mix until only just incorporated. Take the bowl off the mixer, scrape the dough off the paddle and tip the dough onto your work surface. Give the dough a thorough mix so any buttery seams from the bottom can be mixed in well. Buttery seams can cause funny-spreading cookies. Good to eat, just not a nice round cookie.
• 7.
  Lightly grease a baking tray with cooking oil spray. Weigh nine balls of dough to 165g each, or a slightly heaped half-cup measure. (This is NOT A TYPO! It is a huge cookie.) If the size perplexes or horrifies you, that’s cool, just make the balls smaller and bake for less time. You’ll just have to do a little test bake to get the timing right.
• 8.
  Roll each ball gently but don’t compact the dough – it should be a lumpy sphere. Place closely together on the tray. I like to cover and chill for a minimum of 12 hours, but you can also bake these straight away. The overnight hydrate/rest makes a better textured (a little less spread, more hump and no external greasy feel post-bake) cookie, but you can bake these straight away, too. If you do, they’ll only need 18-20 minutes and will be a smidge flatter.
• 9.
  When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Spray a flat baking tray with cooking oil and line with baking paper. Arrange the dough balls on the tray, spacing them a roomy 5-7cm apart, then sprinkle the tops with salt flakes (totally optional). Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cookies have settled with a mild dome, have a crisp butterscotch-coloured upper crust and soft sides, but are squidgy just under the top crust. Because these are big’uns, and you may be nervous, take an internal temperature – 75°C will give you doughy interior perfection.
• 10.
  Cool the baked cookies on the tray for 10-15 minutes for optimal eating – the warmest, stickiest, softest cookie dough joy! When the cookie cools completely, it’s also good, just not GOOD good.