Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clusters

cookiedog's Note:

These cookies taste like chocolate covered macadamia nuts candies. It is important to not overbake these cookies and their centers should remain soft and chewy. From Sunset

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 42 cookies

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate or 8 ounces semisweet chocolate , chopped
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ cups unsalted roasted macadamia nuts
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup sweetened flaked dried coconut (4 oz.)

Directions:

1. In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (bottom of bowl should not touch water), stir chopped chocolate and butter often until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from over water and let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Add chocolate mixture and beat until well blended. Stir in flour and baking powder, then beat just until moistened. Stir in macadamia nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut.
3. Drop dough in 1-tablespoon portions, about 2 inches apart, onto buttered or cooking parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.
4. 4Bake cookies in a 350° oven just until firm on the edges but still soft when pressed in the middle, 8 to 10 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely.

Reviews

[weekend cooker]

Loved the combo of the coconut, and macadamia nuts here. Baked mine for 12 minutes. Ended up with 40 cookies and they too were big. Made for a great snack for the 4 of us during the games yesterday. Made for 1-2-3 hits.

[kellychris]

These are SO GOOD! I had to bake them for 15 min. to achieve the right "doneness", but they turned out beautifully. I just love the crunch of the macadamias plus that "special" texture and taste of the coconut. I had to grind up the nuts though, because DD AND FIANCE do not eat nuts. These do turn out HUGE though, so maybe you want to drop by teaspoonfuls. Thanks so much for posting this recipe. Made for ZWT5 Bushtucker challenge.