A Quick & Easy Vegan Macadamia Nut Cookie Recipe, Just In Time For The Holidays
Maybe you're a bit tired of your go-to healthy cookie recipe, or maybe you're just ready to add another option to the roster. These simple vegan cookies from Baked With Love, a cookbook that focuses on allergy-friendly vegan desserts, will be exactly what you've been looking for, either way. They're not too sweet, but they also taste special enough for the holiday season—after all, how often are you making a recipe with macadamia nuts?
Not only that, but macadamia nuts are an M.D.-approved ingredient: "I love my macadamia nuts," shared functional medicine doctor Frank Lipman, M.D., on the mindbodygreen podcast. "They're full of fat." Just what kind of fat? They're known to be a good source of monounsaturated fats, which may help improve cardiovascular health1 and reduce oxidative stress2. They're also a good source3 of manganese (58% of the daily value [DV]) and thiamine (22% of the DV).
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This recipe also calls on many of our other favorite healthy baking ingredients: Coconut sugar, coconut oil, and gluten-free flour all feature in the mixture. These cookies can be made up to a week in advance if you're going to store them in the fridge but will also keep at room temperature for five days.
Vegan Macadamia Nut Cookies
Makes 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- ¾ cup coconut oil, softened
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1¾ cups gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour or all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened dairy-free milk (if needed)
- ½ cup raw macadamia nut halves and/or pieces
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Method
- Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet (at least 17 by 14 inches) with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can bake the cookies in batches using 2 medium baking sheets.
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the coconut sugar, coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract until creamy.
- Add the flour gradually, stirring it into the coconut sugar mixture until well combined and you have a thick and sticky dough. If needed, add the dairy-free milk to help the dough form. Then fold in the chopped nuts.
- Using a tablespoon, scoop up the dough and roll into 24 balls using your hands. Place on the prepared baking sheet(s), about 2 inches apart. Using the back of a spoon, lightly flatten the cookies to help them spread.
- Bake on the middle rack for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden and have spread slightly.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely before removing the cookies from the pan. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
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Eliza Sullivan is an SEO Editor at mindbodygreen, where she writes about food, recipes, and nutrition—among other things. She received a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in english literature with honors from Boston University, and she has previously written for Boston Magazine, TheTaste.ie, and SUITCASE magazine.