White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (Subway Copycat)

White chocolate macadamia nut cookies are the soft, bakery-style treat you remember from the Subway counter, with crisp edges, a chewy center, and plenty of white chocolate and toasted macadamia nuts in every bite.

This copycat version comes together with pantry staples in under 30 minutes, so you can have warm cookies on the table on a random Tuesday, no drive-through required.

Why I Love This Recipe

I like this dough because the extra egg yolk keeps the middle soft even after the cookies cool all the way down.

Toasting the macadamia nuts first brings out a buttery crunch that plain chopped nuts just don’t have.

The reserved chocolate and nuts pressed on top right out of the oven are what make these look like they came from a bakery case, not a mixing bowl.

Recipe Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened – the base for that rich, chewy texture
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar – adds moisture and a caramel note
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar – helps the edges turn crisp
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 egg yolk – the extra fat is what keeps these soft after cooling
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour – spooned into the cup and leveled off
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup white chocolate chips – or a chopped white chocolate bar
• 1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped – toasted first if you have a few extra minutes

Variations / Substitutions

• Sweetener – Swap the granulated sugar for coconut sugar for a deeper, almost toffee-like flavor.
• Nuts – Use pecans or cashews in place of the macadamia nuts if that’s what’s in your pantry, though you’ll lose some of the buttery crunch.
• Dairy-free – Use a vegan butter stick and dairy-free white chocolate chips; the texture stays nearly identical.
• Spice – Stir 1/4 tsp cinnamon into the dry ingredients for a warmer background note.

If you like this one, my chocolate chip pecan cookies use the same base dough.

How To Make White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Step 1: Cream the Butter and Sugars

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) so it’s fully heated by the time the dough is ready. In a large bowl, beat the 1 cup butter with the 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup granulated sugar on medium speed for about 2 to 3 minutes.

The mixture should turn pale and fluffy, climbing up the sides of the bowl a bit as it whips. That’s your sign the sugar has dissolved enough to give you a soft, even crumb later.

Step 2: Beat in the Egg and Vanilla

Add the 1 egg, the 1 egg yolk, and 2 tsp vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Beat for about 1 minute, until everything looks glossy and fully blended.

The batter should look smooth with no streaks of egg visible. If it looks slightly curdled, just keep beating another 20 seconds and it will come back together.

Step 3: Fold in the Dry Ingredients and Mix-Ins

In a separate bowl, whisk together the 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt. Fold this into the wet mixture with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain, then fold in the 1 cup white chocolate chips and 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts, setting aside a small handful of each for topping later.

The dough will turn thick and a little heavy in the bowl, holding its shape when you lift the spatula. Stop mixing as soon as the chips and nuts are distributed. Overworking the dough here is the main reason cookies turn out tough instead of chewy.

Step 4: Scoop and Bake the Cookies

Scoop the dough into 2-tbsp mounds and space them about 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 11 to 13 minutes, until the edges turn light golden and the centers still look slightly underdone.

The tops will puff up and crack a little around the 10-minute mark, which is exactly what you want. Pull them while the centers still look soft; they firm up a lot as they sit on the hot pan.

Step 5: Press and Cool the Cookies

The moment the cookies come out of the oven, press the reserved white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts onto the tops while they’re still warm and soft enough to hold them. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.

Transfer them warm to a plate, and you’ll get pools of melted chocolate and glossy nuts sitting right on top. That’s the moment to serve them, while the centers are still soft and a little sticky in the middle.

Recipe Tips

• Chill the dough for 10 minutes if your kitchen is warm.: Soft dough spreads too thin in a hot oven, and a short chill keeps the cookies thick.
• Buy roasted, salted macadamia nuts if you can find them.: The salt makes a real difference set against the sweet white chocolate.
• Freeze extra dough balls for later.: Scoop the whole batch, freeze what you won’t bake on a tray, then bake straight from frozen, adding about 2 minutes to the bake time.

Bake times run a little differently depending on how big you scoop the dough, and cookies are done once the centers hit around 200-205°F (93-96°C).