White chocolate chips and hazelnuts go together like peas and carrots, and in this recipe for white chocolate chip cookies, that pairing is given the royal treatment. Ground hazelnuts are worked into a rich, buttery cookie dough, balancing its sweetness while adding wonderful structure. You could almost call these hazelnut cookies with white chocolate chips!
What is white chocolate exactly? Typical white chocolate lacks cocoa solids, so it’s not truly chocolate; it’s considered a candy. Some white chocolate, however, does actually contain cocoa butter, which makes it smooth and creamy. White chocolate with cocoa butter is ideal for melting to drizzle on top of desserts. White chocolate chips, often labeled as “white baking chips,” don’t always contain cocoa butter; many mostly contain milk, oil and sugar. White chocolate chips are best used in cookies (like this recipe!), bars and brownies.
Ingredients for White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Whole hazelnuts: Whole shelled hazelnuts still have bitter skins. To remove them, toast the nuts at 350°F for 15 minutes, then wrap them in a tea towel for a couple of minutes to help the skins crack. You can then more easily rub off the papery skins (some bits will remain, but don’t worry about it).
- Butter: Cut butter into cubes or pats for faster softening at room temperature. Avoid melting it in the microwave because overly soft butter can make your cookies spread.
- Sugar: We use both white and brown sugar in these cookies. There is a difference between light and dark brown sugar; use light brown here.
- White baking chips: Standard-size bags of white chocolate baking chips typically hold around 12 ounces, so you’ll need about half of a bag for a batch of these cookies. Use leftovers in other white chocolate chip recipes, from bread pudding to cheesecake cups.
Directions
Step 1: Chop the nuts
Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
Coarsely chop 1/2 cup hazelnuts, and set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter. Process the melted butter and remaining 3/4 cup hazelnuts in a food processor until the mixture forms a crumbly paste, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
Step 2: Start the batter
In a bowl, cream the remaining 7 tablespoons butter. Beat in the white sugar and brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat for five to seven minutes, until light and fluffy. Beat in the ground hazelnut mixture until blended, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed.
Editor’s Tip: Here’s our primer on how to cream butter and sugar the right way. A stand mixer will take the hard work out of beating these ingredients for several minutes, but you could also use a hand mixer on slightly lower speeds, or simply your arm strength and a sturdy fork, wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Here are more expert tips for baking perfect cookies.
Step 3: Add the remaining batter ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter, and mix until just combined. Stir in the chips and remaining chopped hazelnuts.
Step 4: Bake the cookies
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the greased baking sheets, spacing the cookies two inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the cookies to wire racks to cool.
Recipe Variations
- Swap the chocolate and nuts: Swap in milk or dark chocolate chips and different nuts, such as walnuts, macadamia nuts or pecans. For a party tray, make multiple batches of this recipe with different chips and nuts in each round.
- Add dried fruit: Replace some of the white baking chips with dried cranberries. Other dried fruits like cherries, blueberries or raisins would also give bursts of color and flavor to these cookies.
- Make cookie bars: If drop cookies seem like too much work, bake them in a baking pan instead. Choose an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan, and press the dough in evenly so that it’s close to 1 inch thick. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Get inspired by other recipes for cookie bars.
How to Store White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Once baked and cooled, store your white chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.
How to Freeze White Chocolate Chip Cookies
You can easily freeze cookies and cookie dough. To freeze baked cookies, let them cool, then spread them out on a baking sheet in a single layer. Freeze until solid. Once frozen, seal the cookies tightly in freezer-safe resealable storage bags (removing as much air as possible) for up to six months in the freezer.
There are a few ways to freeze cookie dough. Whichever method you choose, if you store the dough properly, it will keep in the freezer for up to three months.
To bake from frozen dough, let the dough thaw in the refrigerator overnight and come to room temperature before baking. Or bake directly from frozen, allowing the cookies to bake for a couple extra minutes in the oven.
White Chocolate Chip Cookies Tips
What are the best white chocolate chips for these cookies?
The pros in our Test Kitchen tested the best white chocolate chips for cookies and other desserts. Nestlé Toll House Premier White Morsels topped the list for cookies because they stayed solid when baked. They did land on the sweet end of the spectrum, so you might prefer Ghirardelli Classic White Chips for moderated sweetness or Good & Gather White Baking Chips for a creamy option. Save white chocolate baking bars for recipes like white chocolate raspberry thumbprints which want a smooth melted layer.
How do you prevent white chocolate chip cookies from spreading too much?
The ground hazelnut mixture in this recipe helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much. Make sure you read our guide on why your cookies are flat, since there are a few other tricks to give cookies even more loft. And if you want rounder, chewier cookies, chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes after shaping, then bake the cookie balls while they’re still cold.
