Nuts for Macadamia Shortbread (Cookies for Lahaina)
It sucks to feel helpless which is exactly how I felt while watching the coverage of the wildfires in Maui. In a twisted way it brought back memories of a family trip to Maui right before COVID, to celebrate hubby’s birthday and retirement. We spent his b-day in Lahaina. We grabbed shaved ice at Ululani, strolled down Front Street, and took in the majesty and beauty of the ancient Banyan Tree in the heart of town. The day ended with a scrumptious dinner at Lahaina Grill and a stroll on the beach. The stark reality of the devastation in Lahaina jolted me out of my memories and morphed into a voice in my head, “how are you going to help, Deb”.
Today, in the midst of the ruins, that Banyan Tree is struggling to survive. Arborists are hopeful that the tree will survive, emblematic of the resiliency of the people of Maui.
I resorted to what I do when I am sad or stressed and feeling helpless, I bake. For a box of homemade goodies, I asked friends and family to donate any amount to either Chef Hui Maui Relief to help feed folks displaced by the fire, and to Hawaii Community Foundation/Maui Strong to provide immediate and long-term resources for recovery.
A Big Mahalo
We raised over 1,500 dollars which was split between the two organizations ❤️❤️❤️. Thank you for your generosity and for giving me a reason to bake! 👏👏👏. It is greatly appreciated.
The Box
I wanted the box of cookies to feel connected to Maui in some small way. I turned to cookbooks and blogs written by folks from Hawaii like Top Chef Sheldon Simeon and Alana Kysar. Sheldon has two restaurants on Maui, Tin Roof and Tiffany’s, and recently published his cookbook, Cook Real Hawai’i. Alana is a blogger and the author of Aloha Kitchen Cookbook. Her cookbook evokes the spirit of islands and her Butter Mochi recipe is amazing. Find these books at Bookshop.org which supports independent bookstores. I also culled recipes using my favorite tropical ingredients like pineapple, macadamia nuts, and coconut. All of these baked goodies are on 3Jamigos or will be soon, promise.
Starting at the top right:
- Butter Mochi Muffins with Sesame Seeds – 3Jamigos
- Hawaiian Kitchen Sink Cookies – Wild Wild Whisk
- Chewy Sesame Cookies – Jesse Szewczyk (notes & recipe on 3jamigos)
- Marbled Ube Cookies – Constellation Inspiration with notes on 3Jamigos
- Blueberry Hand Pie – King Arthur Baking (notes on 3Jamigos)
- Crostata with Homemade Strawberry-Peach Jam 3Jamigos
- Macadamia Nut Shortbread – Nick Malgeri (Featured in this post!)
- To the side of the box, Julie’s Granola with pineapple, mango and papaya – 3Jamigos
Travel Bites
Shortbread is perfect for a box, they travel well, keep longer than drop cookies and just happen to be my favorite cookie. I found the perfect recipe in Nick Malgeri’s Modern Baker. Using your food processor to make these cookies really makes it quick and easy. This is one bowl (albeit, a food processor bowl) territory.
Process the nuts with the sugar until FINELY ground, add flour and baking powder, pulse to combine, add cold butter, and pulse until the dough is powdery then STOP. Pour this mass into your prepared pan and press it down with a lightly floured flat glass or your hand. Use a spray bottle to mist the dough with water which will help the nuts adhere to the dough.
Use either lightly salted or unsalted macadamia nuts. I bought macadamias at Trader Joe’s, a bag of each, salted and unsalted. I used a 2:1 ratio of salted to unsalted nuts both in the cookie and on the top. Cut the recipe in half and bake in an 8×8 pan as I did…cause I would eat the whole damn pan if given the chance.
Grind nuts by pulsing in a food processor or chopping by hand. You want the pieces fairly small, but not pulverized. The nuts provide both flavor and texture. Line the pan with parchment. The OG recipe calls for lifting the cookies out of the pan using the parchment but that’s pretty hard to do and not crack it. I let them cool for a couple of minutes and then used a bench scraper to cut the still-warm shortbread into squares before removing them from the pan. Easy-peasy.
The finished cookie should be crispy. If they aren’t, return the shortbread to the oven set at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes. I love these cookies, sweet, crispy, infused with macadamia nut flavor, and just delightful.
MACADAMIA SHORTBREAD
Equipment
- 1 food processor
- 1 9x13 pan
- parchment paper to line pan
Ingredients
Shortbread Base
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100gm
- 1-1/2 ounces unsalted or lightly salted macadamia nuts, chopped 42gm
- 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 270gm
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces 170gm
Topping
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar 67gm
- 3/4 cup unsalted or lightly salted macadamia nuts, finely chopped 111gm
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 9″x 13″x 2″ baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving a couple of inches hanging over each short side. Butter the lining.
- Combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1 & 1/2 ounces macadamias, (I use both salted and unsalted nuts in a 2:1 ratio) in a food processor. Pulse until finely ground. Add the flour and baking powder. Pulse until mixed. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is combined and powdery.
- Using a lightly floured, flat bottom glass or hands, press the dough firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top of the dough with water. Sprinkle the finely chopped macadamias and then 1/3 cup sugar on top of the dough. Press firmly into the dough.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cookies are golden and firm.
- While the cookies are still warm, use the overhanging lining to remove the cookies from the pan onto a cutting board. Cut into squares, using a sharp knife.
- Let the cookies cool completely. They should become crisp as they cool. If they aren’t crisp after cooling, place them back in the pan and bake for 10-15 minutes at 300°F.
