Thursday, April 11, 2013

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies


I feel like I have been competing in some sort of gauntlet all week. Everything has been non-stop in the best way possible. Yesterday I got home after ten hours in the bakeshop, which somehow was already almost one hundred degrees even though it's barely April. I laid down on the couch and passed out for 30 minutes. I think it has been the most restful sleep I have gotten in weeks. There were no dreams, no worrying about how soon I have to wake up. It was perfect. Lately I have been experiencing the most bizarre nightmares about burning pies and running out of chocolate and all sort of kitchen mishaps.

leaves and flours vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Makes 8 large cookies

1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 Ener-g or flax egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped roughly
1/2 white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make your egg replacement and allow to set for a few minutes. Cream the Earth Balance and sugars. Add the egg replacer and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy. Add flour, baking soda, and salt and beat until a thick dough forms. Fold in nuts and chips until dispersed fairly equally. Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, portion dough onto baking sheet with a fair amount of room to spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges of the cookies are golden and firm.
This is a chunky cookie with a lot of add-ins and a little less dough holding them together. If you prefer less rustic-looking cookies, than simply reduce the nuts and chocolate chips to 1/4 cup each (they will more closely resemble the cookie in the top photograph.

leaves and flours vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies leaves and flours vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies leaves and flours vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Does anyone have tips for calm sleep? I have tried various things over the years, like melatonin and valerian, and chamomile. None of those seem to overpower my chronic worry-wort status. I can try to count sheep or chant a mantra, but after a few minutes I always end up diverting back to thinking about things I need to do and bills I need to pay. Going to the gym everyday doesn't seem to help either. Especially if I got past 5pm, then I am just wired and can't sleep at all. Something so vital to my health shouldn't evade me so easily.

4 comments:

  1. And yet, despite all the trials and tribulations you've gone through, you still manage to pull off amazing desserts like these cookies. That takes real strength!

    For sleep, I have just the thing. I too have trouble calming an endlessly spinning mind at night, and have found that MidNite (dissolving tablets) are genuinely helpful. They're very benign and have a blend of melatonin and other things. I highly recommend trying it, even if you haven't had great results with plain melatonin before.

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  2. I haven't had one if these in so long!! And it's such a shame because they're one if my favorite cookies too. Thank you for sharing the veganized recipe!

    vegcourtesy.blogspot.com

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  3. i worry through my sleep, too! i am never sure of what makes the difference between actual restful sleep and all my zombie-laden, marshmallow apocalypse dreams. i have so much trouble actually falling asleep but lately i have been doing a routine where you re-trace your day as you are lying in bed. like literally just think about every moment that happened since you woke up. for some reason it has been working and i am always asleep before the end of the day is over. . . it's a huge change + improvement for me. now if i could just learn to *stay* asleep. . .

    anyway, these might be my favorite photos of yours yet! your blog is so beautiful to scroll through <3

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  4. Please let me know if you find a sleep solution. I need it, too. :(

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