Get ready to bake the best Hawaiian shortbread cookies you’ve ever tasted! These homemade treats are loaded with buttery goodness and crunchy macadamia nuts. Each cookie is dipped in chocolate to add that rich, creamy finish - and make decorating even easier!
Perfect for sharing with family and friends, these cookies bring a taste of the tropics right to your kitchen. Whether you're looking for a special dessert for a holiday cookie tray or just a sweet treat to enjoy with your afternoon tea, this melt-in-your-mouth shortbread recipe is going to hit the spot!
Table of Contents
- 🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
- 🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
- 📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
- 🔪 Step-by-step guide: instructions for success
- 🍴Must have tools: essential equipment
- 🥫 Leftover love: how to store Hawaiian shortbread cookies
- Marye's Tip o' the Day
- 💭 Insider tips: things to know
- 👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
- 🍪 Build Your Perfect Holiday Cookie Tray
- 🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose leftover Hawaiian short bread cookies
- 📞 Wrapping it up: the last word
- 📖 Recipe
- Recipe Title
- 💬 Comments
Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.
🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
- These delicious cookies are super simple to make, not too sugary, and have a perfectly sweet white chocolate coating.
- Macadamia shortbread cookies are great on a cookie tray and a tasty gift—swap the sprinkles to fit any occasion or event!
- My secret for rolling out shortbread dough makes it a breeze to create this sweet treat without it sticking to the rolling pin.
With mouth-watering, old-fashioned flavor, buttery macadamia nut shortbread cookies let the natural flavors of the simple ingredients shine.
We love these Christmas cookies so much that they make an appearance a few times a year—is anyone else ready for x-mas in July?!
🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
- Using different colored sprinkles is a great way to theme these cookies for other events. Think red, white, and blue sprinkles for 4th of July cookies or school/team colors for spirit days!
- If you prefer a different flavor, you can swap the white chocolate for milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips.
- Some Hawaiian shortbread cookie recipes include a few drops of passion fruit extract.
- You can also make these into coconut shortbread cookies by using sweetened coconut flakes in place of the sprinkles.
🔪 Step-by-step guide: instructions for success
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page. Click on the image to see it full size.
Cream butter and sugar together. Add flour and macadamia nuts.
Roll the cookie dough between two sheets of parchment paper until even and flat.
Cut dough with a sharp knife and bake cookies on a cookie sheet until golden.
Dip baked cookies into the melted chocolate and oil. Add sprinkles.
🤫 Marye's secret for zhuzhing it up -
For the best shortbread cookies, don't overwork the dough or let the butter melt—otherwise, they'll be tough and odd-looking. Handle the dough gently, and don't skip refrigeration. It's key!
zhuzh: verb. To make something more interesting or attractive
🍴Must have tools: essential equipment
- stand mixer or handheld electric mixer with paddle(s)
- rolling pin
- sharp knife
- sheet pan or baking sheet
- parchment paper
🥫 Leftover love: how to store Hawaiian shortbread cookies
Cookies don't last long in my house, no matter the kind! However, if you've got leftovers, they're easy to store.
Once the chocolate is cooled and set, place leftover Christmas Hawaiian shortbread cookies in an airtight container. Keep 'em at room temperature, and they'll stay tasty for about a week.
You can also freeze shortbread cookies—baked or unbaked—for about three months. I won't bother you with all the details here if you already know how, so check out this post I wrote with instructions to freeze cookies and cookie dough.
Marye's Tip o' the Day
Using two pieces of parchment paper—one on top and one under the dough—prevents it from sticking to the rolling pin. You may have to lift up the papers and reposition them a few times as you spread out and flatten the dough.
💭 Insider tips: things to know
- If your cookie dough feels mushy or oily, it's getting too warm. Stop what you're doing a pop it in the freezer for a few minutes until it firms up again.
- A food processor is the easiest and cleanest way to chop nuts. Just don't pulse it too much, or you'll have nut butter!
- Out of powdered sugar? DIY it by pulsing regular granulated sugar in a blender or processor with a spoonful of cornstarch.
- If you don't want to use a knife (or don't trust your line-making skills), you can use a square cookie cutter.
- After adding the chocolate dip, I like to lay the cookies on parchment paper to set. Putting them on a cooling rack creates lines in the chocolate on the underside of each cookie.
👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!
Shortbread cookies have a lot of butter, and that butter needs to stay solid until baking. If the dough gets too warm, the butter will literally melt out of the dough before it even gets to the oven, causing tougher, less flavorful cookies.
Sugar cookies have eggs or egg yolks in them, as well as leavening agents (baking powder or soda). They generally have more flour and sugar than butter, so the result is chewier and lighter than shortbread.
On the other hand, shortbread cookies have more butter and less flour and tend to taste crisp and crumbly. The butter flavor really shines through since they're made with only a few ingredients.
Shortbread has a mild, sweet, buttery flavor that tastes like pure heaven. The macadamia nuts add a lovely richness.
They have a combination somewhere between a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a crunchy texture. "Short" means that there is a higher ratio of butter (or fat) to flour, so the cookies are tender but crumbly—not chewy like other cookies.
They're actually quite popular in Hawaiian culture and this type of cookie was made famous by the Honolulu cookie company. They shape theirs into cute pineapples, but I like squares—they're easier and taste just the same!
🍪 Build Your Perfect Holiday Cookie Tray
Make 5 kinds of cookies with just one easy dough! Add a ton of variety to your cookie trays almost effortlessly with this recipe.
Chewy and crispy molasses crinkle cookies are always perfect during the holidays. These are easy to decorate, too.
Holiday cookies with a yummy surprise inside! These peanut butter Rolo cookies are pretty and every bite is full of peanut butter, caramel, and chocolate flavors.
Hershey's peanut butter blossom cookies are a Christmas classic - everyone loves them!
Cherry filled bon bon cookies have a fudgy topping that bakes right on!
Vanilla Christmas brownies are cut in the shape of Christmas trees and decorated for the prettiest addition to your cookie trays, ever.
🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose leftover Hawaiian short bread cookies
Shortbread cookies are very similar to vanilla wafers, which make the base of one of my favorite Southern treats: Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding. Crumble up your leftover Hawaiian shortbread cookies and give them a new, tasty life.
You can also use shortbread cookies to make other fun desserts, like ice cream sandwiches, or as an ice cream sundae topping!
If you have leftover cookie dough, try this fun idea. Flip a muffin tin upside down and spray it (the old "bottom") with grease. Form pieces of cookie dough around the wells of the tin. Bake until golden brown, cool, and remove, and you have edible treat bowls!
📞 Wrapping it up: the last word
If you're like me you're already thinking about holiday cookies. Maybe you're even testing out new recipes to include this year - I know I am.
These Christmas Hawaiian shortbread cookies are SO crumbly, buttery good that I can't encourage you to try them hard enough. Plus, since they are relatively plain you can decorate them anyway you want - fancy royal icing decorations or just pretty sprinkles.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Holiday Hawaiian Shortbread Cookies
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
White chocolate glaze
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature.
- Fit the paddle attachment to your mixer.
- Cream butter and sugar together on medium speed until the mixture is very creamy and light. This takes about 2 - 3 minutes.
- Scrape sides of bowl as needed so that all the butter is creamed with the sugar.
- Reduce speed to low and add flour and chopped macadamia nuts, mixing until a soft dough forms. The dough will be sticky and soft.
- Spoon the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out into a large rectangle that is ¼ inch thick.
- Use your hands to even up the sides of the rectangle.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours. The dough is ready when the dough feels firm to the touch and you can peel off the top layer of parchment paper without anything sticking to it.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut dough into 2x2-inch squares. Make sure it stays cold. If it begins to get sticky pop it in the freezer for a few minutes.
- Use a thin spatula to lift the cookie dough off the parchment paper and place onto your prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart.
- Re-roll remaining dough and cut into squares.
- Work quickly so the dough doesn't get soft. If it does start to soften pop it back in the freezer for a few minutes.
- Bake cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, until they turn a light golden brown.
- Let cool.
White chocolate glaze
- Melt the white chocolate with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in the microwave, stirring every 15 seconds until melted.
- Dip the cooled cookie diagonally into the white chocolate so that you have a triangle of white chocolate and a triangle of plain cookie.
- Decorate with holiday sprinkles.
Notes
- If your cookie dough feels mushy or oily, it's getting too warm. Stop what you're doing a pop it in the freezer for a few minutes until it firms up again.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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Sherlyn Fischer says
I love ALL kinds of cookies, but shortbread may be at the top of my list - can't wait to make these - I won't wait until Christmas!
APRIL O'GRADY-LEAT says
Thank you so much for sharing! I have made several of your recipes, and my family and I really enjoyed them! Keep sending them! Thank you!
mary says
Have never worked with coconut oil before but this in incentive to try. I can't wait to crumble a few to top off my yogurt cups. I love shortbread and anytime I can shush something up, I'll do it!
Jane L Huber says
Mayre, even though it's supposed to be 100° plus degrees tomorrow, I'm planning on baking these cookies. These remind me of a cookie my Mom used to make, Icebox Cookies with Walnuts! Yum!!!
Leslie Stevenson says
The idea of using shortbread in banana pudding is genius. Especially if macadamia nuts are involved.
Jackie says
These are amazing and well worth the effort
Shasha says
All I got to say is that I am running to the store to get vegan butter to have my daughter make these for me..Those cookies looks so scrumptious😋
Marye says
Shasha- I think they'd work fine with gluten-free flour, too... so she could have them as well...
Carol says
These sound so good, I we love shortbread cookies and I never thought to dip in chocolate and add holiday sprinkles. As soon as we are out of our heat wave I need to try these. Would love to add them to my Christmas cookie plate this year.
Vivian Morgan says
Looks delicious, can’t wait to try it. Thanks for the extra tips for perfect cookies.
Teresa Stopher says
Love love love shortbread and macadamia nuts are my hubby’s favorite! Wondering if cookie cutters in other shapes would work in addition to the square? Love the fact that they can be customized to fit any occasion! My mind is already wandering!!! Making these next week for a special event where I volunteer! They will love them!
Judi Schafman says
I love shortbread cookies and these sound delish - can't wait to try them. I love macadamia nuts so these are bound to become a regular part of my cookie trays.
Jack says
This is a great place to start. As usual, when I cook I feel a need to substitute and this would be great with other nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds). I'll have to try them all.
Maureen Foster says
I saw this recipe on your email this morning and since a fan of shortbread and macadamia nuts I just had to make these. They turned out buttery and the flavor from the nuts is heaven. Love the recipe and I guess I have a new cookie to add to my Christmas cookie list.
Thanks for a flavorful recipe.
Evie says
I've always loved shortbread cookies and these sound delicious.
Sue Turcsany says
This is the best of both worlds--shortbread together with macadamia nuts! Definitely going to bake this one but they won't make it until the holidays.
Paula says
Mary these are the BEST. I have some cooling right now and am sharing with my friend who has 4th of July company coming into town today. They have that homemade look and flavor.
Stephanie says
I would love to make these, but do not like macadamia nuts, what would be a good substitute for them?
Marye says
Pecans, walnuts, or even cashews would be delish!
Sharon Oberritter says
Beautiful dressed up with sprinkles.