White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies {Gluten-Free, Vegan}

I made these cookies last week for one of my best friends. She found out a few weeks ago that she needs to start a vegan diet for health reasons. Despite being an avid meat lover, she is also a sweet junkie. Like seriously, she can't complete a meal without sweets. She can probably live without the meat but she will definitely not be able to live without her desserts. And that's where these cookies come in.

I figured the least I could do to support her is learn how to make healthier desserts to show her that all isn't lost. These cookies are vegan and gluten-free. I got the recipe from a new friend's blog!!

Her name is Iris and she is the wonderful creator and writer of The Daily Dietribe. She happens to be the sister of one of my college mates and I stumbled onto her blog on Facebook! She shares her gluten-free lifestyle over on her blog with lots of easy yummy recipes. If you are starting out or thinking about starting a gluten-free diet, please check out her blog. She has lots of resources there to help with the journey and she has two books as well; The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide Part 1 & 2.

Ok, back to the cookies. My favorite cookie is a white chocolate macadamia cookie. I have it most times at our weekly seminar series. Always makes the boring science talks enjoyable :). These homemade version were a million times better.  I used this basic gluten-free recipe from The Daily Dietribe that is customizable...isn't that cool?  They were so deliciously soft and moist. It was very hard to keep my husband away from them for a few days before I could take my pictures and put them in the mail.

I was very happy with how easy and good they were. I hope my friend loves them when she receives her package tomorrow!!

Here is the recipe:

White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-free)
Yield: About 12-16 cookies

Source: Adapted from The Daily Dietribe

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups gluten-free flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons applesauce
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350^oF.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add the oil and applesauce and mix to combine with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla extract.  Mix until completely combined, about 1 minute.
4. Fold in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
5. Roll the dough into balls (size of your choice; I like cookies on the bigger side) and flatten slightly. Place on prepared cookie sheets.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
7. Cool on cookie sheet for a 2-3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
8. Allow cookies to completely cool (or not!) before indulging. 

Now go make some cookies!!