Dark Chocolate and Toasted Macadamia Nut Cookies – father’s daughter

by Michelle

I met my daughter Sara when she two and a half years old. Ralph used to bring her to the aerobics class that I taught. She would happily sit with her blanket sucking her thumb, while Ralph took the class. As long as she was with her dad, she was happy.

I have had the joy of watching that little girl share all the challenges and successes of her life to date with her dad. As we celebrated Father’s Day this past weekend, I was once again reminded that the more things change the more things stay the same.

Our family has traveled a long way from where we began. Our day-to-day lives interact more in cyberspace than in face time. Graduations, leaving home, first apartments, new jobs, boyfriends, becoming adult – these milestones have changed my family and our relationships with each other.

One thing that will never change is Sara’s love for her father. It is endlessly wide open. As we celebrated Father’s Day, I watched a little girl still completely content to simply be in the company of her dad.

One of the treats that Sara and I made for Ralph over the weekend were these cookies. We served them with homemade vanilla ice cream. There wasn’t a crumb left!

Dark Chocolate and Toasted Macadamia Nut Cookies

makes 24

preheat oven 375*F

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped and toasted

1 1/4 cups dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

In a medium bowl beat butter with sugars until well blended

Add egg and vanilla extract

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and mix into butter mixture

Fold in nuts and chocolate

Line baking sheet with parchment

Drop by tablespoons – you should get between 20 and 24 cookies

Bake for 10 – 12 minutes

Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack

Serve warm

Thanks for reading.