This may be the fastest back-to-back baking I’ve ever done! This time I made another chocolate-dipped cookie, but only because I needed one with macadamia nuts.

Kristina helped out with this one because we have a co-worker, Randi, who is moving to Hawaii, so this batch is a going away present! Too bad it doesn’t also have pineapple.

This recipe called for toasted macadamia nuts. Do they even sell those? I got regular (raw) ones and asked the Internets how to toast them.

Pretty simple. Just a few minutes at 325 degrees.

Look. At. That. I did it!

Step 1: Grind the macadamia nuts.
 

Thank Xenu I have this food processor now. Speaking of Xenu, did you all see that TomKat broke up? Maybe she finally came to her senses? Anyway, this isn’t about them, so back to me Randi.

Step 2: Gather ingredients: Butter, ground macadamia nuts, flour, egg yolk, powdered sugar, course salt, lemon zest, lemon juice, bittersweet chocolate.
 

Step 3: Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
 

The mixer had trouble picking this back up from the walls of the bowl. I think the powdered sugar was to blame.

Step 4: Add egg yolk, lemon zest and juice, and salt.
 

Step 5: Beat in nuts.
 

Step 6: Add flour and beat just until combined.
 

Step 7: Roll into a 4 1/2-inch log.
 

Aw, hell no! I hate logs! I should have made Kristina do this step. It was horrible. Just look at that board.

A log that short would have made giant cookies and I wanted more than the recipe said, so I rolled it out longer.

I remember a trick I learned from Martha a long time ago to wrap the log in an empty paper towel roll. It helps keep the log’s shape.

Step 8: Freeze for 30 minutes.
 

Don’t judge me on my freezer. That’s mostly fruit with a little ice cream.

Step 9: Cut log into 1/4-inch slices. Bake for 14 minutes.
 

Is that a banana? Oh, no, it’s the dough.

Again, I hate cutting dough logs. It was all misshapen and I was getting angry. I made Kristina reshape them into (almost) circles.

Step 10: Microwave chocolate in 30-second increments until melted.
 

Microwave? Really? Just like 2 days ago you had me melt chocolate over a pot of simmering water. What is this?

Step 11: Cool cookies completely, dip half in chocolate.

Kristina is wearing her softball jersey because we made these immediately after the game (the team lost). She was so angry that she squeezed some of the cookies until they crumbled! It’s a rec league, Kristina, get over it!

Some of them look good. You may be wondering, what is with that one in the middle? She clearly can’t be trusted.

Oh, special shout out to Breanna for bartending. She wouldn’t allow me to take a picture of her.

Link to original recipe

Yields: 17
I got: 28

Start time: 9:50
End time: 12:05 (2 hours, 15 mins)
Martha’s estimated time: 2 hours

What did I learn?

• Shallow dishes aren’t good for dipping cookies.
• Toasting nuts is pretty easy!

What do I need to learn?

• Why were these cookies so crumbly? They broke apart if you pressed on them too hard or slid them on the bottom of the dish when dipping.

For the record, I don’t play softball. I wave the flag (they’re the Pirates) and heckle the players.

Aloha/aaarrrrggggghhhh, Randi! Good luck in Hawaii!