While these white chocolate and coconut cookies are to die for on their own, turn them into ice cream sandwiches and you’ll be the hero of the summer gathering.
Brown the butter. Place butter in small saucepan. Place on stove set to medium heat. Swirl pan occasionally to make sure butter is cooking evenly. As the butter melts, it will begin to foam, then subside. Watch for browned specks forming at the bottom of pan. The color will progress to a toasty brown and you will smell a nutty aroma. Remove pan from heat and let butter cool to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line three baking pans (13 x 18 inch) with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, add oats, flour, coconut, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
Once butter has come to room temperature, pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add sugars. Turn to medium-high speed and mix until smooth and sugar granules have dissolved, about 3 minutes.
Turn mixer to low and add extract. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl.
Turn mixer to low and slowly stream in the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Remove bowl from stand mixer and fold in crushed macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips.
Scoop cookie dough into 2 tablespoon-sized balls. Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart (about 10 per pan). Use your palm to gently press cookies to flatten and shape them a bit.
Bake cookies for 14–16 minutes, or until the edges have slightly browned, rotating the pans halfway through the baking process. Let cookies cool on the pans for 2–3 minutes then transfer to a baking rack. Let cool completely before assembling the sandwiches.
Assemble
Once the cookies have cooled, pair together cookies that are similar in size.
Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to fill one cookie with softened ice cream (at least 1 inch thick). Place the other cookie on top of the ice cream. Set sandwich on a baking pan lined with wax paper and immediately place into the freezer to prevent melting. Let sandwiches set for a minimum of 1 hour before serving.