These healthier paleo strawberry macadamia nut cookies had to be made one last time for Labor Day Weekend before I break out the pumpkin! This fresh, lightly sweet flavor combo in a soft, buttery paleo cookie is so delicious that it might just have to stay year-round…

Strawberry Macadamia Nut Cookies

White chocolate is great, but have you tried strawberries?!

I will confess that I am not a white chocolate lover to begin with, so I’m constantly finding myself getting frustrated when every single recipe for macadamia nut cookies seems to call for white chocolate. In my opinion, macadamia nuts don’t even need the extra help!

Macadamia nuts are naturally slightly sweet & buttery as far as nuts are concerned so it’s always seemed redundant to me to bury their natural subtle flavors with the artificial sweet & buttery flavor that white chocolate brings to the table. For some reason, every time I grab a handful of macadamia nuts I also love having berries on hand to go with it. There’s something about the balanced sweetness of a strawberry or blueberry that seems to pair with macadamia nuts perfectly!

A Healthier Paleo Cookie Recipe

It’s no secret that healthier paleo-based desserts can be hard to execute. Almond flour, coconut oil, and natural sweeteners aren’t the easiest ingredients to work with, but if they’re used correctly they can come together to make delicious sweet treats that soar above traditional highly-refined baking staples. Not only do these natural ingredients already have a beautiful, inherently complex flavor profile but they will also leave you feeling so much healthier and energized!

With that said, I’ve personally found that cookies are the easiest paleo dessert recipe to make. Cakes, muffins, and breads can be very difficult to truly replicate without gluten to help them rise and keep their fluffy texture. Cookies, however, are much more forgiving due to their dense, buttery nature that lends itself well to heavier nut-based flour alternatives.

This healthier paleo cookie recipe is no exception! The hardest part is evenly distributing the vibrant strawberry preserve ribbon throughout each cookie. Easy, right?!

Not only are these paleo strawberry macadamia nut cookies made with healthier natural ingredients, but they are also very low in sugar. Even natural, unrefined sugar from honey or maple syrup can lead to crazy blood sugar spikes and crashes. Using a blend of monk fruit and allulose in this healthier paleo cookie recipe is one of my favorite ingredient swaps to keep the proportion of healthy fats to sugar high for the most balanced, satisfying cookie possible!

Why Green Banana Flour?

My deepest, sincerest apologies if this crazy ingredient caught you off guard! You’ll be very pleased to know that green banana flour doesn’t taste like bananas at all and packs some huge health benefits.

Green banana flour is a very fine flour in terms of texture, which works really well in recipes that require something a little more delicate than other paleo-approved flours like almond or coconut flour. Because it “lightens up” almond flour I love pairing the 2 together if I want to create a super soft, cake-like cookie.

Green banana flour is also one of the richest food sources of resistant starch. Resistant starch is a very important type of carbohydrate that acts a lot like dietary fiber does to feed the beneficial bacteria that make up the human gut microbiome. Without consuming fiber and resistant starch regularly, it’s very easy to develop a microbial dysbiosis, which as you can imagine based on how it sounds, is very unpleasant to say the least. Not to be too personal with you all, but I was able to heal most of my digestive issues and ulcerative colitis symptoms by adding in foods high in resistant starch alone!

Not only is green banana flour good for you, your gut health, and blood sugar control, but its also delicious!

What You’ll Need

How to Make Paleo Strawberry Macadamia Nut Cookies

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper and set aside.

Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse 3-5 times, just enough to slightly mix. Add in the rest of the ingredients, besides the strawberry preserves and macadamia nuts, and pulse on high for about 45 seconds until a thick cookie dough forms.

Step 3: Transfer the cookie dough mixture into a large mixing bowl. Fold in the chopped macadamia nuts.

Step 4: Fold in the strawberry preserves until there is an evenly-distributed strawberry ribbon throughout the cookie dough.

Step 5: Scoop out about 2-tbsp sized balls of cookie dough, carefully rolling each one between the palms of your hands. Place each cookie dough ball on the prepared cookie sheet. Lightly press each one into a cookie-like shape since this dough doesn’t spread very much in the oven!

Step 6: Bake, let them cool for at least 5 minutes, and enjoy!

More of My Favorite Paleo Cookies