Tropical Mango Oatmeal Cookies are the chewiest oatmeal cookies of paradise. They’re made with sweet mango, creamy macadamia nuts and a hint of tang from the lime zest. These cookies are surprisingly quick to make, and even quicker to disappear.
Due to all the cold and wet weather we’ve been having, I’d like to call an emergency meeting to discuss Tropical Mango Oatmeal Cookies. Because when I’m stuck inside, watching the grey sky and hail falling from above, all I can think of is the warm sun, the salty smell of the ocean, and rainbows peeking over the horizon after the rain. And since I can’t just spontaneously book a ticket and head to paradise, I’ll have to bring the tropics home with these deliciously chewy oatmeal cookies.
These Tropical Mango Oatmeal Cookies are definitely not your typical oatmeal cookies. But once you taste it, you’ll wonder why you haven’t discovered them sooner. The sweet mango is balanced out with a hint of tang and brightness from the lime zest. The chewy texture of the cookies is contrasted by the crunch of the macadamia nuts. They’re sweet, tangy, chewy, crunchy and creamy all at the same time and so unlike any other.
Tips on making Tropical Mango Oatmeal Cookies
I recommend unsweetened dried mango for this recipe. I’ve found them at Target, Simply Balance brand, that’s the one I used. Try not to use sweetened dried mango, because they will be overly sweet, and I find them tasting a bit unnatural sometimes. You can use the dried mango as is without soaking it to soften; this will yield chewier cookies. Or you can soak the dried mango in warm water to soften them up; this will yield softer cookies. Make sure to pat the mango dry, and squeeze out as much water as you can with a paper towel without mushing them.
As for the macadamia nut, be sure to buy roasted unsalted nuts. If you can’t find unsalted nuts, get raw macadamia nuts, and roast them yourself in a skillet over medium heat at home for a few minutes. You can also use straight raw macadamia nuts, but roasting the nuts until toasty and fragrant will impart more flavor into your final cookies.
In general, this cookie dough can be baked right away without needing to be refrigerated for a long time. If you make your cookie dough with softened mango, I would recommend refrigerating it a little bit longer than if you make it with dried mango only. Soften mango adds a little bit of extra liquid to the dough and cause the cookies to spread more compared to straight dried mango.
These Tropical Mango Oatmeal Cookies are great cookies all year round because you don’t have to wait for mango season to make them. Plus they bring loads of sunshine on a winter day with their tropical flavor. I guarantee they will brighten up your day no matter what the weather looks like outside. Trust me, you’re going to be so happy about this!
More Delicious Cookies You’ll Love
- Chewy Oatmeal Fig Cookies
- Pistachio Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it and don’t forget to tag me @wildwildwhisk on Instagram. I’d love to see what’s cooking up in your kitchen. Cheers!
📖 Recipe card
Tropical Mango Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup water (optional)
- 1 cup unsweetened dried mango (3 ½ oz)
- 1 cup chopped macadamia nut (roasted unsalted)
- 1 ¼ cup rolled oats
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 6 oz unsalted butter (soften)
- 1 ½ cup light brown sugar
- Zest of 1 lime
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare the mango
- Cut up the unsweetened dried mango with scissors into ½” pieces. The dried mango can be used as is or softened up by soaking in warm water.
- To soak the mango, microwave 1 ½ cup of water in a heat proof bowl for 2 minutes to warm. Add the mango pieces and let soak for 5 minutes to soften but not mushy. Strain the mango and pat dry with a paper towel.
Prepare the cookie dough
- Roughly chop the macadamia nuts and add to a medium mixing bowl along with the rolled oats, and dried or softened mango. Stir together and set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and allspice until evenly distributed. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer, add softened butter, brown sugar and lime zest, beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract, and continue beating until thoroughly combined, another 1 - 2 minutes.
- Lower the mixer speed to stir and slowly add the flour mixture, mix until just combined. Add the oat mixture and stir until evenly distributed. Give the mixture a final stir with a spatula, scraping the side and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
- Use a large ice cream scoop to divide the batter. Refrigerate the cookie dough and preheat the oven in the mean time.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake for 15-16 minutes, rotate the baking sheet at the 10 minutes mark.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 - 10 minutes, then remove them to cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
- Use unsweetened dried mango only.
- If using raw macadamia nuts, roast them in a skillet over medium heat for a few minutes until toasty and fragrant.
- Cookie dough using softened mango will need to be refrigerated a little longer, 30 mins to an hour, compared to one that uses dried mango only so they don’t spread too much.
Nutrition
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Just made these today. I dipped the cookies in coconut which toasted nicely on the cookies. Very tasty. I also used a smaller cookie scoop (about 1/2 the size of an ice cream scoop) and the recipe yielded 36 cookies.
Love this recipe! Every time I make them the cookies are gone by the end of the event. They have the perfect texture and chew with the mango, oatmeal and macadamia nuts. Yummy!
I can’t wait to make these! Can I omit the macadamia nuts completely? Do I need to replace them with anything? Thank you!
You can omit mac nuts if you want or you can replace with your favorite kind of nuts.
Absolutely delicious!
I made a double batch. Used 1/2 roasted and salted macadamia nuts and 1/2 raw and unsalted almonds because that is what I had on hand.. I omitted adding the salt. They came out moist, chewy and delicious! Fantastic recipe! Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe Diane! Glad to hear you enjoyed them 🙂
I baked these and took them to the field where ther were harvesting corn. Such a big hit. I made them in my Cuisinart, so easy and delicious. Ingredients went in the bowl a step at a time
Happy to hear Doris! Thanks for trying the recipe 🙂
Do you think I can make these with melted butter? I’m thinking if so, I can skip using the mixer and stir all the ingredients by hand. I’ve made a similar mulberry cookie recipe with melted butter and the cookies came out great. Thanks for any advice!
You can but usually you would want to cream the butter and the sugar for volume. You can definitely cream the butter and sugar by hand using a whisk, let the butter soften a bit longer so it is easier to cream but you don’t need to melt it. I would beat it with a whisk for at least 2 minutes until you can see that it is fluffy, just a little more labor intensive but not impossible. Either way should work just fine. Let me know how it turns out.
Can you make this with frozen mangos? Maybe let them thaw first ? Would you suggest baking them in the oven for a bit to dry them out?
I’ve never tried fresh or frozen mangos on this but I know for sure frozen mangos will have too much liquid. All frozen fruits when thawed, baked, cooked, will release a lot more liquid than their fresh version. I really don’t recommend it. If you thaw it first and squeeze out as much of the water as you can, maybe it could work but then you might waste all the mango flavor…
These turned out so rich and flavorful and had the perfect chewy texture! I added white chocolate chips for a little extra sweetness. Thank you for this recipe – I’ll definitely be making these again!
Wonderful, Melissa! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed these 🙂
Truly creative. I’ve never seen mango in a cookie before but I love the flavour combo here.
roasted unsalted macadamia nuts…never would of thought to add it to oatmeal cookies…nice touch