White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew {Starbucks Copycat}

Who knew that white chocolate and macadamia nuts could come together to make the most delicious cold brew? This copycat recipe for the Starbucks White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew is packed with a light sweetness, a little nuttiness, and lots of bold coffee flavor.

Jump to:

• 🧋 What is a White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew?
• ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
• 🗒 Ingredients
• 🌰 How to make macadamia syrup
• 🍫 How to make white chocolate mocha sauce
• 🥛 How to make white chocolate macadamia cream cold foam
• 🥤 How to assemble cold brew
• 🧊 Do I need to use cold brew?
• ⚡️ How much caffeine is in this?
• 🎉 Variations on recipe
• 🥶 More Starbucks iced coffee recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

I'll admit that I was a little surprised when I first learned Starbucks' summer 2023 cold brew was going to be macadamia nut based. It didn't exactly sound like a typical summer twist. But after the huge success of their pistachio drinks, they must have decided to experiment with another popular nut.

And clearly, combining macadamia nut flavor with sweet white chocolate was a very smart decision on their part. This new cold brew has become a big hit and I've already heard people sad that it will only be available for a limited time.

Luckily, I've done some testing and have the best copycat recipe ready for you! This White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew tastes just like the Starbucks' version and is so easy to make at home.

🧋 What is a White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew?

Starbucks has been coming out with a slew of flavored cold brews with cold foam on them over the past couple years. I've made the Chocolate Cream Cold Brew, the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, the Pistachio Cream Cold Brew, the Cinnamon Caramel Cream Cold Brew, and the Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Cold Brew.

I also have the simple sweet cream cold foam recipe on my blog. This is the base recipe that's used for the sweet creams and foams and then flavors can be added with syrups and sauces.

According to the brand, this new white chocolate macadamia drink is "Starbucks signature cold brew sweetened with macadamia syrup, topped with a silky white-chocolate macadamia cream cold foam and finished with toasted cookie crumbles."

It's a slightly sweet and creamy bold iced coffee with a bit of a nutty flavor to it. I think it's absolutely delicious and a lot of Starbucks fans agree!

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

Of course, if you're already a fan of the macadamia cold brew from Starbucks, you will love that you can make this recipe at hom!

It has a few different components to it, but most can either be made or bought in advance, so you can whip a drink up quickly when you get a craving. And it tastes just like the Starbucks version!

Even if you think you're not a "nut person," I urge you to try this cold brew! Macadamia nuts are uniquely sweet and actually have some buttery, coconut undertones to them. They also go really well with white chocolate and this iced drink is nothing short of luxurious.

🗒 Ingredients

There are a few different components to this cold brew and you can either make them from scratch or buy them individually.

Some of my Starbucks copycat recipes seem a bit complicated, but it's really just because I'm trying to make them taste as close to the originals as I can. And I also like to give you lots of options for substitutions to make things easier for you.

Here's what you need (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):

• Cold Brew: You can either make your own or you can buy bottles of Starbucks cold brew (or the brand of your choice)
• Macadamia Nut Syrup: You can either make your own simple syrup using the recipe I provide or you can purchase a bottle of macadamia syrup.
• White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Foam: You'll have to make this from scratch, but you can either make the white chocolate mocha sauce with my recipe or you can purchase a bottle of white mocha sauce (the one linked is the one Starbucks uses).
• Sugar Cookie Crumbles: for topping. I simply crushed a sugar cookie.
• Ice

Here's everything you need for the homemade macadamia nut syrup:

• Water
• Granulated sugar
• Roughly chopped macadamia nuts: I use roasted and lightly salted macadamia nuts. You can substitute with macadamia nut extract if you prefer.

Or you can buy a bottle of macadamia syrup.

Here's what you need for the White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Foam:

• 2% milk
• Heavy cream
• Vanilla syrup (you can either use store-bought vanilla syrup or use this recipe for homemade. If you don't want to do either, you can simply use vanilla extract instead, but be sure to view the notes in the recipe card as you'll want to add some extra macadamia syrup, too)
• Macadamia syrup
• White chocolate mocha sauce (store-bought white mocha sauce or recipe provided)

And if you want to make your own white chocolate mocha sauce, here's what you need:

• White chocolate: roughly chopped
• Fat-free sweetened condensed milk: If you can't find fat free sweetened condensed milk, you can use full-fat.
• 2% milk: If you prefer, you can use the dairy/non-dairy alternative of your choice

🌰 How to make macadamia syrup

Making your own macadamia nut syrup is super easy, but buying a bottle of it works really well, too.

I recommend using toasted macadamia nuts as the flavor will be a bit more pronounced, but you can always toast them yourself if needed. I also recommend roughly chopping them. If you don't have nuts, use 2 teaspoon of macadamia extract instead.

Put water, sugar, and chopped macadamia nuts in a medium saucepan and bring mixture to a boil.

Once boiling, lower heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes, until sugar is completely dissolve and mixture has thickened a bit. Remove from heat. If using nuts, I recommend letting the syrup rest for about 30 minutes to let the macadamia nut flavor continue to steep into the syrup.

Strain the nuts from the syrup.

Keep mixture in bowl that you strain it into or transfer into a mason jar and place in fridge to cool completely. Syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.

🍫 How to make white chocolate mocha sauce

I've made this white mocha sauce soo many times (it's especially delicious in the Iced White Chocolate Mocha!) And it's a necessary component for this cold brew.

It's also very easy to make, but you can certainly buy a bottle of it if you prefer.

Put roughly chopped white chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. I like to use a high-quality chocolate bar over white chocolate chips.

In a small saucepan, combine sweetened condensed milk and 2% milk over medium-low heat until it's just coming to a simmer.

I like using the nonfat sweetened condensed milk and 2% milk together, but you can really use any condensed milk plus other dairy and your sauce should be fine.

Pour milk mixture over white chocolate and let sit for a minute.

Then, stir until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

Pour the sauce into a heat-proof jar or bowl and let cool. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

🥛 How to make white chocolate macadamia cream cold foam

Now you're ready to make the cold foam! You can prep this component in advance, but I recommend waiting to froth it into foam until right before you're ready to serve your drink.

Mix milk, cream, vanilla syrup, macadamia syrup, and white mocha sauce in a bowl until well combined. Alternatively, you can place all the ingredients in a mason jar and shake.

This is your macadamia cold cream and you can keep this in the fridge until you're ready to turn it into cold foam right before using.

To turn into foam, you can either use an electric frother, hand mixer, or blender. Alternatively, you can shake the mixture in a mason jar until it's frothy.

How awesome does the foam look??

🥤 How to assemble cold brew

Whew, you finally have all the components of the drink ready! Remember, you can purchase almost all of the components and just make the cold foam before you're ready to serve it.

Now all you have to do is pour cold brew into an ice-filled glass.

And stir in about 1 oz (2 Tbsp) of macadamia nut syrup.

Now add in about ⅓ cup of the macadamia cream cold foam.

And top off with some crushed sugar cookies.

And take that much anticipated first sip!! I love that Starbucks' cold brews aren't too sweet and they have just the right amount of flavor. But you can certainly add more macadamia syrup and/or more cold foam if you like your coffee sweeter and creamier.

For me, this is the perfect amount of sweetness. I can still taste that fabulously bold cold brew, but I get lots of delicious sweet white chocolate and nutty notes.

This has become such a popular Starbucks iced coffee drink and I'm so happy we can all make it at home before it's gone from Starbucks for good!

🧊 Do I need to use cold brew?

I get this question on my cold brew recipes a lot and the answer is no, it's not totally necessary for you to use cold brew for this iced drink. You could make a white chocolate macadamia cream iced coffee instead! Starbucks actually also has a nitro cold brew version of this drink.

I love the bold smoothness of cold brew, but you can use regular iced coffee if you prefer.

⚡️ How much caffeine is in this?

According to Starbucks, there's 185 milligrams of caffeine in a grande size of the White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew.

For reference, there's about 205 mg of caffeine in a grande cold brew with milk from Starbucks.

🎉 Variations on recipe

As I mentioned, I like the balance of cold brew with sweetness in this drink, but lots of Starbucks fans think it needs to be a little sweeter or simply want to add a little more fun to it. Here are some ideas of what you can do:

• Add white chocolate mocha sauce to the coffee: Instead of just adding the mocha sauce to the cold foam, you can add a tablespoon or two to the cold brew along with the macadamia syrup.

• Add more cold foam: If you like your coffee milkier, you can certainly add more cold foam.

• Add a splash of oat milk: Lots of people say adding a splash of oat milk can get rid of some of cold brew's bitterness.

• Line the cup with caramel sauce or add a drizzle of caramel sauce to the drink: Caramel complements the macadamia and white chocolate flavors so well!

🥶 More Starbucks iced coffee recipes

If you're a fan of Starbucks iced drinks and want to learn how to make more of them at home, check out some of my other copycat recipes!

I hope all my cold brew lovers enjoy this new Starbucks copycat recipe! It's the perfect choice for anyone who loves a slightly sweet bold iced coffee from their favorite coffee chain.

You can rest assure I'll continue keeping my eye on all the new drinks for you!

Are you a fan of cold brew?

📖 Recipe