White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies

White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies-1-22With the amount of sweets that I have posted on this blog, you would think I’m an enthusiastic baking queen. I have news for all of you – I actually don’t like baking. Ha! Cooking relaxes me, but baking frustrates me:). Well, this is one of my favorite kinds of desserts to make – you mix the batter by hand, dump it into the baking dish and it bakes while you move on to more important things. The results are phenomenal. These bars are tender and slightly chewy and not too sweet either, which is important to me. 
I got the recipe for these blondies from Cook’s Illustrated, and adjusted it to my liking. The combination of white chocolate, macadamia nuts and dried cranberries is a must. You can add other things to it, such as regular chocolate chips, use different nuts or raisins, etc. Let these blondes be your canvas, and you create your masterpiece. 
Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter ( 1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 – 1 cup white chocolate chips (or semi sweet chocolate chips, or a chopped chocolate bar)
3/4 – 1 cup macadamia nuts (or walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, etc.)
1/2 – 3/4 cup cry cranberries
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 13×9 inch rimmed baking dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper. 
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. 
White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies-1-6In a large bowl, whisk the melted and slightly cooled butter with the brown sugar. White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies-1-2Add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies-1-4Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix the batter with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until all the dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter, being careful not to over mix. (I used a whisk, and it was fine, but a spoon or a spatial will be better.)White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies-1-8
White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies-1-10Add the white chocolate, macadamia nuts and dried cranberries, mix to combine. White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies-1-12
White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies-1-14Transfer the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes. White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies-1-15
White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies-1-17Cool the bars to room temperature and then take them out of the pan along with the aluminum foil. Cut into bars. White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies-1-22
White Chocolate, Macadamia and Cranberry Blondies
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Sweets
Serves: 36 bars
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons butter ( 1½ sticks), melted and cooled
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla
  • ¾ - 1 cup white chocolate chips (or semi sweet chocolate chips, or a chopped chocolate bar)
  • ¾ - 1 cup macadamia nuts (or walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, etc.)
  • ½ - ¾ cup cry cranberries
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 13x9 inch rimmed baking dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
  2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk the melted and slightly cooled butter with the brown sugar.
  4. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix the batter with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until all the dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter, being careful not to over mix.
  6. Add the white chocolate, macadamia nuts and dried cranberries, mix to combine.
  7. Transfer the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes.
  8. Cool the bars to room temperature and then take them out of the pan along with the aluminum foil. Cut into bars.

10 Comments

  • Tania

    That’s funny you say you hate baking. Every recipe I tried of yours I ended up LOVING! Seriously you’re my favorite baker by far. I hope you don’t stop posting more baking recipes, because they’re just amazing. Thank you for doing what you’re doing.

    • olgak7

      Thanks for such a sweet comment, Tania! I’m so happy to hear that you are enjoying the recipes.
      I will definitely keep baking, never fear:). We hardly ever buy sweets from the store, and it’s always a treat to enjoy homemade goodies. I’ve learned that with a good attitude and some good podcasts, movies or company, even baking can be fun!

  • Anastasia

    Hi, my Batter turned out to thick and it didn’t rise as much as yours 🙁 ( I flowed your recipe exactly ) Maybe you know what happen? 🙂 thank you!

  • cassie

    my sister and I made these at my house and my hubby and kiddos devoured them like no tomorrow. I love baked cranberries in any desert and this one is #1 for now. thank you. I will be making these over and over. it’s so easy too! it’s like a biscotti and a scone put together, especially if you cut them into bars.

  • Yelena

    Hi, I really want to try this recipe but have one question, if I lie the perchment paper only on the bottom of baking sheet, can I grease the sides or should I just cover everything? Thank you for your time 🙂

    • olgak7

      It will be much harder to take the Blondies out of the pan. I guess it doesn’t matter. You don’t even have to put parchment paper on the bottom, if you don’t want to. As long as you grease the bottom and sides it will be ok, but you may end up with some jagged pieces.

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