White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookie Bars
These indulgent White Chocolate Macadamia Cookie Bars are a perfect treat for any sweet tooth. Loaded with creamy white chocolate and crunchy macadamia nuts, they're soft, chewy, and full of rich flavor.
Servings: 15 bars
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons butter (1 ½ sticks), melted and cooled
- ¾-1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ - 1 cup white chocolate chips or semi sweet chocolate chips, or a chopped chocolate bar
- ½ cup macadamia nuts or walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, etc.
- ½ - ¾ cup cry cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 13x9-inch rimmed metal baking dish with parchment paper, allowing it to overhang on the wider sides for easy removal later.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter with the brown sugar until smooth and combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, then whisk until fully incorporated.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
- Add the white chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, and dried cranberries. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18-23 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the center looks slightly underdone. Start checking at 18 minutes to avoid overbaking.
- Let the bars cool to room temperature in the pan. Once cooled, lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper and cut them into bars.
Notes
- Baking Time: Start checking the bars at the 18-minute mark. The center should be slightly underdone when you remove them from the oven, as they will continue cooking as they cool.
- Other Mix-ins: Feel free to swap the white chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, and dried cranberries for other mix-ins you prefer, like semi-sweet chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, raisins, or dried cherries. You can also adjust the amounts based on how much of each you want to include—more or less, depending on your taste.
- Spreading the Batter: The batter can be a bit thick and tricky to spread. To make it easier, scoop portions of the batter and place them around the pan, then gently spread it out using a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Storage: Store your bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate for up to 7 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months—wrap individual bars in plastic wrap or store them in freezer bags and thaw at room temperature when ready to enjoy!
