I made these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bars for a really special little lunch. My grandpa had a stroke this summer while he was having life saving heart surgery. His heart is now doing great, but his memory, speech, and strength are very slowly coming back from a little hiatus. I’m amazed at the way the human body has been created to be so resilient and we are so thankful for each day we have with him.
So when his almost 90 year old sister wanted to fly in from California to see him, we all wanted to make it a special time for them. Do you know how cute it is to see siblings come together at this point in their lives? There was a lot of reminiscing, a lot of story telling, and of course, these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bars were enjoyed by all as we gathered and lingered around my mom’s dining room table.
These bars are soft, moist, and buttery…. actually they use the same base as my Raspberry Almond Bars.
You can sprinkle some extra white chocolate chips on right when the come out of the oven, or you can melt it first and then drizzle it over the top, which is pretty too.
After what we’ve walked through with my grandpa this summer, I definitely have a new appreciation for the little things, like family, memories, and Hope. Actually, those really aren’t little things at all! Life is precious my friends!
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White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These bars are soft, moist, and buttery with the classic white chocolate and macadamia nut combination. A must try!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter softened
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts, divided
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare an 8 by 8 inch baking pan by greasing or lining with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar on medium speed. Add eggs one at a time and beat into the butter and sugar. Add almond extract and mix.
- Mix the salt into the flour, and slowly add to the bowl, mixing on low speed.
- Mix in 1/2 cup of the white chocolate chips, and 1/2 cup of the chopped macadamia nuts. Mix just to incorporate.
- Spoon the batter into the pan, spreading it to the edges. It will be thick and sticky. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 chopped macadamia nuts on top, but reserve the white chocolate chips until after baking because they tend to burn with the direct heat of the oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the edges are just turned a golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle remaining white chocolate chips over the top. Cool, then slice into bars.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Bar
- Calories: 377
- Sugar: 26g
- Sodium: 169mg
- Fat: 24g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0.4g
- Carbohydrates: 37g
- Fiber: 1.4g
- Protein: 4.6g
- Cholesterol: 71mg
Melanie @ Garnish & Glaze says
Sorry to hear about the hard times you had this summer Julie. These bars look like the perfect treat to lift one’s spirits though! I love white chocolate macadamia nut cookies so these are probably even better/softer! And I agree, family is the greatest most precious thing we have in life.
Julie says
Thank you for your kind words Melanie. It has been a hard summer, but with lots of intentional family time that’s brought us a lot closer together…
Kayley | The Kitchen McCabe says
I’m sorry to hear about your grandpa. I remember going through something similar with my great-grandma years and years ago. Glad you had something as yummy looking as these to enjoy with your family! I don’t think anything that has macadamia nuts and white chocolate could be bad! Yum!
Julie says
Thanks Kayley. Hope you are feeling well! Those first few months can be so hard!
Valerie | From Valerie's Kitchen says
Food and family always go together…even in sad times. I hope Grandpa is doing better!
Julie says
So true Valerie, and he really is doing better. Never thought I’d be so happy to hear him remember my name 🙂
Lindsay @ The Local Taste says
These look so soft and delicious! I’m pretty sure I would have a hard time not eating them all that day. We love sweets at my house.
Julie says
We polished them off pretty fast here too 🙂
Gloria Williams says
So happy to hear that your grandfather is doing better! I just have one suggestion regarding this recipe. You should change the number of servings from 9 to 1, because I don’t think I’m sharing with anyone when I make these! LOL! They look SO YUMMY!
Julie says
Haha! Thank you Gloria!
Abby says
These look so good! I made your cinnamon buns and those were delicious so I wanted to make these for mothers day, but I have a few questions… Can the macadamia nuts be salted? They only have salted at my local supermarket. I also wanted to know what temp and how long should I cook them if I were to double the recipe? Should I bake it in a 9*13 inch pan? Thanks for sharing your amazing recipes!
Julie says
Abby, thanks for your question. If you double this recipe, you should bake it in a 9 by 13 inch pan at 350 for 35-38 minutes. And yes, salted macadamia nuts should be just fine. Enjoy!
Eden Passante says
All of these flavors belong together!! I need these in my life!
Julie says
Agree! Thank you Eden!
Kathy says
I made these for my mother on Mother’s day. I made a cookie version last year, but since I have a broken thumb, I needed to do a bar pan version.
They were very simple to make. My only comment / question would be about the white chips for the topping after its done baking. They did not melt into the bars at all, and most fell of when I cut them after cooling.
Delicious though.
Julie says
Hi Kathy, sorry about your thumb! You don’t realize how much you use it until you can’t, I’m sure. I haven’t made this recipe in a long time, but if I did now, I think I would just keep all the white chocolate chips inside the bar. Glad you liked them!
Kris M says
I made these for book club this week and agree with the person who mentioned the white chocolate chips falling off if you put them on once they are out of the oven. I had the same problem. If I made these again I would put the chips on and put them back in the oven a minute or two so they would “bond” to the cookie better or like you say to put all the chips INSIDE the bar. Also, I made a double recipe in a glass 9×13″ pan and left them in longer but the middle squares are still too doughy to serve up. I think next time I would make them in the smaller pan and make 2 and I would also add just a little more almond extract or a hint of some other seasoning. They are a little “bland” for my taste as is and all I taste is the butter….with the chips and nuts….not that it’s bad to taste the butter LOL but I am thinking of trying a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg to them??
Julie says
Thanks so much for your feedback, Kris.
Kathy says
All of the chips fell off mine too 😥
They were a gift for someone, so I had to do something. Ended up making a white chocolate drizzle out of the loose chips.
Sil says
Hi there,
Is the 1/4 teaspoon of salt just enough for me to be able to use unsalted butter? Currently only have salted butter in my fridge and I’m wondering if they will be too salted if I use it.
Julie says
I’m pretty sure I used salted butter with the 1/4 teaspoon of salt and they were just right. If you have unsalted butter I would use 1/2 teaspoon. Enjoy!
deborah lawton says
Looks delicious! Is the flour all purpose or self rising?