These White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies are the bombshells of the blondie world. I call them “Platinum Blondies’ and I love them. You will too.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies triple down on the vanilla
This is the recipe for vanilla lovers ~ with chunks of white chocolate, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds…it doesn’t get any blonder or more luscious than that. Each ingredient brings something new to the vanilla party, and that lovely flavor really lingers.
what do these white chocolate blondies taste like?
Along with all that vanilla, there are notes of toffee and butterscotch as well. It’s a monochromatic but complex layering of flavors that pack a big punch!
what type of white chocolate should you use for these blondies?
All by itself white chocolate doesn’t do that much for me, it’s one of those ingredients that blossoms when you combine it with certain other ingredients, like macadamias and vanilla and brown sugar. I used convenient white baking chips for these blondies, but if you’re a white chocolate aficionado, use good quality white chocolate and chop it into small chunks. If you can find real white chocolate chips, go for it, the flavor will be lovely.
What is it about brown sugar? Of all the boxes, bags and packets in my baking arsenal, it’s the one thing I’m most likely to be out of at any given moment. Or, if I’m not completely out, the remaining bit has gone rock solid. And when that moment comes right in the middle of making blondies, it becomes a crisis.
So I decided to try an old trick—make it myself. Brown sugar is really just white sugar before the molasses has been refined out of it. So put a bit of molasses back in and—voila—you have brown sugar. And I have to say, from the feel and scent of it, it’s better brown sugar than you can buy. I couldn’t stop sniffing it!
how to make your own brown sugar
- Just put a cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of molasses together and mix well.
- You can do it in the mini processor or you can have at it with a spoon. Either way it’s very satisfying.
- The sugar will fluff up in the processor, but it will still be equivalent to 1 cup, be sure to pack it down as you measure it.
These white chocolate blondies bake up super moist and chewy ~ move over brownies!!
for the love of blondies
- Strawberry lemon blondies
- Maple walnut blondies
- Toasted pecan and dark chocolate chip blondies
- Almond butter skillet blondies
- Chocolate Hazelnut Blondies
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- the seeds of 1 vanilla bean
- 1/2 cup (heaping) cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (heaping) cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- Line an 8×8 pan with parchment, this will make the blondies easy to remove and to cut cleanly. If you don’t use parchment, lightly grease the pan.
- Measure out your flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Then add the eggs, one at a time, the vanilla, and vanilla bean seeds, and mix well.
- Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Fold in the nuts and white chocolate.
- Spread evenly in your pan and bake for 35 minutes— a toothpick inserted near the center should come out moist with a few crumbs and the blondies will be light golden.
- Cool before cutting.
Nutrition
47 Comments
Holly
July 17, 2020 at 11:42 amWhere do I buy vanilla bean seeds? What do they look like?
Sue
July 17, 2020 at 12:22 pmYou’ll buy vanilla beans, Holly, they’ll be in your spice aisle, and then you need to split the bean with the tip of a sharp knife and scrape out the seeds. They’re super-duper tiny and black, it’s like a black paste, but really just thousands of tiny seeds.
liz
July 4, 2020 at 8:51 amPlanning on making these tomorrow…. im really excited, looks delicious…… side note on your brown sugar making your own looks really awesome and I might have to try it. A tip for keeping your brown sugar from turning rock solid is marshmallows…. juat throw a few small ones or one jumbo one into the container and you brown sugar will stay nice and soft 🙂
Sue
July 4, 2020 at 11:07 amGreat tip!
Tammy
May 5, 2020 at 11:46 amWould I be able to use a 13 x 9 pan if I doubled the recipe? Would I need to adjust the baking time?
Sue
May 5, 2020 at 5:40 pmBaking time would be nearly the same, Tammy, but since they’re blondies and you don’t want to over bake, check them on the early side.
Patti
August 1, 2019 at 7:50 amThese look amazing! Can I double this recipe?
Sue
April 25, 2020 at 10:09 amThat should work, in a 9×13 pan.
Meghan
April 2, 2019 at 3:56 pmHave you ever tried making these with gluten free flour?
Sue
April 2, 2019 at 4:11 pmI haven’t but I imagine it would work fine, as long as you expect the softer texture.
River
November 1, 2017 at 8:40 amOh pleeease can these be okay without brown sugar?! I’ve such a hankering and this is the recipe for me, but as much as I’m unlikely to ever have brown sugar in the cupboard… I’m almost certain they have never housed molasses!
Sue
November 1, 2017 at 8:50 amYes, you can just use white sugar if you have to River. But I highly recommend getting some brown sugar in the house 🙂 Brown sugar adds flavor and chewiness to baked goods, and it’s hard to do without in some recipes.
Veggies and Vanilla
January 31, 2015 at 2:18 amLOVED THESE. I never made or had blondies before, but I have a little ‘bakery’ in my college dorm building where I bake something every Saturday morning, and someone requested these. I’m so in love with them. I left out the nuts, but added a lot of white chocolate. Amazing stuff!
Sue
January 31, 2015 at 7:33 amI’m so glad you liked them, it is an irresistible combination — and how great that you have somewhere to bake in your dorm, that’s where I first started baking on my own, and my first project was granola!
Michal
July 27, 2014 at 1:38 pmThanks for the awesome idea!
Mary S
May 6, 2014 at 9:42 pmI have always liked Blondies, but I really love your recipe with the macadamia nuts and the white chocolate chips!! I can’t wait to put together another batch. They are a bit of heaven.
My mother taught me, many, many years ago, how to make brown sugar and we did it often. I grew up thinking everyone knew how to do it. So it is always a surprise to me when it is posted as a “new” idea. Oh well, what is old, always becomes new again, doesn’t it?
Becky
August 22, 2013 at 2:32 pmI just found your site. Found one of your food photos on Food Porn Daily and here I am! These look delicious, love the brown sugar tip – have to make some now!
Sue
August 22, 2013 at 3:47 pmThanks for stopping by Becky!
GoddessLis
May 8, 2013 at 2:05 am…in progress with homemade raspberry swirl and after it cools it will get a cream cheese frosting.
PS: no chips or nuts.
blueberrykitchen
March 14, 2013 at 5:36 pmOh yum, your blondies look absolutely divine!
shannon weber
March 14, 2013 at 10:32 pmHonesty time: these blondies should be totally blowing my mind. And they are blowing my mind, but what’s blowing my mind more, or distracting from the mind-blowing brownies, is that you made your own brown sugar. And it looks incredible, and that now i have to do that when i get home from vacation so i can try it for myself. I’m a geek, what can i say. 🙂
Mary
March 14, 2013 at 2:38 pmThese look and sound delicious. I love platinum blondies and have an assortment of recipes for them. Yours is terrific. I hope you are having a great week. Blessings…Mary
Mary Younkin
March 14, 2013 at 1:33 pmThese are some of my favorite blondies and I don’t even think I have them posted! I’m not a huge fan of white chocolate, but with macadamia nuts, I can not get enough of it. Thanks for the reminder about the brown sugar too. I keep meaning to try that!
Kitchen Belleicious
March 13, 2013 at 7:41 pmnever ever thought to make my own brown sugar but it is genius and something everyone should know how to do! I am sooooo posting about this!
Girl About Chelts
March 13, 2013 at 3:42 pmThese look delicious! I love the photo’s on your blog Xx
Tricia Buice
March 13, 2013 at 4:47 pmYou always have the best tips and tricks! Wonderful blondies too – thanks Sue!
Abbe Odenwalder
March 13, 2013 at 4:45 amBlondies are wonderful but I love anything with brown sugar. And thanks for reminding me about the molasses trick. I remember ttying that a long time ago! Great for when you run out. These look incredible!
Natalie G
March 13, 2013 at 12:25 amThey look amazing, I love biting into chunks of white chocolate!
Paula Montenegro
March 12, 2013 at 10:29 pmI love the opening sentence. And the gorgeous blondies of course! I´ve been making brown sugar for a while now, since here the common one is very dark and I like the light brown. But it never ends as even colored as yours! I´m jelous…
belleau kitchen
March 12, 2013 at 9:54 pmThey look fab. I love the way blondies go on top. So rich and buttery. My mouth is watering. I’ve bookmarked these for the weekend. Just don’t tell the diet…
Sue/the view from great island
March 13, 2013 at 12:09 amI won’t say a word…
The Café Sucré Farine
March 12, 2013 at 8:51 pmOh my, these are calling my name! Very yummy indeed!
Sue/the view from great island
March 13, 2013 at 12:11 amHow are you all doing?? Thinking about you!
Val
March 13, 2013 at 2:17 amYour pictures look amazing!!! I love blondies.
Averie @ Averie Cooks
March 12, 2013 at 6:35 pmGorgeous blondies (I love them – blondies are a total weakness!) and with the white choc chunks and the DIY brown sugar, love everything in this post!
Sue/the view from great island
March 13, 2013 at 12:13 amI of course knew you would love these.
Sue/the view from great island
March 13, 2013 at 12:06 amPaula do you use your food processor to blend your sugar? Because I think that blends it fast and completely. I’d like to try for a dark brown sugar, but there must be a limit to how much molasses you could put in to the sugar before it becomes a paste!
SavoringTime in the Kitchen
March 12, 2013 at 10:05 pmEven though I’m a dyed-in-the-wool traditional brownie lover but I love your tip for making brown sugar – awesome!
Sue/the view from great island
March 13, 2013 at 12:08 amThe sugar smelled soooo good. I don’t think I’ve ever put brown sugar in a brownie, but I bet it would be pretty good—worth a try!
La Table De Nana
March 12, 2013 at 9:42 pmThey remind me of the cookie I love at Costco:) I don’t eat desserts for many reasons..
But those.. when I used to visit Broker’s inspections and the agents had bought their treats at Costco?
I had to have just that..
these..home made..better..Wow.
Love the brown sugar tip too:)
Sue/the view from great island
March 13, 2013 at 12:10 amI think I remember the white chocolate chip and macadamia Mrs. Field’s cookie 🙂
bellini
March 12, 2013 at 9:27 pmNo kidding…macadamia nuts and white chocolate..what more could we ask for.
Sue/the view from great island
March 13, 2013 at 12:10 amA match made in heaven.
Amy
March 12, 2013 at 8:54 pmThese look SOOOO YUMMY! I love that pic of all the diff beige colors together. So pretty. My brown sugar used to turn hard also, but now i keep it in its original plastic but inside one of those OXO pop top containers…it’s amazing! It totally stays soft.
Sue/the view from great island
March 13, 2013 at 12:11 amI really like it when a dish naturally has a color scheme!
grace
March 12, 2013 at 7:58 pmdelicious! as i was making my batch of blondies, i wished i had some macadamia nuts to put into them–nice touch!
Sue/the view from great island
March 13, 2013 at 12:13 amMacadamias are so unique, I thought I was all out of them when I was planning these, and I briefly considered using almonds, but it just wouldn’t be the same.