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.
This is a triple threat 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.
Platinum Blondies are a symphony of whites, buttery creams, toffees, and butterscotch tones. That monochromatic palette packs a big flavor punch!
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 all that vanilla and brown sugar. I used convenient white chips for these blondies, but if you’re a white chocolate aficionado, use good quality white chocolate and chop it into small chunks.
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!
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!!
If you love these white chocolate macadamia nut blondies, I’ve got lots of other white chocolate treats on the blog ~
- FRESH CRANBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE SCONES
- FLOURLESS WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP MACADAMIA COOKIES
- MINI CANDY BAR WHITE CHOCOLATE FUDGE
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
- heaping 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- heaping 1/2 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.
Don’t forget to pin these white chocolate macadamia nut blondies!
43 Comments
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!
40 Delightful And Mind-Blowing Baking Hacks You Can’t Miss | The Professionals in Carpet Cleaning
December 10, 2014 at 1:36 am[…] is essentially white sugar before the molasses is removed through processing. Follow the recipe here when you’re in a […]
40 Delightful And Mind-Blowing Baking Hacks You Can’t Miss | LifeTitude
December 9, 2014 at 11:50 pm[…] is essentially white sugar before the molasses is removed through processing. Follow the recipe here when you’re in a […]
40 Delightful And Mind-Blowing Baking Hacks You Can’t Miss - Nishank Gupta
December 9, 2014 at 11:43 pm[…] is essentially white sugar before the molasses is removed through processing. Follow the recipe here when you’re in a […]
40 Delightful And Mind-Blowing Baking Hacks You Can’t Miss
December 8, 2014 at 4:40 am[…] is essentially white sugar before the molasses is removed through processing. Follow the recipe here when you’re in a […]
Michal
July 27, 2014 at 1:38 pmThanks for the awesome idea!
Kitchen Hacks: 12 Baking tricks you should know | hackcrow
June 21, 2014 at 11:22 pm[…] It is a fundamental law of nature that you will always be out of brown sugar when you need it. But never fear, just process some plain old sugar with molasses and you’ve got DIY brown sugar! Use two tablespoons of molasses for every cup of sugar. (via The View from Great Island) […]
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!
The View from Great Island | Minimal Monday: Sugar
August 20, 2013 at 8:28 am[…] yes, you can absolutely make your own brown sugar by mixing regular sugar with a little molasses. I show how to do it here. For a cup of white […]
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.