Name: White Chocolate Chip and Pistachio, Cranberry Cookie Bars
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 100g unsalted, shelled pistachios, plus 16 extra for decoration. You can also use pecan nuts.; 125g unsalted butter; 100g soft brown sugar; 75g caster sugar; ½ teaspoon fine salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 large egg; 200g plain/all-purpose flour; ½ teaspoon baking powder; 150g chopped white chocolate, or chocolate drops; 75g dried cranberries; 16 pistachios or pecan nuts, from above; 16 chunks of white chocolate; 16 dried cranberries

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White Chocolate Chip and Pistachio, Cranberry Cookie Bars

With Christmas inspired colours and flavours from white chocolate, pistachios and dried cranberries, a slightly crisp outer layer and a chewy interior, these bars are utterly addictive! Even better, prepared in just one pan, they are extremely quick to make! Absolutely, yes please!

They are made using the same recipe as I use for Chocolate Chip Cookies – Core Recipe with just 2 differences:

I melt the butter and then add the remaining ingredients, rather than beating the butter and sugar first before adding the remaining ingredients. This makes the cookie dough a bit softer and easier to spread out into the tin.
I cook them in a tin, so no time wasted making cookie dough balls!

And let’s face it, any time saved during this busy Christmas season is extremely welcome! The best thing though, is that they are so utterly delicious, that no one would believe how quick they are to make!

Pistachios or Pecan Nuts?

These cookie bars are delicious with both pistachios and also pecan nuts – flavour wise I cannot choose between them, but I do rather like the festive green from the pistachios coming through with the red cranberries and the white chocolate. The ‘How to Make’ pictures are mostly when I have used pecan nuts where as in the festive photographs, I used pistachio nuts.

How to make White Chocolate Chip and Pistachio, Cranberry Cookie Bars

Collect all your ingredients together and line the baking tin:

In order to guarantee soft and chewy cookie bars, it is important to use the correct size tin – in this case it is a 20cm/8inch square tin. If your tin is larger the depth of your cookie dough will be less and the cake will cook more quickly. Equally if the tin is smaller, your cake batter will be deeper and cook more slowly.
Sit the tin on greaseproof paper making sure the paper is large enough to line the tin, come up the sides and have a little overhang.
Cut out the corners of the paper so it will fit easily into the tin
Fold the paper from corner to corner so the size of the centre of the paper matches the base of the tin. Slot inside the tin.

White Chocolate Chip and Pistachio, Cranberry Cookies Ingredients:

unsalted, shelled pistachio nuts or pecan nuts
unsalted butter
soft brown sugar
caster sugar
fine salt
egg
vanilla extract
milk
plain/all-purpose flour
baking powder
white chocolate chunks
dried cranberries
extra chunks of white chocolate, pistachios and dried cranberries to use as a topping

Make and Bake the Cookie Bars:

Weigh the pistachios onto a baking tray and cook in the centre of the oven for 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and transfer to a bowl or plate to cool. Remove 16 nuts for decoration. I often put them in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.
Cut the butter into cubes and place into a cold pan. Heat over a moderate heat until the butter has melted. Immediately remove from the heat and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
Add the soft brown and caster sugars and salt and beat well.
Now add the vanilla extract and the egg and mix thoroughly.
Now add the flour and baking powder and beat until nearly mixed.
Fold in the white chocolate chunks, pistachios and cranberries until evenly mixed throughout. The dough will be quite soft and sticky at this stage.
Transfer to a lined baking tin and level the surface.
Place a cranberry, pistachio or pecan nut and chunk of white chocolate where the centre of each cookie bar will be.
Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven.
They are cooked when they are golden brown and still a little soft in the centre. Don’t forget they will continue to cook when you take them out of the oven.
Leave in the tin for around 30 minutes to cool.
Lift out of the tin using the baking parchment and transfer to a cooling rack, in the parchment.
When cold, slice into bars or squares.

**Chopped and sliced Cookie Bars with pistachios!**

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.

White Chocolate Chip and Pistachio, Cranberry Cookie Bars

Course afternoon tea, Morning Coffee, Snack, treat

Keyword cookie bars, dried cranberries, pecan nuts, pistachios, white chocolate

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Author Susan

Ingredients

100g unsalted, shelled pistachios, plus 16 extra for decoration. You can also use pecan nuts.
125g unsalted butter
100g soft brown sugar
75g caster sugar
½ teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
200g plain/all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
150g chopped white chocolate, or chocolate drops
75g dried cranberries

Topping ingredients (optional)

16 pistachios or pecan nuts, from above
16 chunks of white chocolate
16 dried cranberries

Instructions

Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
Preheat oven to Fan Oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
Weigh the pistachios or pecan nuts onto a baking tray and cook in the centre of the oven for 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and transfer to a bowl or plate to cool. I often put them in the fridge to speed up the cooling process. Remove 16 nuts for decoration.
If using pecans, roughly chop them – apart from the 16 for decoration.
Cut the butter into cubes and place into a cold pan. Heat over a moderate heat until the butter has melted. Immediately remove from the heat and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
Add the soft brown and caster sugars and salt and beat well.
Now add the vanilla extract and the egg and mix thoroughly.
Add the flour and baking powder and beat until nearly mixed.
Fold in the white chocolate chunks, nuts and dried cranberries until thoroughly mixed.
Transfer to a lined baking tin and level the surface
Place a cranberry, pistachio or pecan nut and chunk of white chocolate where the centre of each cookie bar will be.
Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until cooked.
They are cooked when they are golden brown and still a little soft in the centre. Don’t forget they will continue to cook when you take them out of the oven.
Leave in the tin for around 30 minutes to cool.
Lift out of the tin using the baking parchment and transfer to a cooling rack, in the parchment.
When cold, slice into bars or squares.

Recipe Notes

Equipment:

Kitchen scales and measuring spoons
Saucepan and wooden spoon
Chopping board and knife
20cm/8inch square baking tin lined with baking parchment

Weighing the ingredients:

You can either weigh your ingredients and then add them to the saucepan or you can weigh your ingredients directly into your saucepan. Simply put the pan on the scales and zero the scales. Make sure you remember to zero them in between adding each new ingredient.