Macadamia shortbread, raspberry & white chocolate crumble bars
Think classic shortbread mixed with oozy white chocolate, buttery macadamia's and pops of raspberries in the form of a dessert! Easy to make and sure to impress, its a dessert that will become on high rotation.
I orginally created this recipe using fresh tamarillos however they are much harder to find in Australia than New Zealand. So with a bit of tweaking the recipe has evolved into this tart featuring fresh or frozen raspberries.
This is a great slice to take on a summer picnic when raspberries are in season. However, it is just as great using frozen raspberries (pictured) and served with a generous dollop of cream, custard or ice cream. There’s something special about biting into a warm dessert that has pops of oozing chocolate! A delicious winter warmer.
What makes this recipe special?
Shortbread & cookies
Because why not? The best of both worlds in my opinion. The base is a macadamia shortbread which holds up to the moisture of the raspberries and the cookie crumble gives the bars that decadent caramel touch.
Whipped butter
We beat the butter with icing sugar in the shortbread base rather than using a food processor or rubbing it in cold as some shortbread recipes call for. I believe this results in a fluffier shortbread.
Cool in fridge before slicing
To ensure perfectly cut bars, I recommend cooling the slice in the fridge before cutting. However, if you can’t resist a slice while warm, go ahead!
What’s in this recipe?
Macadamia shortbread
Butter
I use salted butter in this base recipe to bring it together and give the shortbread that classic buttery taste.
Icing sugar
Icing sugar is used to create the smooth delicate texture of shortbread rather than granulated/white sugar.
Vanilla essence
A touch of vanilla goes a long way! Because we love it. Can be left out if desired although you will lose the touch of vanilla to round out the flavour.
Flour
Plain flour is used here rather than a mix with corn flour or rice flour. I believe the difference in texture is so slight that its not worth the compromise on flavour.
Macadamias
The macadamias are ground to a fine crumb rather than left whole or roughly chopped. This is to ensure you get the slight taste of macadamia in every mouthful and keeps the shortbread moist. I personally don’t like chunks of macadamias in biscuits! Could be subbed with ground pistachios although this will change the flavour of the base. Just as delicious!
White chocolate & raspberry cookie crumble
Butter
I use butter in this cookie crumble to give it that classic buttery taste and bring the crumble together.
Caster & brown sugar
A mixture of caster and brown sugars are used as brown sugar gives the cookie a more caramel/decadent taste. The brown sugar be subbed with more white sugar however the crumble will lose its slight caramel flavour.
Vanilla essence
Because we love it. Can be left out if desired although you will lose the touch of vanilla to round out the flavour.
Egg
Egg helps to bind the mixture together and create a fluffier cookie crumble.
Flour
Plain flour is used to bring the cookies together into a crumble.
Baking soda
A touch of baking soda is used to rise the dough slightly and give it a fluffy finish.
White chocolate
I like to use a good quality white chocolate block here. I prefer to roughly chop the chocolate over using melts/buttons for 2 reasons;
Chunks and shavings - the chunks give you those delicious melty pops of chocolate and the shavings evenly disperse throughout the mixture and round out the white chocolate flavour.
Real white chocolate - Personally i find the flavour of white chocolate buttons and melts to be ‘fake’. It only takes a quick glance at the ingredient list to see most of them don’t even contain real chocolate!
Raspberries
I believe the tartness of the raspberries blend perfectly with the richness of white chocolate and macadamias. Can be subbed with blueberries although they arent as tart as raspberries and will give the bars a more subtle flavour. I wouldnt recommend subbing with strawberries/boysenberries as they are too big and will make your bars mushy.
Salt
A touch of salt just helps to balance out the sweetness. Don’t be tempted to leave it out. It really goes a long way!
Step-by-step photos
Macadamia Shortbread, Raspberry & White Chocolate Crumble Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup macadamias
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 120g white chocolate
- 2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius bake (160 degrees fan bake). Line a large slice tin with baking paper.
- Place the macadamias in a blender and pulse on high speed until finely ground. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer, beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy (5 minutes). Gently fold in the flour and macadamias. Tip the mixture into the tin using a spatula or a round glass (pictured above) to flatten the top.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until just golden. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack.
- Beat butter and sugars on high speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (5 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Roughly chop white chocolate. Gently fold through the flour, baking soda and white chocolate until just combined.
- Spread the raspberries over the cooked macadamia shortbread base.
- Crumble the white chocolate mixture over the raspberries using your hands. Sprinkle with salt. Place back in the oven for 10 minutes until the topping is just starting to brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool on a cooling rack before placing in the fridge.
- Cut the bars into perfect rectangles once cool. Enjoy warm or cold.
Notes
Serving suggestion:
Serve with homemade vanilla bean custard, whipped cream (pictured) or a good quality vanilla ice-cream. Fresh or freeze dried (pictured) raspberries and a dusting of icing sugar also work well when serving.
Substitutions
Macadamias
Could be subbed with pistachios although this will change the flavour of the base. Just as delicious!
Raspberries
Can be subbed with blueberries although they arent as tart as raspberries and will give the tart a more subtle flavour. I wouldnt recommend subbing with strawberries/boysenberries as they are too big and will make your tart mushy.
Brown sugar
Can be subbed with more white sugar. The crumble will lose it's slight caramel flavour.
Vanilla Essence
Can be left out if desired although you will lose the touch of vanilla to round out the flavour.
White Chocolate
I dont reccommend leaving this out! The oozy pops of white chocolate make this tart special!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
388Fat
23 gSat. Fat
13 gCarbs
43 gFiber
2 gNet carbs
41 gSugar
16 gProtein
5 gSodium
189 mgCholesterol
58 mg