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! (Makes 16)
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.
Equipment:
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.