White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie Bars

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie Bars

I love cookies of all shapes and sizes - I'm not one to discriminate. That being said, there just aren't enough vegan white chocolate macadamia nut cookies around. At least not ready available for purchase...so I came up with my own recipe so I could have them whenever I got a craving. Instead of using a store-bought vegan white chocolate (which is REALLY hard to find. I have found it online, though) in these, I used chopped cacao butter. Cacao butter is the edible vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa bean and it both smells and tastes like chocolate. It's the perfect substitute and is PACKED with antioxidants to help give you healthy hair and skin - so they're basically a health food...right?! 😝
I used maple syrup instead of sugar in this recipe because I prefer the flavor of maple syrup, but substitution info is listed below if you're interested. These cookie bars are thin, a bit crispy on the edges, and packed with yummy, crunchy macadamia nuts. They're SO GOOD and make a taste pretty damn dipped in tall glass of almond milk. So what're you waiting for?! We've got cookies to eat!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup vegan butter OR vegetable shortening
2/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup vegan white chocolate or cacao butter, roughly chopped
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°.

Using a hand held or stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy. Add in the flour. When it's fully incorporated, stir in the white chocolate chunks and macadamia nuts. 

Pour the cookie dough into a greased 9 X 13 inch baking dish. Press dough very firmly with plastic wrap or a spatula until the top is silky smooth and free of cracks or bubbles.

Bake for 23-28 minutes until slightly golden + crisp on the edges. An inserted toothpick should come out clean. Cool completely, then cut into triangles (or squares!) with a sharp knife. Scoop out the bars and enjoy!

NOTES
Makes about 16 bars.

You can also sub 1 cup organic sugar for the maple syrup here. The cookie bars will be crispier if you do this. 

For thicker bars you can also try baking in an 8x8 inch pan, but the cooking time may need to be adjusted.

Leftovers last in the fridge for about a week! 

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