Raspberry White Chocolate Blondie Bars
These raspberry white chocolate blondie bars are incredible! A buttery cookie base is topped with raspberry jam, MORE cookie batter and almonds. Wow!
Ok, friends, for someone that is normally not a huge fan of white chocolate, these cookie bars are a game changer!
The combination of sweet cookie dough, fruity raspberry jam, and sliced almonds on top of more cookie dough is irresistible.
A Dainty Dessert
Plenty rich and plenty sweet, these raspberry white chocolate blondie bars definitely have a dainty vibe to them. They are best cut into small squares.
Or maybe that’s just my rationale to justify eating another…and another…and another.
They are a perfect option for a bridal or baby shower, a holiday cookie plate, or a fun weekend treat.
If you love white chocolate and raspberries (and even if you don’t!), these are bound to become a favorite.
How to make these blondie bars
This recipe starts with a bit of a unique twist.
- melted butter
- white chocolate chips
Those two ingredients are just barely mixed together and set aside. The process is bound to make you a bit uncomfortable. I apologize in advance.
The white chocolate won’t necessarily melt into the warm butter. There will be pieces of white chocolate floating around and the mixture may look a little sketch, but it all works out beautifully once it is added to the other basic batter ingredients.
Meanwhile, some of the unbuttered white chocolate chips are reserved to stir into the batter that goes on top of the bars.
Assembling the bars
- Half of the batter goes into a 9X13-inch pan and bakes until set.
- Raspberry jam gets spread onto the warm cookie base layer.
- The remaining batter (that is mixed with white chocolate chips) is dolloped across the jam.
- Sliced almonds are sprinkled on top of everything.
The bars bake again until set and lightly golden.
Intensely sweet (there’s no point in arguing otherwise), the raspberry jam cuts brightly through the buttery, white chocolate cookie dough for a totally incredible combination.
My Aunt Marilyn made these bars for a family get-together last year. And we’ve had them many times since.
They are the perfect addition to change up a dessert spread that includes decadent brownies and other rich treats.
And I’ve made them several times for church potlucks and other bring-a-dessert-to-share events. Without fail, I get asked for the recipe, which means it’s high time to post it here!
Hope you love these!
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Raspberry White Chocolate Blondie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) butter
- 3 cups (510 g) white chocolate chips, divided (meaning you'll use 2 cups first and then use 1 cup later)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup (212 g) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional – see note)
- 1 ¼ cups (425 g) raspberry jam
- ½ cup (60 g) sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment (for easier cleanup) and lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add the butter to a microwave-safe bowl or saucepan and heat until melted. Add 2 cups of the white chocolate chips. Stir once or twice to submerge the chips in the melted butter, but that's it. Don't keep stirring!
- In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer (or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer), whip the eggs on high speed until foamy. Add the sugar, and continue to mix for 1-2 minutes until the mixture has lightened in color.
- Stir in the butter and white chocolate chip mixture, flour, salt, and almond extract. Mix until well-combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Spread about half (or slightly more than half) of the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until just set throughout.
- While the base layer bakes, stir the remaining 1 cup white chocolate chips into the remaining batter.
- Immediately out of the oven, spoon the raspberry jam over the top. Let sit for a minute or so to melt the jam. Spread the jam into an even layer.
- Dollop the remaining batter in spoonfuls over the jam. Don't spread. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the batter on top is set (a toothpick should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs). Cool completely before serving.
Notes
Recipe Source: sent to me by my Aunt Marilyn, originally adapted from this recipe from Taste of Home
I’m giving 4 stars because the recipe works as written, but it’s WAY, WAY too sweet. I made it as written, then I made it again reducing the white sugar to 3/4 C, using real white chocolate (must contain cocoa butter) which is not as sweet as white “baking chips” and further reducing that to 2 cups total – 1.5 melted in the base, and 1/2 in the top. Additionally to add more depth of flavor, I browned the butter, and sprinkled a bit of flaked salt immediately after pulling out of the oven. It was literally the difference between “meh” and “wow”.
I feel like I’m the only one who didn’t like these. Mine look beautiful and have a nice flavor, but they are such a weird texture. I kept expecting a “cookie” bar, kind of crumbly… shortbready… instead they are like a strange cakey consistency. I thought the first few steps were odd for cookies… and it definitely resembles cake batter… but the write up describes them as cookies. I followed everything exactly and like I said, they probably turned out “right”, but I don’t feel they are at all like a blondie. Disappointed. Normally I have high success with most of Mel’s recipes.
These were very good but very sweet
One of my favorite recipes. I use cherry instead of raspeberry and I have to basically double the cooking time both bakes. Otherwise it’s perfect
Hi! Can you leave the nuts out? Thanks!
It will change the overall flavor and texture of the bars, but I think it should be fine in terms of the dough still baking up “normal”
Just made these to serve for Thanksgiving. Wowza!! They are amazing! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe. I can see it being a favorite for many years to come.
so yummy. i halved this recipe, used a cupcake tin and orange marmalade, and i loved them :). i baked the cupcakes for 10 min for the base and then 20 min for the top. turned out great thanks!
How many days in advance can I make these? And if I freeze them, how do I go about thawing them when ready?
Thank you
You can make them a couple days in advance and store in a covered container in the refrigerator…when I freeze, I take them out about 8 hours before I want to serve them.
I made these for work and they were all gone before 10am! These are so yummy and easy to make. Followed the recipe almost to a T, just used a little less white chocolate chips in the 2nd layer of batter.
These are GOOD! Technically I’d made a few subs because I had no almonds so used chopped hazelnuts instead, and I used only 400g white choc, so purists would say I’m actually reviewing a totally different recipe. But they were delicious. And baked perfectly in the shorter stated time, no extra needed and if anything I’d have liked them a little gooier. Definitely advise giving these a go, and if over sweet is a worry for you then 400g white choc turned mine out plenty sweet but not tooth-itch inducing sweet.
I appreciate the review – and it’s always fun to read how people change and vary a recipe. Thanks for including your notes!
These are excellent!
Absolutely delicious.
Admittedly I tweaked the raspberry filling a little. Used a good raspberry jam and added 1Tablespoon of pomegranate vinegar and a little lemon zest to balance the sweetness of the bars and give a little complexity. I accidentally baked them at 350 and had no problem getting to bake in the time listed. A keeper for sure.
Very tasty. I made a test batch today prior to sharing with family on and after Christmas. I too had to bake the bars longer than the directions. My oven tends to run a little hot. I added 15 mins to the baking time—then they came out golden brown on top.
Next time I will make the dollops of batter on the top smaller. Many of the almonds disappeared into the batter during baking.
Definitely keeping this in my Christmas goodies recipe library.
Thanks for the review, Roxie!
Can these be made ahead and frozen or do they just turn all goopy when they defrost?
They freeze really well!
I NEVER leave reviews, but WOW, these were amazing and are sure to be a Holiday staple!!! I had to bake them quite a bit longer than the 30-35 minutes on the tail end, but they were WORTH THE WAIT!!! Thanks, Mel!!! And Merry Christmas!!
Thanks, Heidi! Merry Christmas!
I made these today for a piano recital and they were a huge hit! Glad I kept a few at home so I can enjoy them while kids are at school tomorrow! Just a quick note that this took me almost double the amount of time to bake than the directions state…. I’m not sure why. I’ve never had this problem with any of the other recipes from Mel’s site. I may try cooking them at 350 next time I bake them. Anyways, another great recipe, Mel!
Thanks for the review, Lisa! Glad they worked out despite taking extra long to bake.
I’m normally loath to try a recipe in which I make changes before having tried the original recipe as is. In this case I didn’t quite have enough white chocolate chips ( I had 475g), and didn’t have any sliced almonds, so I used toasted pecans ( about 1 cup). Everything else was as written. Came out very good. Would definitely make again!
Thanks for the review, Gary! Glad these bars turned out with your adaptations!
I love these bars Mel! My sister Maria made them, and she literally can’t stop gushing about them. She texted me three times today to tell me how amazing they were. The perfect combination of white chocolate and raspberry. I can’t believe how good they are. She is going to make them for her husband to take to work tomorrow!
This made my day! Thanks for sharing, Joe!
These are so yummy and so rich with flavor. I like to serve these bars chilled and cut into smaller rectangles. I forgot to mix the 1 cup of white chocolate chips into the remaining portion of batter; as a result, I sprinkled only about 1/2 cup over the top of the bars before putting them in the oven. Worked like a charm and still tasted great with only half the amount of chips.
Thanks for including those details, Tory!
Have you tried this with strawberry jam?
No, but I was just at the store the other day and saw a mixed berry jam that looked delicious and thought of these bars. I think they’d be adaptable to a variety of different jam flavors!
HI, Mel!
Im a professed White Chocolate hater..
These are so pretty that I must make them for Christmas. What would you think about making an extra 1/2 batch of dough to make the bottom thicker? Im hoping that they might last longer without going soggy on platters. Thanks!
Ps… your chewy sugar cookie recipe changed my mind about sugar cookies!❤
Hi Liz, my only concern with that is that with more cookie base, the raspberry flavor might get a bit lost??
I’ve been using this recipe to take to family gatherings and work parties for a few years now since I found it on pillsbury’s website (apparently a contest winner from ’94). Not saying it matters as it wasn’t copywritten or that your Aunt Marilyn and that person couldn’t have just thought alike but anyways…yes, I can attest this is a very popular treat but I’d have to disagree that even if you don’t like white chocolate you’ll like these as I ran into a white choc hater who vehemently refused to try one
Ah my bad, I see there was mention of it being an adaptation. Of course at work I take all the credit for inspiration anyway hahaha
These look great! We have a nut allergy in the house. Would these work without almonds or would they be too sweet?
Yes, I think they’d work just fine! They’re pretty sweet, but we cut them into small squares and they are perfect.
Do you think almond flour would work, to make them gluten-free?
Could definitely try! I haven’t subbed almond flour for all-purpose flour in baked goods like this so I don’t know what other adaptations would need to be made; good luck if you experiment!
I got some bars of white baking chocolate on clearance – that should be fine, right? I figure it might be even better at melting since the ingredients are simpler?
Hi Stephanie, as long as it’s chocolate and not white candy coating or almond bark it should work just fine!
I’m REALLY not a fan of white chocolate. Have you tried replacing all or half with dark chocolate chips? Thanks!
I haven’t, Esther – but it would definitely be worth experimenting!
These are delicious!!! I had everything to make them and couldn’t resist. So, so yummy!
Yay for making them so fast, Erin! Thanks for the report back! Super happy you loved them.
Recipe looks great! Have you ever frozen the bars? I would love to make in advance and then defrost for a Christmas party!
They freeze great!
Have you ever used your own jam for this? Home made, I mean?
I haven’t (yet), Beth! If you use homemade, it’ll work best if it’s thicker in consistency (as compared to a runnier freezer-jam type of consistency), I think.
I am so glad you made a note about white chocolate chips! Most bags just say “white baking chips” and have zero chocolate in them!
Is there a brand of jam you recommend for this recipe?
I love the Bonne Maman brand of raspberry jam. I’ve used that in this recipe, but I’ve also used the natural Smuckers raspberry (it has a fresher raspberry taste). I haven’t tried with homemade yet!