Recipe: White Chocolate, Cranberry and Pistachio Blondies
As Yule approaches and the nights draw in, Winter baking becomes a soft ritual of comfort, light and small seasonal joys. These blondies bring together three festive favourites (creamy white chocolate, jewel-bright cranberries and toasted pistachios) all enriched with nutty brown butter for a deeply caramelised flavour. A simple, celebratory bake for the heart of early Winter.
Ingredients
175g butter
275g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
200g self-raising flour
150g white chocolate
25g pistachios, toasted and chopped
25g dried cranberries
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan and grease and line a 20 cm square baking tin.
Brown the butter by melting it over a medium heat until it foams, then continue cooking until it turns golden and smells nutty. Remove from the heat, add the white chocolate and let the residual warmth melt it. Stir gently, then allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
Whisk the sugar and eggs together for about five minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the browned butter mixture and whisk again. Fold in the flour, followed by the pistachios and cranberries. The batter will be thick.
Spoon into the prepared tin, smooth the surface and bake for 30–35 minutes, until the top is lightly cracked and the centre no longer wobbles. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.
A Seasonal Note
Falling within the Yule season, early December invites us to soften, to bake, and to welcome warmth back into the home through small, meaningful rituals. Cranberries symbolise protection, pistachios abundance, and white chocolate a touch of midwinter sweetness. These blondies gather those motifs into one festive traybake: a simple offering to brighten the darkest days of the year.
