You can’t go wrong with macadamias, honey, or cookies. Put all three together and you’ve got yourself the most crumbly, crunchy, nutty treat. The nut layer becomes beautifully caramelised with the honey and sugar, and pairs beautifully with the buttery cookie layer.

Add a cup of tea, and you’re on a whole new level. It sounds kind of weird, but trust me on this one – you’ve got to dunk it into your tea and then devour it.

A dear family friend gave us a bag of home-grown macadamia nuts from her farm. Besides gorging them just as is, and making macadamia cookies, I also came up with this recipe. As I said, it’s a combo that can’t go wrong. And it didn’t.

I made a batch to take to Timabvati (a private game reserve in South Africa) on holiday, and they went down a storm with my friends and family. These are the perfect afternoon treat when you need a little something sweet on your tongue.

How to Make these Macadamia Nut & Honey Cookie Bars

I used a food processor to make the biscuit layer. This works very well, but it is also possible to do it without: using a pastry cutter or just your fingertips.

Whichever tool you use, combine the cake flour, baking powder, cubed butter, and sugar. Process/cut/rub until a super fine, even crumb forms, and no clumps of butter are left. Then, add the vanilla essence and milk and process/cut/rub until the mixture just about comes together.

In a medium-sized ovenproof dish, use your fingers to press the dough into an even layer at the bottom of the dish.

Now, it’s time to get onto the mac layer – a.k.a. the best part. To do this, stir together the honey and sugar. Microwave this mixture for 30 seconds to make the honey more runny, then stir in the raw unsalted macadamias and salt. Spread this mixture in an even layer on top of the dough.

Now pop the whole thing into the oven. Take it out again when the top is nicely browned, and the cookie layer is firm. The honey and sugar will have caramelised the macs on top of the cookies. Yum! Allow the cookie bars to cool completely, then cut them into squares.

Print Recipe

Macadamia Nut and Honey Bars

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Sweet

By Lisha Lovely – Serves: 20 small squares

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 20 minutes – Total Time: 35 minutes

These macadamia nut and honey cookie bars are crunchy, crumbly, and nutty. The nut layer becomes beautifully caramelised with the honey and sugar, and pairs beautifully with the buttery cookie layer.

Ingredients

• Cookie Layer
• 1½ cups cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 125g butter, cubed
• 1T sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2T milk
• Macadamia Nut Layer
• ¼ cup honey
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup raw unsalted macadamias, roughly chopped
• ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a medium-sized (about 25x16cm) oven-proof dish with baking paper.

2

In a food processor, combine the cake flour, baking powder, cubed butter, and sugar. Process until a super fine, even crumb forms, and no clumps of butter are left. Add the vanilla essence and milk and process until the mixture just about comes together. Use your fingers to press the dough into an even layer at the bottom of the dish.

3

In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the honey and sugar. Microwave for 30 seconds to make the honey more runny, then stir in the raw unsalted macadamias and salt. Spread this mixture in an even layer on top of the dough.

4

Bake for about 20 minutes, until the top is nicely browned, and the cookie layer is firm. Allow to cool completely, then cut into squares.

Wanna try a different macadamia recipe? Give this macadamia biscotti a go.