These Strawberry Candy Bar Blondies are the perfect balance of flavors and textures! They have a rich, buttery blondie base and are packed with white chocolate chips, chopped strawberry chocolate candy bars, and a subtle burst of strawberry from finely crushed freeze-dried strawberries. The strawberry flavor is more of a light background note rather than overpowering, making these bars taste like a delicious cross between strawberry shortcake and classic blondies.
One thing I’ve only recently realized about myself is that when it comes to dessert, I’ll almost always choose a chocolate bar over anything else. I love ice cream, cake, and cookies—but give me a good thick, creamy chocolate bar, and I just can’t resist. I especially love the chunkier bars, like the Milka Maxx series, which is exactly what inspired this recipe.
For this batch, I used the Milka Maxx Strawberry Cheesecake bar. Now, I’ll be honest—I don’t love artificial strawberry flavors. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat it, but it’s never my first choice. So I wanted to experiment: first, tasting the bar on its own, and then giving it a whole new purpose in a blondie.
When baked into the blondies, the strawberry flavor became super subtle, almost disappearing into the buttery, rich base. These blondies have a slightly dense, cake-like texture rather than a gooey brownie consistency, so the candy bar pieces didn’t melt into pools of chocolate—instead, they blended in seamlessly.
To bring back a fresh strawberry taste, I added a layer of freeze-dried strawberry powder. Unlike artificial strawberry flavors, freeze-dried strawberries have that real, fruity taste, and they’re super easy to find in grocery stores now. I simply blitzed them in a food processor until they turned into a fine dust. You can adjust the amount to your taste, but I used about half a bag for just the right balance.
For a little twist, you can swap out the candy bar flavors or even skip the strawberry entirely—after all, nothing beats a good blondie! But if you love a hint of strawberry with your white chocolate, this version is definitely worth a try.
1. What are Strawberry Candy Bar Blondies?
Strawberry Candy Bar Blondies are rich, buttery blondie bars filled with crushed graham crackers, white chocolate, and chopped strawberry candy bar pieces for a fun and sweet twist.
2. Do these taste like cheesecake?
No, the cheesecake-flavored candy bar isn’t overpowering when it bakes into the bars. The blondies have more of a strawberry shortcake or candy bar flavor without a strong cheesecake taste.
3. Can I substitute the Milka Maxx Strawberry Cheesecake bar?
Yes! You can use any strawberry-flavored chocolate bar or swap it for white chocolate with extra freeze-dried strawberries for a similar flavor.
4. How should I store these blondies?
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the fridge for up to a week. They also freeze well for up to 3 months.
5. Can I make these without white chocolate?
Yes, you can omit the white chocolate chips or replace them with milk or dark chocolate chips for a different flavor.
One of my favorite ways to bake is with a fun audiobook playing in the background! While experimenting with this recipe, I was listening to Love and Lattes by Beth Reekles—it’s such a cute love story written by the author of The Kissing Booth. I could create recipes for hours when I’m lost in a good book, and the narrator’s voice made the experience even better. If you haven’t tried audiobook baking yet, I highly recommend it!
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