Up until a few months ago, I had never tasted a cranberry bliss bar from Starbucks. I realize this is shocking, as they have a bit of a cult following. Plus here in the Seattle area there are Starbucks coffee shops approximately every 100 yards (there are 5 within a 3 mile radius of our house and we live in the suburbs). Thankfully, I had one at a friends’ house a few months ago and realized what I was missing. Sometimes there are things that I take a bite of and immediately think: I need to make that for the blog. These cranberry white chocolate bars are exactly like that.
When it comes to chocolate, I usually prefer a dark chocolate, but I love white chocolate in these bars. It pairs so well with the cranberries, not to mention the white and red color combination is dreamy to photograph. I had plans to get these tested and the recipe out to you around Christmas, but then I was enjoying all the sweet baby snuggles and knew that these cranberry white chocolate bars would be worth the wait.
AND THEY ARE. They’re dessert, they’re breakfast, they’re paired with your afternoon tea. They are perfect. I sent these to work with my husband after I was done photographing they did not last long, which always makes me so happy to know that I have a delicious recipe ready for all of you.
As delicious as these bars are, they are also pretty. I did copy the Starbucks method of cutting them into triangles instead of squares or bars and they almost look too good to eat. Almost. But you know you need to take a bite or twelve.
So go ahead and indulge in these! They taste even better than the ones at Starbucks, if I do say so myself.
- ¾ cup melted butter
- 1¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. orange extract
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground ginger
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp. milk
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 4 oz. melted white chocolate
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine melted butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add orange and vanilla extract and beat again to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, bakign powder, salt, ginger, and cinnamon.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Fold in white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
- Spray an 8x12 or 9x13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper. You'll want to leave enough parchment paper overhanging on the edge to remove the bars.*
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the bars to cool almost completely in the pan, then use a knife to loosen the edges of the bars. Gently remove from the pan and set onto a surface that can be used to cut the bars.
- Once the bars are cool, make the frosting. Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth. Add the milk a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Spread the frosting over the bars.
- Sprinkle the dried cranberries onto the frosting, then drizzle with melted white chocolate.
- Cut the bars into rectanges, squares, or triangles. Enjoy!
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