Cranberry Bliss Bars

The first recipe up for this holiday baking season are some cranberry bliss bars. These bars are inspire by the cranberry bliss bars from Starbucks and they are essentially a blondie bar recipe with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips topped with a cream cheese frosting, cranberries and a white chocolate drizzle. The “blondie” base is just a simple brownie recipe without the chocolate and these blondies are made with the usual suspects to which I add some orange zest and grated candied ginger along with the white chocolate chips and the dried cranberries. The frosting is a simple combination of cream cheese, powdered sugar and melted white chocolate and I like to add a hint of orange. Dried cranberries are sprinkled on before a final drizzle of white chocolate. These cranberry bliss bars are so nice and moist, chewy and tender and divinely and decadently delicious! They are to disappear quickly no matter where you serve them!

Prep Time:15 minutes Cook Time:30 minutes Total Time:45 minutes Servings: 20

Copycat Starbucks cranberry bliss bars with soft and moist cranberry and white chocolate chip blondies topped with crew cheese frosting, white chocolate drizzle and cranberries!

ingredients

For the cranberry white chocolate chip blondie bars:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 tablespoons candied/crystallized ginger, minced/grated
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

For the cranberry white chocolate cream cheese topping:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered/confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup dried cranberries

directions

For the cranberry white chocolate chip blondie bars:

Cream the butter and sugar before mixing in the eggs, vanilla, orange zest and candied ginger.
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt before mixing into the wet ingredients followed by the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
Pour the batter into a greased (or parchment paper or foil lined) 8×13 inch baking pan and bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until a toothpick pushed in the centre comes out clean, about 20 minutes, before setting aside to cool.

For the cranberry white chocolate cream cheese topping:

Mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar and orange juice.
Melt the white chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler and mix half of it into the cream cheese frosting.
Spread the cream cheese frosting over the bars, sprinkle on the cranberries and place the remaining melted white chocolate in a small ziplock bag, make a small cut in the corner and squeeze the chocolate over the bars in desired pattern.
Let cool, slice and enjoy!

Option: Replace the orange zest with 1 teaspoon orange extract or omit.
Option: Replace the candied ginger with 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger.
Option: For a harder cream cheese frosting more similar to Starbucks, add 1 extra cup of icing sugar.
Note: Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 seconds bursts on high heat until melted. OR Melt the chocolate in a bowl held over a saucepan with simmering water until melted.