Exquisite Cranberry Bliss Bars are white chocolate blondies filled with tangy fruit flavors and iced with a luscious cream cheese frosting!
A homemade version of the holiday special, this copycat Starbucks recipe for heavenly Cranberry Bliss Bars will make you happy! It’s simple to make and absolutely spectacular! No need to wait until Pumpkin Spice Season to order these – make them yourself using pantry staples along with dried cranberries, orange zest, cream cheese, and white chocolate. Oh my!
Why You Should Make Cranberry Bliss Bars
Cranberry Bliss Bars are soft, chewy blondies loaded with craisins, orange zest, and white chocolate, topped with a decadent, deliciously creamy frosting. They’re cut into attractive triangles, so the combination of sweet & tangy flavors, red & orange colors and cute wedge shapes all come together to create beautiful bites of bliss (hence the name!)
You can enjoy these scrumptious cookie bars ANY time of year, but you can’t go wrong adding them to your Thanksgiving dessert table, Christmas cookie platters, or holiday gift bags! SO SO yummy!
Other Starbuck’s Copycat Recipes
- Copycat Starbuck’s Bacon & Gruyere Egg Bites capture the creamy custard breakfast bites you know and love!
- Everybody’s favorite summer special, our Copycat Starbuck’s Pink Drink is an easy, tasty duplicate to enjoy at home!
Ingredients
Dry Staples: This recipe uses standard cookie bar ingredients like all-purpose flour, baking powder, granulated and brown sugar, and salt.
Wet Staples: Adding to the dry ingredients are unsalted butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
Fillings and Flavors: What makes these blondie bars extra special are: Ground ginger, orange zest, white chocolate and dried cranberries – so much seasonal flavor!
Frosting: To ice the top of the Bliss Bars, we’re making a frosting of softened cream cheese, melted white chocolate, powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
Garnish: To make the triangle bars festive and fun, top them with dried cranberries and orange zest – they’re absolutely beautiful!
How to Make Homemade Cranberry Bliss Bars
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and ground ginger in a medium bowl. Set aside. Now, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and orange zest in a large bowl until smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine.
STEP TWO: Add in the dry ingredients and mix until JUST combined. Gently fold in the white chocolate and dried cranberries with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
STEP THREE: Pour the mixture into the baking pan and gently spread the top to make it even. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan.
STEP FOUR: In a large bowl, blend the cream cheese and half of the melted white chocolate until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and continue blending until no lumps remain. Lastly, stir in the vanilla extract. Spread this frosting over the cooled cookie block. Sprinkle the top generously with chopped cranberries. Drizzle the remaining white chocolate and sprinkle with orange zest.
STEP FIVE: Cut the block in half vertically, then horizontally 3 times to create 8 rectangles. Then cut each rectangle in half diagonally to make 16 triangle bars. Enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Almond bark can be substituted for white chocolate.
- The orange zest is a game-changer, but orange extract or even orange juice can work in a pinch (in the mix, not as a garnish).
- Swap out the all-purpose flour for your favorite gluten-free flour, and you’ll have a great gluten-free treat!
- A 9×13 pan is the perfect size to make these bars. A slightly smaller or larger pan will be fine. You’ll need to adjust the baking time down 1 minute for a larger pan and up 1 minute for a smaller pan.
- Fresh or frozen cranberries won’t work with this recipe. You need dried cranberries, AKA craisins.
How Do I Make Neat Triangle-Shaped Bars?
In a 9×13 pan, cut the cookie block longwise into three equal sections. Use a hot, dry knife (warm under hot water, then dry quickly. Rewarm the knife as needed throughout the cutting process to make cleaner cuts. Next, cut the short side into four equal parts. This makes 12 squares. Now cut each small square in half diagonally, giving you 24 perfect triangle-shaped Cranberry Bliss Bars.
What’s the Best Way to Store Cranberry Bliss Bars?
Baked, sliced bars should be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated (because of the cream cheese icing). They will keep for 5-6 days.
To freeze them, place parchment paper between each layer, seal them tightly in a freezer-safe container or wrap well with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. They will keep for 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
Other Recipes for Blissfully Beautiful Bars
- Lemon Bars
- Butterscotch Bars
- Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
- Buttery Coconut Bars
- Cinnamon Walnut Bars
- Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
Bars
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoons orange zest
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup white chocolate chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
Topping
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temparture
- 3 ounces white chocolate melted and divided
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup dried cranberries chopped
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and ginger. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and orange zest until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the white chocolate and dried cranberries with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and spread it out into an even layer.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Topping
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and half of the melted white chocolate until well combined. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled bars, then sprinkle with the chopped cranberries. Drizzle the remaining white chocolate in a zig-zag pattern over the top, and then sprinkle with orange zest.
- Divide the block into 8 rectangles by cutting it in half vertically and then three more times horizontally. Then cut each rectangle diagonally to form 16 triangle bars.
Leave a Reply