Cranberry Bliss Bars - Real Life Dinner

Have you had the Cranberry Bliss Bars from Starbucks? They are really popular, and rightfully so! The flavor combination is unique and delicious. These pretty bars are perfect for the holidays!

There are a lot of varying recipes out there for Cranberry Bliss Bars. Some use orange extract and some use orange zest. Some use ground cinnamon and some use ground ginger. Some use white chocolate in the frosting and some only use white chocolate to drizzle over the frosting. I took what was best about each recipe and came up with these. I hope you like the end result as much as we did!

More Delicious Holiday Treat Recipes

How to make Cranberry Bliss Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 9×13-inch pan by spraying it with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, orange extract, and vanilla extract. Blend until mixed well but do not overmix.
Next, add flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well until combined.
Stir in the craisins and white chocolate pieces.
Spread batter into the prepared 9×13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Edges should be just lightly browning. Do not overcook or the bars will be dry.
Wait for bars to completely cool before frosting.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the softened butter, softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, orange zest, and vanilla. Mix well until smooth.
Add 2 ounces of melted chocolate and mix again until smooth.
Spread frosting evenly over COOLED bars. Sprinkle cranberries over the frosting, and then use another 2 ounces of melted white chocolate to drizzle over the top of the bars in a back-and-forth pattern.
Let bars set up before cutting. Cut the bars into 15 or 20 squares, and then cut each bar in half diagonally to make pretty triangles.

Tips for making Cranberry Bliss Bars

If you don’t have an orange, consider using a clementine. The flavor of the zest is very similar and will still yield a delicious bar.
I like to use White Chocolate Almond Bark for the frosting and drizzle instead of white chocolate chips for this recipe. Each block of White Chocolate Almond Bark is 2 ounces and it melts easier and smoother in the microwave than white chocolate chips do. With white chocolate chips, I suggest adding a 1/2 tsp of canola or vegetable oil and stir often.
I prefer white chocolate chips for the bars, though. I give them a rough chop before adding to the dough.
Make sure cream cheese and butter are softened before using them in the frosting. Set them out a few hours before making the frosting.
To make drizzling the white chocolate easier, put the melted chocolate into a sandwich-size Ziploc bag and snip one corner off. Squeeze the bag carefully to drizzle over the bars.
Cut the finished bars into triangles by making 3×3 squares, and then cutting them in half diagonally.

Baker’s tools:

5.0 from 1 reviews

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

45 mins

A yummy knock-off of the famous Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars. A beautiful and delicious holiday treat flavored with white chocolate, craisins, orange zest, and a hint of cinnamon and ginger.

Author: Slightly Adapted from Food.com

Serves: 30-40

Ingredients

¾ cup butter, softened
⅔ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
⅓ cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp orange zest, freshly grated
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup dried craisins (if they are large or sticking together give them a rough chop before adding)
½ cup white chocolate chips or 4 ounces of white chocolate, roughly chopped
FROSTING:
¼ cup butter, softened
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1½ cups powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange zest, freshly grated
2 ounces of melted white chocolate
TOPPINGS
⅓ cup craisins, roughly chopped
2 ounces of melted white chocolate to drizzle on top
Orange zest, optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare 9x13 inch pan by spraying it with cooking spray, set aside.
In your stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Blend until mixed well but do not overmix.
Next, add flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well until combined.
Stir in the craisins and white chocolate pieces.
Spread batter into the prepared 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Edges should be just lightly browning. Do not over cook or bars will be dry.
Wait for bars to completely cool before frosting.
FROSTING DIRECTIONS:
In a medium sized bowl combine the softened butter, softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, orange zest and vanilla. Mix well until smooth.
Add 2 ounces of melted chocolate and mix again until smooth. (If you use white chocolate chips you will need to add ½ tsp canola or vegetable oil and microwave in 15-20 second intervals stirring in between.) If you use White Chocolate Almond Bark you do not have to add oil.
Spread frosting evenly over COOLED bars. Sprinkle cranberries over the frosting and then use another 2 ounces of melted white chocolate to drizzle over the top of the bars in a back and forth pattern.
Let bars set up before cutting. Cut the bars into 15 or 20 squares and then cut each bar in half diagonally to make pretty triangles.
I prefer to refrigerate leftover bars but it is not necessary.
Enjoy!