Cranberry Bliss Bars Recipe
During the holidays, I made these Cranberry Bliss Bars for my family and everyone loved them. These are a copycat recipe of the bars you can purchase at Starbucks, but I have to admit, I had never tried them. I had a request from a family member to make them, and thought, why not! They sounded good and didn’t seem to be that difficult to make. I totally forgot about posting this recipe for Cranberry Bliss Bars, but when I remembered that Valentine’s Day was right around the corner, I thought they would be fun to make for that holiday as well! Even though they seem like a dessert to have at Christmas, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a Bliss Bar whenever you want throughout the year! You agree?!? 🙂
So, having never eaten a Cranberry Bliss Bar, I had no idea what to expect. I thought they were really sweet and yummy, but I did feel like I would change a few things if I ever made them again. I definitely would omit the white chocolate that is drizzled on the top, as I didn’t feel it was necessary for the recipe. And, I would add less orange extract in the frosting. The recipe that I have posted below has been changed from the original. If you wish to see the original recipe that I used from belleofthekitchen.com, you can see it here.
Let me know if you have a chance to make them and what you think of them! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂 Enjoy!
- Bars
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
- 1½ cups packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp orange extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- ¾ cup Craisins
- Frosting
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp orange extract
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- â…“ cup Craisins
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan or rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- In mixer, beat together melted butter and brown sugar over medium speed.
- Add in eggs, 1 tsp orange extract and 1 tsp vanilla extract and then beat until mixed well.
- In a separate container, mix ground ginger, baking powder, salt and flour.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and beat until just blended. Don’t overmix.
- Stir in white chocolate chips and Craisins by hand.
- Spread evenly into the bottom of prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes until set and golden brown at the edges. Do not over-bake or bars will be hard. Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool. Allow bars to cool completely before topping with frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together in your mixer until smooth and creamy. Add 1/4 tsp orange extract and ½ tsp vanilla extract and mix well. Top cooled bars with frosting. Sprinkle with Craisins.
- Cut into triangles ( I chose to cut them in a rectangular shape) and enjoy! Store in the refrigerator, if you have any remaining!! 🙂
