Cranberry Bliss Bars
Move over, Starbucks – these copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars are more scrumptious than anything you can pick up from a drive-thru! Soft, chewy, cookie-like bars are flavored with an array of ingredients, the most notable being the festive dried cranberries and sweet white chocolate chips. Of course, the easy to make cream cheese frosting is what really steals the show!
Cranberry Bliss Bars
Usually, I get downright giddy when I see that Starbucks has rolled out their holiday items like their famous cranberry bliss bars. While I’m still guilty of swinging by my local drive-thru when I’m out running errands, I never really order my favorite treat of theirs anymore. Why? Because I’ve mastered an at-home recipe that’s not just way more affordable, but also even more delicious. Yes, really!
As much as I love making a batch of these super simple bars just to snack on throughout the week and pair with my morning coffee, they’re wonderful to serve at so many other functions. Potlucks, Christmas parties, and even cookie exchanges are all perfect settings for these cranberry cookie bars.
Since just about everyone loves the original treat from Starbucks, they’re always a huge hit! And yes, everyone asks for this recipe.
The depth of flavors here is really what makes you keep going back for more. While the most stand-out ingredients are the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries, the flavorful ingredients that actually make up the dough are crucial! Ground ginger, orange extract, and more create the most mouthwatering flavor.
Then of course, the butter keeps things, for lack of a better word, buttery! All around, these cookie bars are perfection, especially when topped off with the sweet cream cheese frosting of your dreams. They’re so amazing, I created this Cranberry Bliss Cheesecake Trifle to share with my friends.
How to Make Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350˚F, or 325°F if you’re using a glass or dark pan. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- Make the dough. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs, orange extract and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and ginger and mix to combine. Fold in the cranberries and chips, stirring just until incorporated.
- Bake. Spread the batter evenly in the baking dish. Bake at 350˚F for 26-28 minutes until light brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Once fully baked, cool completely.
- Make the frosting. To make the frosting, add the cream cheese and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until fluffy. Add in the orange juice, zest, and confectioners sugar, beating until the frosting is fluffy and spreadable. You can add 1 teaspoon of milk if it’s still too thick.
- Top off the bars. Spread the frosting evenly over cooled bars. Chop the remaining cranberries coarsely and sprinkle them over the bars. Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave 1 minute; stirring every 15 seconds until melted. Use a fork or whisk to drizzle the white chocolate diagonally across the bars.
- Enjoy! Let the bars cool for one hour or until the white chocolate is set before cutting. To make triangles, cut into 20 squares (5 cuts by 4 cuts) and then cut each square in half diagonally.
Why Use Parchment Paper
There are two major reasons why parchment paper will be your BFF with this recipe. First, it’s perfect for being a non-stick agent for the bars and the baking dish. Secondly, if you leave enough parchment paper exposed around the edges of the dish, you can simply lift the baked good right out of the baking dish and start slicing.
How to Store Leftovers
In an airtight container in the fridge, these bars will stay fresh for about 4-5 days!
More Copycat Dessert Recipes
- Christmas Funfetti Crumbl Cookies
- Starbucks Copycat Creme Brulee Latte
- Copycat Milk Bar Birthday Cake
- Easy Shamrock Shake
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Get the Recipe: Cranberry Bliss Bars (Starbucks Copycat)
Ingredients
For the bars:
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2 ⁄3 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1 ⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
For the frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
For the topping:
- 1 ⁄3 cup craisins, chopped
- 1 ⁄3 cup white chocolate chips
Equipment
- baking dish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (325 for a glass or dark pan).
- Coat a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and line with parchment.
- With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs, orange extract and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and ginger and mix to combine.
- Fold in the cranberries and chips, stirring just until incorporated.
- Spread the batter evenly in the baking dish.
- Bake at 350˚F for 26-28 minutes until light brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely.
- To make the frosting, add the cream cheese and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until fluffy.
- Add orange juice, zest and confectioners sugar beating until frosting is fluffy and spreadable (adding 1 teaspoon of milk if it’s still too thick). Spread evenly over COOLED bars.
- Chop the remaining cranberries coarsely and sprinkle over the bars.
- Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave 1 minute; stirring every 15 seconds until melted. Use a fork or whisk to drizzle the white chocolate diagonally across the bars.
- Let the bars cool for one hour or until the white chocolate is set before cutting.
- To make triangles, cut into 20 squares (5 cuts by 4 cuts) and then cut each square in half diagonally.