Cranberry Bliss Bars Copy Cat

This post is one of two posts that I have had the mind to write and yet and have neglected to do for two months. This first one is a copycat recipe of Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars. I loved these bliss bars the first time I purchased one from Starbucks. I have always loved cranberry, but never cared much for white chocolate. However, when the white chocolate is paired with cream cheese and the cranberries, it is sensational! It was so sensational that I baked three batches of them over Christmas break because we couldn't keep them in stock!

There are a lot of cranberry bliss bar recipes online. Going through and comparing about three or four of them from other blogs that I follow, I chose the one from The Girl Who Eats Everything. I chose this one because in her description, she said the blondie portion was chewier and less cakey than others. For the original recipe that I followed, please visit here. The only major difference that I did was replaced regular cranberries and orange zest with orange flavored cranberries that I got from Trader Joe's. 

Sara's Version of the Starbuck's Cranberry Bliss Bar

Ingredients

Blondie Layer:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, cubed

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup dried Trader Joe's Orange Flavored cranberries

6 ounces white baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

Frosting:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

6 ounces white baking chocolate, melted

1/2 cup dried Trader Joe's Orange flavored cranberries, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper.

2. Prepare the blondie layer: In a medium bowl, melt butter for one minute in the microwave or until melted; stir in brown sugar. Pour the butter and sugar into a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Use an electric mixer to beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; gradually add the dry mixture to the butter mixture. 

3. Stir in the cranberries and chopped chocolate. Notice that the batter will be thick and difficult to mix by hand. See the picture below. 

3. Spread the blondie batter into the prepared pan. I used a spatula to spread it evenly. 

4. Bake for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Cool completely on a wire rack.

4. Prepare the frosting: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until combined. Gradually add half of the melted white chocolate; beat until blended. Frost brownies. 

Sprinkle with chopped cranberries. Drizzle with remaining melted white chocolate. Let the frosting set (speed this up by throwing them into the fridge) then cut into bars- square or triangle-shaped. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

We had a few leftovers from our third batch... because in reality it takes a lot of people to eat 70 bliss bars. My Mom kept the rest and froze them in her freezer. She said that they froze and kept well. 

Next Christmas, if you love your family and remember about these, please feed them with these. It is so worth it.