Adventures In Cranberry Bliss

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One of the ways we know the seasons are changing is that seasonal food becomes available.  I’m not just talking about eating fruits and vegetables in season (although that’s an excellent strategy) but also what luxury foods are available.  We know it’s fall because pumpkin spice everything is available everywhere.  Lattes, milkshakes, ice cream, baked goods…it’s truly ubiquitous.  

And one of the ways we know the holidays are coming is that Cranberry Bliss Bars become available at Starbucks.  And those things are well named.  They are indeed blissful.  They are so popular that frequently, when I arrive at Starbucks to get one with my tea, they don’t have any.  All sold out.  It’s enough to break your heart.

I do have a small confession to make…and I’m absolutely not proud of this.  But we’re all friends here, right?  I can be honest with you, right?  So on one occasion when the Cranberry Bliss Bars were sold out and it seemed I was doomed to spend the rest of my day bliss-free, the cashier told me that only the individual bars were sold out.  There were six-packs of the bars still available.  And she mentioned that the bars freeze really well, so I could have one and freeze the rest.  So I bought the six-pack and I did intend to freeze most of them.  

However, that’s not quite how it went.  When I got home and had my first bar, things got very blurry…almost like I was drunk.  And when I once again became aware of my surroundings, all the bars were gone.  All six of them.  And my stomach hurt.  At first, I thought a burglar might have broken into my house, eaten all of my bars, and then punched me in the stomach.  But I gradually came to the realization that I had in fact made myself sick by pigging out on the bars.  I never again brought home a six-pack of Cranberry Bliss Bars.  A mistake is slightly less disgraceful if you at least learn from it.

Since I hardly got any bliss bars last year, I decided this year to try making some myself.  And freezing them!  Not eating them all in one sitting.  So I did some research on the inter-webs and found several recipes claiming to be copycat version of the Starbucks specialty.  I looked them over, collected the pieces of each recipe that seemed most likely to succeed, and cobbled together my own version.  Please be aware, I am not claiming to have invented this recipe.  Others did the hard work before me.  But the end result absolutely tastes like a genuine Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar.  The only (very slight) difference is that the frosting I made stays soft, where the Starbucks version does firm up.  But it’s only a slight textural difference…the taste is spot on.

So, the method followed by the recipe:  to make the blondie base, melt your butter and combine it with the brown sugar using an electric mixer.  Then add your eggs, vanilla, and orange extract.  Do not skip the orange extract!  These will not taste right without it.  Sift together your dry ingredients and then mix them into the wet ingredients just until combined.  Do not over mix.  Add in the craisins (sweetened dried cranberries) and the white chocolate chips and stir in by hand.  Spread this batter into a 9x13” pan that has been lined with parchment paper and then lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake until the blondies are just set and then remove from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack. 

Once the blondies are completely cool, then make your frosting.  The frosting is softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and orange extract.  Again, do not skip the orange extract…trust me!  Spread this over the cooled blondies.  Then roughly chop some more craisins, and sprinkle them over the top of the frosting.  Finally, melt the remainder of your white chocolate chips (I like to do it in the microwave on short bursts of low power) and drizzle that over the top.  Put the whole thing in the fridge for a couple hours to firm up, then remove it from the pan (if you did it right with the parchment paper, the overlap should allow you to just lift it out of the pan) and onto a cutting board.  I like to cut these into sixteen rectangles, and then if you want them to look like Starbucks’ version in addition to tasting like it, cut the rectangles crosswise into triangles.  Done!  

Store these in the fridge in an air tight container.  And it’s a good idea to freeze some on a baking sheet as well; then once they’re frozen, you can move them to a ziplock bag.  I think my self control is improving because I made these for the blog five days ago, and I haven’t eaten even half of the batch yet.  So feeling good about myself there…

Here’s my version of the recipe.  Enjoy!

Copycat “Cranberry Bliss” Bars

Click here for printable PDF of recipe

INGREDIENTS

BARS

1 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp orange extract

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 12-oz bag white chocolate chips, divided

3/4 cup craisins (sweetened dried cranberries)

TOPPING

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp orange extract

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup craisins, roughly chopped

white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Make the bars:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9x13” pan with parchment paper and grease lightly.

Sift together dry ingredients (flour, ginger, salt, baking powder) and set aside. Beat together melted butter and brown sugar at medium speed until smooth. Then add in the eggs, vanilla, and orange extract and beat well. Add in dry ingredients, beating until just blended. Don’t overmix. Stir in 1 cup of white chocolate chips and the 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. Don’t overbake. Allow pan to cool completely on a wire rack for before adding the topping.

Make the topping:

Beat the softened cream cheese and the powdered sugar together until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla and orange extract and mix well. Spread evenly over the top of the cooled bars. Over this, sprinkle the chopped craisins. Melt the remainder of the 12 oz bag of white chocolate chips at low power in the microwave and drizzle over the top of the craisins.

These can be lifted out of the pan, cut, and eaten at this point. However, it is recommended to put the pan into the fridge for about an hour to let everything firm up before cutting. These will last in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week, or in the freezer for up to three months.