Cranberry bliss bars are perfect for the holidays, whether you need a dessert to bring to parties or you simply want a festive treat for your family.
Whenever I catch the scent of oranges, I say it smells like Christmas. Reason being that oranges and peanuts are a tradition at our family Christmas gatherings. I love anything orange-flavored or orange-scented, and these festive blondies are no exception.
What are cranberry bliss bars?
Cranberry bliss bars are blondies filled with dried cranberries, white chocolate chips and orange flavor, and they’re Starbucks originals. Now, I’ll be honest, I have never tried them. I have actually only been to Starbucks a handful of times (we don’t have a lot of them in Mexico.) All I know is that I love this flavor combination.
The triangular-shaped blondies are topped with a white chocolate cream cheese frosting, more dried cranberries and a drizzle of white chocolate.
Ingredients you’ll need to make cranberry bliss bars
The list might look like a long one, but these bars are actually very quick and easy to mix up.
- butter
- brown sugar
- eggs
- orange zest
- orange juice
- vanilla extract
- baking powder
- salt
- all-purpose flour
- dried cranberries
- white chocolate chips
- cream cheese
- powdered sugar
How to make cranberry bliss bars
The process for making these festive blondies couldn’t be simpler.
Start by mixing the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Then grab another bowl and whisk together the melted butter and sugar. Add in the eggs, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract; mix just until combined. Then stir in the dry ingredients, mixing just until a few streaks remain. Mix in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries, again being careful not to overmix.
Spread the batter out in a parchment-lined 9×13-inch baking dish. The first time I made these bars I just used a greased baking dish, and let me tell you, the bars were a pain to get out.
Bake the bars at 350° F for 25-30 minutes or until they’re almost set. The key to chewy blondies is not to overbake them. Remove them from the oven while the center is still just slightly jiggly.
Let the bars cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting, you’ll beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until fluffy. Then stir in melted white chocolate, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract. The first few times I made these cranberry bliss bars the frosting wasn’t setting up, making it hard to get clean cuts. So I looked at other recipes online and found that many of them included white chocolate. Not only does this taste delicious, it also helps the frosting to set, making it easier to cut the bars neatly without smearing the frosting everywhere.
I will say that the frosting makes these blondies super sweet. They’re definitely an indulgent treat, so keep in mind that you won’t need a whole lot of these at a time. I did reduce the amount of frosting compared to many other recipes you’ll find, but feel free to use even less frosting if you so wish.
Spread the frosting on the bars, sprinkle with more dried cranberries and drizzle with melted chocolate. Then place them in the fridge for an hour to let the frosting set before cutting into bars.
Here’s how to cut the bars into triangles. I like to lift them out of the pan before starting. Cut into 12 squares, then cut those squares in half diagonally to get 24 small triangular bars.
Because the frosting contains cream cheese, the bars need to be stored in the fridge. They can be stored up to 5 days.
More holiday recipes you’ll love
- Easy No-Chill Sugar Cookies
- Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- Overnight Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Happy baking, friends!
Ingredients
- For the blondies:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, melted and cooled
- 1¼ cups packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- For the frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 3 ounces white chocolate, melted *
- ½ teaspoon grated orange zest
- 1 teaspoon orange juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- For topping:
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- 2 ounces melted white chocolate for drizzling *
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract; mix just until combined. Stir in the dry ingredients, dried cranberries and white chocolate chips, mixing until just combined.
- Evenly spread the batter in the parchment-lined dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are set and the center is just slightly jiggly; do not overbake.
- Let the blondies cool completely.
- For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium mixing bowl until fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Mix in the melted white chocolate, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract.
- Spread the frosting on the cooled blondies, then sprinkle with dried cranberries. Drizzle melted white chocolate over all.
- Place the bars in the fridge for at least an hour to set before cutting.
- Cut into 12 squares, then cut each square in half diagonally, making a total of 24 triangular-shaped bars.
- Store covered in the fridge up to 5 days.
Notes
* For the melted chocolate in the frosting and for the topping you can use melting chocolate, Almond Bark or white chocolate chips. If it's too thick for drizzling, add some coconut oil to thin it out. And a quick note on the orange zest: when you're grating the orange zest, make sure not to get the white pith underneath as this will give your bars an unpleasant bitter taste.
2 comments
These bars are absolutely phenomenal!!
An explosion of flavors, for sure!