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Cranberry Bliss Bars are the Starbucks holiday treat I used to wait all year for, until I started making them at home for a fraction of the price. This copycat has a chewy white chocolate blondie base, tangy cream cheese frosting, and a pretty cranberry white chocolate drizzle on top. I baked my first pan on a chilly December afternoon with the girls, and now they are our official start of the holidays dessert. If you love a festive bar, our gingerbread bars with cream cheese frosting are another must bake.
A spiced blondie base loaded with cranberries and white chocolate meets a tangy cream cheese frosting for a copycat that tastes just like the real thing.
Cranberry Bliss Bars Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 22 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 42 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 24 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 310kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Spiced white chocolate blondie with tangy cranberry cream cheese
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, as simple as our gingerbread bars
Quick Answer
Whisk together the melted butter and sugars, then beat in eggs, orange zest, and vanilla. Stir in flour, ginger, baking powder, and salt, then fold in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Spread into a sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes. Once cool, frost with cream cheese frosting, sprinkle with cranberries, and drizzle with melted white chocolate before cutting into triangles.
Jump to:
- Cranberry Bliss Bars Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Cranberry Bliss Bars FAQs
- Other Recommended Easy Holiday Dessert Recipes
- Starbucks Copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- It tastes just like Starbucks. The spiced white chocolate blondie, tangy cream cheese frosting, and cranberry drizzle nail the flavor of the coffee shop favorite for way less money.
- A chewy blondie base. Melted butter and brown sugar give the base that dense, chewy blondie texture that holds up to the frosting.
- Ginger and orange brighten it up. A little ground ginger and fresh orange zest give these bars their signature warm, festive flavor.
- White chocolate two ways. White chocolate chips in the base and a melted drizzle on top double down on that sweet, creamy flavor.
- Make ahead friendly. These bars keep and even travel well, making them perfect for holiday cookie trays and gifting.
- One pan, lots of bars. A single sheet pan yields two dozen bars, so there is plenty to share at a party or bake sale.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They taste just like the Starbucks holiday favorite for a fraction of the cost.
- A chewy spiced blondie base meets tangy cream cheese frosting and white chocolate drizzle.
- One pan makes 24 bars, perfect for holiday trays, like our frosted Lofthouse cookies.
- It is the kind of no fuss win that pairs beautifully with our cranberry bars on a busy week.
- It is the kind of no fuss win that pairs beautifully with our slow cooker cranberry meatballs on a busy week.
- It earns a spot in the rotation right next to our lemon poppyseed bars.
- It is the kind of no fuss win that pairs beautifully with our cranberry dip on a busy week.
Key Ingredients
A handful of baking staples plus a few festive add ins make these copycat bars.
- Brown sugar and butter: Melted together for the chewy, caramel toned blondie base.
- Ground ginger and orange zest: The warm, bright flavors that give cranberry bliss bars their signature taste.
- Dried cranberries: Chopped and folded into the base plus sprinkled on top for tart, chewy pops of flavor.
- White chocolate chips: Stirred into the batter and melted for the drizzle, adding sweet, creamy richness.
- Cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla: Whipped into the tangy frosting that makes these bars, similar to the topping on our cranberry coffee cake.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These cranberry bliss bars are easy to adapt.
- Add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg to the base for even more warm spice.
- Use chopped dried cherries in place of some of the cranberries for a twist.
- Stir a little orange extract into the frosting for a stronger citrus flavor.
- Cut them into small squares instead of triangles for a bigger batch, perfect next to our gingerbread bars on a cookie tray.
- For another spin on this idea, try our white chocolate cranberry cheesecake bars next time.
- For another spin on this idea, try our turkey pinwheels recipe next time.
- In the mood for something different? Our lemon bars scratches a similar itch.
- For another spin on this idea, try our maple cheesecake bars next time.
How to Make Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 10×15 sheet pan with parchment. Whisk the melted butter with the brown and granulated sugar, then whisk in the eggs, orange zest, and vanilla until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until there are no dry patches.
- Fold in the chopped dried cranberries and white chocolate chips until evenly distributed through the batter.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the frosting by beating the cream cheese smooth, then mixing in the powdered sugar, orange zest, vanilla, and half of the melted white chocolate.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled bars, sprinkle with chopped cranberries, and drizzle the remaining melted white chocolate on top in a zig zag. Cut into triangles and serve.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Line the pan with parchment, leaving an overhang, so you can lift the whole slab out to frost and cut cleanly.
- Do not overbake, pulling the base at 18 to 22 minutes keeps it chewy rather than dry.
- Cool completely before frosting, since a warm base will melt the cream cheese frosting.
- Melt the white chocolate gently, in short bursts, so it stays smooth for mixing and drizzling.
- Chop the cranberries so they distribute evenly and are easy to bite through.
- Chill before cutting for the cleanest triangles, and wipe the knife between cuts.
- Double up for gatherings. Serve it alongside our blueberry bars recipe and watch both disappear.
- Make it a full spread. Our cranberry pumpkin muffins rounds out the table.
- Double up for gatherings. Serve it alongside our apple pie bars and watch both disappear.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These copycat cranberry bliss bars are a holiday showstopper. Cut them into the classic triangle shape and arrange them on a festive platter for parties, cookie exchanges, and gifting.
Store the bars covered in the refrigerator for up to five days, which also helps the frosting set into clean, firm bars. They travel well for gifting, and you can freeze the unfrosted base for up to two months, then thaw, frost, and drizzle when you are ready to serve. They may taste like a coffee shop splurge, but making them at home means you can enjoy a whole pan for the price of a couple bars, just like our white chocolate raspberry cookies.
Cranberry Bliss Bars FAQs
Cranberry bliss bars are a Starbucks holiday favorite made of a chewy, spiced white chocolate blondie base topped with tangy cream cheese frosting, dried cranberries, and a white chocolate drizzle. They are traditionally cut into triangles and sold around the winter holidays. This copycat recreates them at home.
Yes, they are a great make ahead dessert. Bake and cool the base, then frost and decorate up to a day or two ahead and store covered in the fridge. Chilling actually helps the frosting set and makes the bars easier to cut into clean triangles.
Because of the cream cheese frosting, store these bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving so the blondie base softens back up.
You can freeze the unfrosted blondie base tightly wrapped for up to 2 months. Thaw, then frost, add cranberries, and drizzle before serving. Freezing the fully frosted bars is possible, but the frosting texture is best when added fresh.
A 10×15 inch jelly roll pan gives you the classic thin bars like Starbucks. A 9×13 pan works too and yields thicker bars, just add a few minutes to the bake time and check for doneness with a toothpick.
Stick with dried, sweetened cranberries for this recipe. Fresh cranberries are too tart and watery and will change the texture of the bars. Dried cranberries give that signature chewy, sweet tart bite in both the base and on top.
Made these copycat cranberry bliss bars? I would love to hear how they turned out, leave a comment and a star rating below!
We turned these exact flavors into breakfast with our cranberry orange muffins.
Starbucks Copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup roughly chopped dried sweetened cranberries
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
For the topping:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup white chocolate chips melted, divided
- ¼ cup roughly chopped sweetened dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 10x15x1 (this will also work with a 9×13 pan, cook times may vary) pan with parchment paper, set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt, set aside.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Whisk in the eggs until fully incorporated.2 large eggs
- Add the orange zest and vanilla, whisk to combine.2 teaspoons orange zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl.
- Stir it in until there are no dry patches left.
- Add the chopped cranberries and chocolate chips1 cup roughly chopped dried sweetened cranberries, 1 cup white chocolate chips
- Fold them in until evenly combined..
- Spread this mixture into the prepared baking pan and smooth it out. Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the bars cool, make the frosting by adding the cream cheese to a medium-sized bowl and mix it with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar a little at a time until mixed in. Add the orange zest and vanilla, mix it in. Add half of the melted white chocolate and mix it in.8 ounces cream cheese, 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon orange zest, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup white chocolate chips
- Once the bars are cool, take them out of the pan and smooth the frosting over the top. Sprinkle the chopped cranberries on top. Drizzle the remaining melted white chocolate on top, in an overlapping zig-zag pattern.¼ cup roughly chopped sweetened dried cranberries
- You can cut and serve the bars immediately or place them in the fridge so the frosting can set slightly if you want a firmer bar.
Notes
- These can be cut in half to serve fewer people.
- The orange is a necessary ingredient, please do not skip it!
- Make sure you use dried cranberries that are sweetened, fresh will not work.
- High-quality white chocolate is best as they melt better.
- These can be frozen, see my tips above.
Nutrition
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