Whether you're enjoying these holiday treats with your favorite Hallmark movie or adding them to homemade cookie trays - everyone loves these festive bars.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Blondie base with dried cranberries is soft and chewy. Enjoy this favorite coffee shop treat without leaving your cozy home!
- They're only available at the coffee shop during the holidays but you can easily make them all year long!
This copycat Starbucks cranberry bliss bar recipe taste just like the original recipe (ok, maybe better), but fresher, cheaper, and with the satisfaction that only comes from a homemade version.
A touch of orange zest gives them a touch of bright flavor. Luscious cream cheese frosting with sweet chunks of white chocolate keeps them from being cloyingly sweet.
Good any time of year, but a family favorite treat during the holiday season.
Try these Santa's Whiskers Cookies, too.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
There are plenty of ways that you can make these frosted cookie bars your own, but the more variations you make, the less they'll be like Starbucks' cranberry bliss bars.
- You can use white chocolate chips instead of a chopped chocolate bar.
- Swap cranberries for dried raisins, if you prefer.
- Drizzle with another type of melted chocolate - dark or milk.
- If you can't find candied ginger, increase the ground ginger a bit.
- You can use 1 teaspoon of orange extract instead of the zest.
- For the white chocolate drizzle, you can use white chocolate candy melts or almond bark.
- You don't have to cut the bars into triangles unless you're aiming for an exact copycat Starbucks recipe. Try small squares or even a fun shape with cookie cutters, instead.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Beat together butter and sugars until light.
- Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients.
- Fold in the white chocolate and dried cranberries.
- Smooth into the prepared pan and bake.
- Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
- Add vanilla until powdered sugar and beat until fluffy.
- Spread on the cooled bars.
- Sprinkle with chopped cranberries and orange zest then drizzle with melted white chocolate.
🍴 Equipment
- cookie sheet with high sides or a jelly roll pan
- mixing bowls
- measuring cups and spoons
- electric mixer (either a hand mixer or a stand mixer)
- zester, microplane, or a grater
🥫 Storage
These yummy white chocolate cranberry bars can be covered and stored at room temperature for a day or so.
Refrigerate
They'll keep for four to five days in the refrigerator but do tend to dry out in the fridge.
Freeze
You can also freeze the bars to enjoy them with no baking time at all! They'll last for two to three months. Store between layers of parchment paper to keep them in perfect condition!
Either way, put them in an airtight container or wrap them with plastic wrap for best results.
I like them microwaved for a few seconds to warm. Don't forget to serve with your favorite latte.!
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Don't overbake the cranberry bliss bars. They'll set up and harden as they cool, so don't be nervous if they feel soft straight out of the oven.
- By leaving extra foil hanging over the edges of the pan, you can easily lift the bars up and out, onto the rack to cool.
- Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, don't overmix. It can make your bars tough. Just combine until there are little (or no) streaks remaining in the batter.
- The batter is kind of thick, but that's okay! Just work it into the pan as best as you can.
- Organic oranges are best for zest. Give the orange peel a little scratch and if it's super fragrant, the zest will be more flavorful.
- Use the double boiler method when melting chocolate for best results.
- However, you can melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Use the defrost setting (or 50% power) and stir often to prevent burning.
- Place a piece of parchment paper underneath your wire rack before drizzling the Starbucks bars with melted white chocolate. Then, you can scrape the excess white chocolate off of the parchment paper and reuse it or add it to the remaining white chocolate for later.
- Cut a small hole out of the corner of a plastic bag to create a make-shift piping bag for the white chocolate drizzle.
- You can also just use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over top of the cooled bars. No matter how it looks, they'll still taste amazing.
👩🍳 FAQs
It really does taste like the true Starbucks version. The best part is that you can make a whole batch for almost the cost of one in-store!
Yes! A jelly roll pan is similar to a baking sheet, and you can definitely use one for this recipe. The cranberry bliss bars puff a little, but they won't overflow the sides of the pan.
📚 Related recipes
- Chocolate Chip Gooey Butter Bars are better eaten than explained, but I'll try: shortbread cookie dough with browned butter, chocolate chips, and a gooey cheesecake topping—they're slap yo' momma good.
- If you like chewy cookies, chocolate, and meringue, these sweet and salty Old Fashioned Hoosier Peanut Bars are for you.
- One of my family's favorite holiday recipes, Cranberry Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies truly have it all—nuts, fruits, and chocolate! Yum!
- This cute Christmas brownies recipe is perfect for movie night!
📞 The last word
Vanilla Scones are another Starbucks copycat recipe you'll love as much as this homemade version of the popular Starbucks treat!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars
Print Pin Recipe SaveIngredients
Blondie Bar
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup dried cranberries , or Craisins
- ¼ cup candied ginger, chopped
- 1 tablespoon orange rind, grated
- 1 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped
Frosting
- 4 oz . cream cheese, room temp
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
- 3 cups Confectioner's sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Drizzle
- 10 ounces white chocolate chips, about 4 ½ cups
- 1 tablespoon Crisco, plain/unflavored
Topping
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup white chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons orange zest, grated
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Instructions
Blondie Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a 10x15 pan by lining it with aluminum foil with 2 inches extending over each end.
- Spray with non-stick spray.
- Beat together the butter and sugars until light - this will take about 3 minutes.
- Blend in eggs and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and ginger and mix well.
- Fold in the cranberries, candied ginger,orange peel,and chopped white chocolate.
- Do not over mix.
- Spread thick batter in prepared 10x15 pan.
- Bake 350 for 20-24 minutes until light brown at edges and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
- Let cool.
Frosting
- Beat cream cheese and butter together until fluffy.
- Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and beat until frosting is a good consistency for spreading on the bars. You can add a teaspoon or so of milk if it is too thick.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled bars.
Topping
- Use a zester to grate the rind of an orange and sprinkle zest over the frosting on the bars.
- Chop ½ cup cup of Craisins coarsely.
- Sprinkle over frosted bars.
Drizzle
- Pour white chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water.
- Once the chocolate has completely melted add the Crisco and stir until completely combined.
- If chocolate isn't thin enough add more Crisco, a teaspoon at a time, until you reach desired consistency.
- Use a fork or whisk to drizzle the white chocolate diagonally across the bars.
- Let the chocolate set for at least an hour.
- Cut into triangles.
Notes
- By leaving extra foil hanging over the edges of the pan, you can easily lift the bars up and out, onto the rack to cool and cut easily.
- Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, don't overmix.
- The batter is kind of thick, but that's okay! Just work it into the pan as best as you can.
- Organic oranges are best for zest. Give the orange peel a little scratch and if it's super fragrant, the zest will be more flavorful.
- Place a piece of parchment paper underneath your wire rack before drizzling the Starbucks bars with melted white chocolate. Then, you can scrape the excess white chocolate off of the parchment paper and reuse it or add it to the remaining white chocolate for later.
- Cut a small hole out of the corner of a plastic bag to create a make-shift piping bag for the white chocolate drizzle.
- You can also just use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over top of the cooled bars. No matter how it looks, they'll still taste amazing.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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We'll never share your email or send you spam. Pinkie swear.First published December 5, 2012. Last updated December 4, 2023 for editorial improvements.
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