Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

Just a wee bit adapted from The Black Peppercorn

These are not healthy for you … but they MAY help you save some money, if you’re addicted to those amazing Cranberry Bliss bars at Starbucks. I just love those things. When Steve at The Black Peppercorn posted a recipe for them, well, I just couldn’t resist giving them a try. It’s a good thing I volunteered to bring treats to an art sale my friends were having or I would have eaten WAY too many of these babies.

I was tempted to try to “healthify” this recipe, but thought I’d make it in its original decadent form first, then try to lighten it up. Wish me luck! Here is the decadent version in all its glory. Merry Christmas my friends!

Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: About 16 - 20 bars (depending on how large you cut them) 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped
• 4 oz white chocolate chips, chopped (about 2/3 cup)

For the topping:

• 4 oz. light cream cheese, softened
• About 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• About 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter with the sugars till smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir till it’s all well mixed.
3. Add the flour, ginger, salt & baking powder and stir, stir, stir till the mixture is smooth and pretty much lump-free. Fold in the cranberries and white chocolate. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until the bars are nicely golden brown on the top. Set them aside to let them cool.
4. Make the frosting by mixing together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice till smooth. Here’s where you might want to use a mixer to help attain smooth and creaminess. Set aside about 1/3 cup of the frosting (to make an extra drizzle) and use the rest to frost the bars.
5. Sprinkle with the cranberries right away after frosting. Let set, then cut into triangles.
6. Take the reserved frosting and add a bit of milk or lemon juice to make a thin drizzle. Drizzle over the top of the bars in a zig zag fashion. Serve and enjoy!

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2013, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. I love it when you share, but please do not use my images on your own site/page without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. Sharing, pinning, and tweeting is always appreciated as long as the shares and pins link back to here for the recipe. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 bar

This recipe was shared at Mix it Up Monday, Tuesday’s Table, Try a New Recipe Tuesday, Bake Fest, What we Love Wednesdays, Create Link Inspire, What to Do Weekends, Foodie Friends Friday and The Hearth & Soul Bloghop.