Chewy blondies are studded with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips, then topped with orange cream cheese frosting, then more cranberries and white chocolate in this favorite holiday treat.
According to my own informal research, these Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars might just be the favorite Starbucks copycat recipe of all time!
These sweet, festive, easy-to-make bars feature everything you’ll find in the original–a chewy blondie base with dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, and a hint of orange, topped off with cream cheese frosting and more white chocolate and cranberries.
I’m not a huge white chocolate fan, but I must admit, these Cranberry Bliss bars are one of my favorite holiday treats. And as you would expect, the homemade version might even be better than the original.
My favorite thing about making copycat recipes at home is that I can tweak them to make them even better–at least, I think they’re better.
Personally, I like to add more dried cranberries to the batter, and a generous amount of orange zest to the frosting for a bit of zing to offset all of the sweetness of these bars.
I bake this recipe in a regular 9 x 13-inch baking pan, but if you prefer a thinner bar cookie, you can use a slightly larger jelly roll pan. Just watch them carefully during baking! You make need to decrease the bake time by several minutes.
And it’s very important not to overbake this decadent holiday treat if you want that rich, chewy texture. Bake until the edges are golden and the tops of the bars are just starting to brown.
When it comes to the frosting, you can use low-fat cream cheese, but it may not set up as well as if you use full fat cream cheese. It will taste just as delicious, but it might be a little messier to slice and serve.
These festive cranberry bars look beautiful on a holiday cookie tray, and make wonderful gifts for teachers, neighbors and friends.
If you find yourself craving Starbucks holiday treats year-round, you’ve got to try this amazing copycat recipe for Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars. They’re sure to become a holiday favorite.
Be sure to save this Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars Copycat Recipes to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Here’s what you’ll need to make Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars (Copycat Recipe)
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- White sugar
- Eggs
- Orange oil or extract
- Vanilla
- Oranges
- Ginger
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Flour
- White chocolate chips
- Dried cranberries
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars (Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
For the bars
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon orange oil or 1 teaspoon extract
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup dried cranberries
For the frosting
- 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries chopped
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat (or melt in the microwave). Remove from heat and pour into a medium bowl. Stir in both sugars until they are mostly dissolved.
- Quickly whisk in the eggs, followed by the vanilla, orange oil, orange zest and ginger. Stir in the baking powder and salt.
- Stir in the flour, one cup at a time, until the batter is smooth. Fold in the cranberries and white chocolate chips. The batter will be sticky.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until the top is just golden. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting by beating the cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar. Stir in the vanilla and orange zest.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled bars. Sprinkle with the chopped dried cranberries.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips at 50% power until smooth. Drizzle over the bars. Let the chocolate set before cutting into wedges and serving.
Video
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Nutrition
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Who Dished It Up First. This recipe was inspired by Starbucks
2 comments
Macey
TOO SWEET. Like sickeningly sweet. Just the base alone. Couldn’t eat it with more sweetness from the cream cheese frosting. The bar texture seemed promising, but couldn’t eat this.
Lynne Rasmussen
Oh my goodness!!!! Just wonderful, came out perfectly. Thanks for the recpie!!!