Cranberry Bliss Bars
Homemade cranberry bliss bars – just like you buy at Starbucks, but now you can make them at home!
Oh my. These homemade cranberry bliss bars are good. Very very good. This is another recipe I found last Christmas and have been waiting a whole year to make. When it came down to it, I almost lost interest in this recipe and substituted it with another. But at the last minute I realized I had all the ingredients, so I figured I might as well make it. And let me say it again – these are good!
If you’ve ever had a cranberry bliss bar from Starbucks (do they still sell them?), then you may know what to expect from these delightful treats.
It’s basically a dense cake/bar with a subtle ginger flavor, studded with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. The topping is a delicious cream cheese frosting sprinkled with dried cranberries and drizzled with a sugary glaze. YUM!!
Just describing them makes me want to eat one! I was pleasantly surprised when I took my first bite and realized just how good these were, and from the reactions I got when I served these, I’m pretty sure everyone else enjoyed them as well.
They’re very rich so it’s probably best to cut them into small pieces. These would be perfect paired with a cup of coffee for an afternoon snack. And to be honest, I’ve been quite tempted to eat one for breakfast!
P.S. You can see all of my Christmas treat recipes from over the years at this Christmas Cookies tag. Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you try any and how you liked them.
Cranberry Bliss Bars
Yield: Makes 30 (small) servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Homemade cranberry bliss bars - just like you buy at Starbucks, but now you can make them at home!
Ingredients:
Bars:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) white chocolate chips (or chopped white chocolate)
Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
Drizzling Icing:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Directions:
Bars:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth.
- Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt and mix well. Gradually add flour and mix until smooth. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate.
- Pour the batter into the greased pan, using a spatula to evenly spread the batter in the pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until edges are light brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:
- Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice until completely smooth.
- Spread on the completely cool cake. Sprinkle the top with cranberries.
Drizzling Icing:
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1 Tbsp of milk, powdered sugar, and vegetable shortening. Gradually add more milk until the icing has a thick but drizzly consistency. I used closer to 2 tablespoons.
- Put the icing into a ziploc bag and snip off a tiny bit of the corner. Drizzle the icing on top in zig-zags.
- Cut into squares or triangles and enjoy!
see on Brownies for Dinner, originally from My Little Mochi
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Welcome! I'm Megan and it's my hope that here you'll find food that has been made with love and recipes that are shared with joy. Thanks for stopping by! 
I've heard so much about these bars and one day I aim to try them for myself. I don't think I'll be able to resist much longer, especially after seeing how great yours came out.
Oh my! These look perfect!
Oh my is right, Megan!! lol These look wonderful! I loved the cranberry bliss bars from Starbucks..can't wait to try these!
HOLY CRANBERRY BLISSS :)))))))))))) Yuuuuum! I haven't heard about these but now I really want to try them!
I am pretty sure I've bookmarked all your sweet recipes within the past week..I better get baking! 😉
Lovely!.. I want it right now!.. :))
I might make these today! they look great!
They look so good! I've never had the starbucks version either. I love the pictures though! So clear.
These are just stunning. I definitely plan to make these!
Yep they still sell them! But oh my do these homemade cranberry bliss bars look a million times better. I'm drooling over your pictures, YUM!! 🙂
I have had these at Starbucks, and they are wonderful, thanks so much for the recipe, can't wait to make myself.
I get these from Starbucks and eat them for breakfast…..Not sure I see the problem with that! 🙂
These bars look amazing and perfect to share with my co-workers at our office holiday party. Thanks for sharing! Yum!
The look good, very good!! Love all the holiday treats you are doing. Keep them coming.
whoa! cream cheese frosting AND icing!! that does sound very decadent. these certainly do look festive!
I've moved on from my mint obsession to a cranberry one – thanks for sharing this! I love holiday flavors!
Oh those do look really really good! 🙂
Look so pretty!!! Well, I've been craving cranberry so hard.
Oh, I've made these before. They're AMAZING!!! It was for a Christmas Cookie Exchange and I had to try and fit this recipe on a little index/recipe card.
I ended up having to use three.
These look fabulous… I love all things cranberry! Great recipe!
I just made these tonight, and was really pleased with how they turned out. Perfect colors and flavors for the holiday. Thanks for the recipe!
This looks waaay better than the store-bought ones. Love them 🙂
Jen – Aren't they wonderful?? Thanks for leaving a comment confirming how good they are! 🙂
Margot – I'm so glad you liked these! Thanks for stopping back and leaving a comment. These are one of my favorites 🙂
Megan these look sinful! I found you on foodgawker, congrats on the awesome photo.
They look GREAT! I've never actually tasted the Starbuck's version. I'll make yours instead. 🙂 …Susan
Oh, I love these! My dad always buys some for Christmas! Would this recipe work with fresh cranberries?
Staar84 – I wouldn't use fresh cranberries in this. They would be too tart and have a much different texture.
These are great! I made them today! Thanks for the recipe!
Linds – Glad you liked them! Thanks for taking the time to stop back and comment 🙂
I actually have the Starbucks ones in my freezer, you can buy them in bulk. This I know. 🙂 I'm wondering if these taste like the real ones, because I have a serious addiction and the sun has set on their time at Starbucks for the year.
This is my first visit to your blog and I'm already hooked!
Amy – I've heard that these do actually taste similar to the Starbucks version. If you try them, let me know! 🙂 I've never actually tried the ones from Starbucks, but I want to!
These are soooooo goooooood! And they’re not even chocolate! The perfect blance of sweet and tart and textures.
I’m so glad you liked these! Your comment made me so happy. These are some of my favorite Christmas treats and I want everyone to like them as much as I do! 🙂
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Yes, Starbucks still sells them! I LOVE these at Starbucks, and I can’t wait to try out this recipe. Yay, for a new kind of cookie to make for Christmas parties.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I can’t wait to taste them 🙂
Cranberries are my FAVORITE! I am printing this out to make this week.
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These are my favorite at Starbuck’s and yours look so yummy! The ones at Starbuck’s have a bit of an orange taste to them though. I will try making your this week.
Ohmygosh. I just made these. I don’t know how I am going to keep myself from eating all of them. They are fabulous!
I’m so glad someone has the same struggles as me! 🙂 I had to give these away to keep from eating them all. Thanks for the comment, I’m so glad you liked them. 🙂
I am dying to make these. I bought one from Starbucks yesterday to see if I would like it. It was wonderful. Can’t wait to bake! Thanks for sharing. It seemed like their frosting might have Orange peel/zest in it, not that it matters.
Thanks for the update on what the Starbucks version tastes like! Good to know about the orange taste in the icing. I will have to try the real version and compare. 🙂
Do they need to be refridgerated? I’m planning to make them this weekend and cut them small to add to my Christmas cookie trays I’m giving out – but I’m not sure if they can be kept at room temp. They look so good!
Sorry for such a late reply – somehow your comment got lost in my inbox! I’m probably way too late to help you, but I figured I’d answer for future reference. I refrigerate them to store them, but I think they’d be fine to be at room temperature for awhile. I’ve heard that cream cheese frosting is fine at room temp, but I always refrigerate to be on the safe side.
I keep them in the fridge and they are wonderful! Baking my third batch this season. Everyone LOVES them! Thanks for the recipe!
Is there something I could use instead of the lemon juice? I don’t like anything citrus… Otherwise these look great!
You could probably just leave the lemon juice out. You might have to add a little milk or something to replace the liquid, but then you would just have a plain flavored cream cheese frosting, rather than the slight lemon flavor you’d get from the juice. If you try it, let me know how it turns out! 🙂
These are absolutely wonderful, I will definately be making this recipe again! I’m glad I took them to church to share because it’s really hard to stop eating them once you’ve started. Such a yummy taste sensations to have in your mouth! 🙂
I love when I get comments like this! I’m so glad you liked these – I think they might be my favorite Christmas treat out of all the ones I shared. And I agree – not safe left at home! 🙂
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Made these last night…delicious! I took your advice and gave them away as gifts – they were a big hit. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! I’m so glad you liked them 🙂
Yummy…yummy…yum! Better than the original!
So glad you liked them!!
Should these be refrigerated after baking?
I don’t think they technically “need” to. I read somewhere that cream cheese frosting is actually fine to have sit out. But…I am overly cautious and I always refrigerate these. Plus they taste really good cold. 🙂
Wow! Just cut a corner piece for us to share…these are supposed to end up on gift trays…don’t know if they will make it there! My oldest daughter was telling her sisters, “I don’t think you’ll like it. Just let me eat your sample.” My husband is at work. I am thinking he and I should enjoy a late-night snack when he gets home and after the girlies are in bed…
I’m so glad you liked them! Funny story about your daughter, but I have to say I might have tried the same tactic 🙂
Just sampled my first bite. Yummy! Maybe I should keep these to myself. I wouldn’t want to get anyone else hooked on these!
ha, good idea! Glad you liked them 🙂
I made a gluten-free version of these today and they turned out wonderfully! I replaced the flour with 1 and 1/2 cups of the following flour mixture: 1 cup millet flour, 1 cup sorghum flour, 1/2 cup tapioca flour, 1/2 cup potato starch. I also added 1 teaspoon guar gum to the recipe. Thanks so much, I can’t wait to try some more of your recipes!! Merry Christmas!
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Made these tonight and they are great! I always buy one of these from Starbucks with my coffee in the winter-time. So I had hoped these would live up to my standards. WIN! So thanks for posting this recipe.
So glad you liked these!! 🙂
The first step in the directions tells you to add ginger. But the ingredient list doesn’t list ginger… I want to go get stuff to make these but dont want to have to make two trips
1 tsp of powdered ginger is listed in the ingredients – hope that clears up any confusion! 🙂
I just made my second batch of these….yummy. I do make some changes. I use 1 tsp. of vanilla and 1 tsp of orange flavoring. I omit the drizzle (too much sweetness). After icing with cream cheese and sprinkled with chopped cranberries I zest a little orange on top. WOW….so good!!
So glad I found this!! I work at Starbucks, and sell these all day! The bar part is amazing, but I’m not fond of TOO much cranberry, which there is a lot of. I’m about to make these, but trade out the cranberries with cherries! 🙂 🙂 🙂