Categories: Dessert Recipes Holiday Recipes

Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

 

I love me some Starbucks anytime and anywhere, but during the holidays that pretty green & white logo is even more tempting. Not because of the Peppermint Mochas or Gingerbread Lattes, (though they are delicious), but because of the yummiest treat on the planet…..Cranberry Bliss Bars.

Mmmmmmmmm……

For those of you who haven’t been lucky enough to try one of these little gems, a Cranberry Bliss Bar is basically a blondie packed with white chocolate & cranberries, then frosted with the best frosting ever, then sprinkled with a few more bits of dried cranberry for good measure. It is like a little bite of holiday cheer that comes in the form of a bar. And, as if that weren’t good enough, this homemade version is super easy to whip up in just a single bowl! If you are really short on time, you could use the store bought cream cheese frosting, but trust me when I tell you that this homemade browned butter cream cheese icing is worth the very small amount of extra effort!

Here is what you need:

1/2 recipe Browned Butter Cream Cheese Icing
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
6 ounces white chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries, plus more for sprinkling on top
baking spray

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8×8″ square casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside. Melt butter in saucepan or microwave.

Step 2: Add melted butter and brown sugar to large mixing bowl; mix well.

Step 3: Add egg and vanilla; mix well.

Step 4: Add flour and salt; mix well.

Step 5: Fold in cranberries and white chocolate chips with a spatula.

Step 6: Transfer batter to baking dish; bake at 350 degrees for approximately 22-24 minutes.

Step 7: Remove from oven & let cool completely on wire rack. Invert dish onto wire rack, then invert again onto cutting board with top facing up.

Step 8: Frost with generous layer of Browned Butter Cream Cheese Icing; sprinkle with finely chopped dried cranberry pieces. Chill in refrigerator 1 hour; cut into bars.

Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

These copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars are bursting with flavor! They are so easy to make and are yumazing! 

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Cooling 1 hour
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings 18 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/2 recipe Browned Butter Cream Cheese Icing
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 6 oz white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries (plus more for sprinkling on top)
  • baking spray

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8x8" square casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside. Melt butter in saucepan or microwave.

  2. Add melted butter and brown sugar to large mixing bowl; mix well.

  3. Add egg and vanilla; mix well.

  4. Add flour and salt; mix well.

  5. Fold in cranberries and white chocolate chips with a spatula.

  6. Transfer batter to baking dish; bake at 350 degrees for approximately 22-24 minutes.

  7. Remove from oven & let cool completely on wire rack.

  8. Invert dish onto wire rack, then invert again onto cutting board with top facing up.

  9. Frost with generous layer of Browned Butter Cream Cheese Icing; sprinkle with finely chopped dried cranberry pieces. Chill in refrigerator 1 hour; cut into bars.

Ruth Soukup

Ruth Soukup is dedicated to helping people everywhere create a life they love by follwing their dreams and achieving their biggest goals. She is the host of the wildly popular Do It Scared podcast, as well as the founder of Living Well Spending Less® and Elite Blog Academy®. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of six books, including Do It Scared®: Finding the Courage to Face Your Fears, Overcome Obstacles, and Create a Life You Love, which was the inspiration for this book. She lives in Florida with her husband Chuck, and 2 daughters Maggie & Annie.

View Comments

  • I found this recipe of yours last year and made them for a church party, then was requested by several people to make them for Christmas Sunday service for the volunteers, and this year we are baking them for gifts! I'm not known for my baking but this recipe has put me on the radar! I agree with the other reviewers, orange zest is a MUST! I also put a bit in the icing!

  • Trial run today. The bars have great flavor but are woefully underbaked. They are back in the oven now to hopefully finish them offf right. The frosting is to die for!

  • My batter came out waaaay thicker than the one pictured. Maybe because I used whole wheat flour? :-/ Not sure how they'll come out.

  • I made this last night for our church ornament exchange. And let me start off with saying don't bake well, I mean I can follow instructions but my patience is thin. This was so easy to make, and EVERYONE loved it. The Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars are my favorite, I live on them this time of year so of all people I am the biggest skeptic on an actual copycat of this. It tastes JUST like them, identical! I did follow the advice of one comment and added about 1/2 tsp of orange zest to both the bar and the icing and I think it made it THAT much better. Thank you for this awesome recipe! I have a feeling this recipe will be requested from my friends and family often!

  • It's missing a little orange zest. I used a T orange juice on a separate occasion. Starbucks does have orange zest.i ordered an entire box a few years ago,so I saw the ingredients

  • These were yummy, but I had to bake them for over 30 min. Also I would recommend using parchment. Mine broke when I flipped them, because the stuck to the baking dish even though it was greased.

  • I'm going to cash in my Free Birthday Drink at Starbucks today and was actually thinking of getting myself a Cranberry Bliss Bar! love Cranberry Bliss Bars! Thank you so much for sharing this! I'm going to make myself a whole batch!

    Wishing you a lovely day.
    xoxo

  • Cranberry Bliss Bars are my absolute favorite treat from Starbucks! You know what else makes them extra delicious while making them at home? Adding some orange zest to the batter before baking them. Try it sometime, you'll love it! Thanks for sharing, my friend!

  • Mmmmmmm.....Starbucks! I love all their holiday treats but the cranberry bliss bars are my fav! Can't wait to try these!

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Ruth Soukup

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