Cranberry Bliss Bars – a homemade version of the popular Starbucks treat! These taste just like the original, and are easy to make right at home!
Y’ALL! I am so so SO excited to share this recipe with you today!
It’s been a labor of love for the past few weeks. At this point I’d say my family is pretty cranberry-bliss-bar-d out, but I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel until I got them just right. With some little tweaks made to each batch, I finally did it! I even set up a side-by-side taste test with a bar purchased from my local Starbucks and these taste just the same, if not better! I find these to be slightly more chewy in texture, which I actually prefer!
The real game changer is the orange extract. A little goes a long way, but it really gives these bars that authentic flavor. Don’t leave it out!
Today I’m also excited because my husband and I have a ball to go to tonight!
It’s been a few years since our last military ball, so I’ve been looking forward to this one for a long time. Getting dressed up doesn’t happen too often around here. Most of the time you can find me wearing workout clothes and a messy bun, and usually those clothes are covered in flour, chocolate, or some other mess from the kitchen! I’m even splurging and getting my hair did. And makeup, too!! If I like how the pictures turn out, maybe I’ll share one with y’all next week. 😉
In the mean time, seriously try out these Cranberry Bliss Bars! With this recipe, you can have them anytime of the year, not just at Christmas anymore. They are also much cheaper to make at home and make A LOT, so it’s perfect to take with you for your next holiday gathering.
Enjoy!!
Cranberry Bliss Bars {Starbucks Copy Cat Recipe}
Ingredients
Bars:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup Craisins
Frosting and Topping:
- 8 oz. cream cheese,, softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup Craisins,, roughly chopped
- 2 squares baking chocolate or almond bark,, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 15x10 or 13x9 inch jelly roll pan or rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. *see notes
- Beat together melted butter and brown sugar over medium speed with an electric mixer. Add in eggs, 1 tsp orange extract, and 1 tsp vanilla extract and beat until mixed well. Add in ground ginger, baking powder, salt, and flour, beating until just blended. Don't overmix.
- Stir in white chocolate chips and Craisins by hand. Spread evenly into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes until set and golden brown at the edges. Don't overbake or bars will be hard. Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool. Allow bars to cool completely before topping with frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add 1/2 tsp orange extract and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and mix well. Top cooled bars with frosting. Sprinkle with chopped Craisins and drizzle white chocolate over the top with a fork. I dip my fork into the chocolate then shake it gently over the top of the bars to create little streaks. You can either slice right away and enjoy, or place the bars in the refrigerator for about an hour (what I like to do) to help them set up before cutting. Cut into triangles and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Cheryl says
These are Spot on copycats for Starbucks. For my personal taste, next time I’m going to rough chop the chips, I tend not to like things too sweet and for me white chocolate is a little too sweet. I used the Crasins and did a rough chop for the toppings but should have spent more time as I still had some that were whole and, again, personal thing, I don’t like chewing on soft raisins so the smaller bits on top, asdirected, were perfect. The recipe itself as a copycat for Cranberry Bliss, is perfect! Thanks for a great recipe.
Maddie says
Identical to the Starbucks cranberry bliss bar! My whole family loves them and I am always asked to make them.
Louise says
I’ve never seen these in Starbucks before but they sound absolutely delicious!
Louise x
helen says
They only sell them during the Christmas holiday
Peachy @ The Peach Kitchen says
This recipe looks like a must-try and it looks so delicious!
Raina says
I love love these what a great recipe!
Nicole says
This looks soooo good! I can’t wait to try this! I love Starbucks and their treats!
Tami says
I’m not sure if I will be sharing this with anyone. It looks so yummy I might just eat it all.
Lonemama says
I was a skeptical at first, because I’m very particular about my favorite signature deserts. But this was very good. I didn’t have orange extract so I used 1 tsp orange zest and 1 tsp fresh squeezed orange juice each in the bar and the frosting. The bar came out as I remember the ones from Starbucks being in flavor and in texture. The frosting was almost perfect, it was just a little bit more gooey than I remember. I’m assuming Starbucks uses some kind of fancy setting agent. Anyway, over all, it was very authentic, if not better.
Viktoriya says
I love these! I make them with a bit of lemon juice instead of the orange extract. But we love them even when I just make the bar without the frosting.
Cranberryblissbroad says
Recipe is on point! It’s very rare that I manage to leave a review about something but this is seriously so good I have made them so many times with the intention of giving them to someone and twice I’ve literally eaten the entire pan. Don’t judge my lack of self control! Just know they are THAT good
LiterallyJilly says
I’m here for this review!!!