Yesterday, I whipped up a recipe I found for Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars. I can read a recipe and I can measure with the best of ’em…
What I can’t do is cook — OR DECORATE — without making a mess.
My final product is amazing! (Pats self on the back.) They’re so good, I am astonished at my baking abilities. However, they are butt ugly. I’m guessing it has to do with the final line of the recipe below about putting the baked sheet into the refrigerator before cutting. 🙃
To buy one piece of this delicacy at Starbucks is right at $3 bucks. If mine weren’t so ugly — and if I were in the bakery business — I could sell this batch for around $100 dollars. They aren’t difficult to make, but the recipe is also not the easiest to follow either. Mix but not too much… hand stir in this… icing and then drizzle… blah blah blah.
Below is the recipe. I hope if you try it, your cranberry bliss bars as equally as tasty, and look edible. 🙂
Cranberry Bliss Bars – Starbucks Copycat
INGREDIENTS:
- 1cup (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
- 4 cup Craisins
FROSTING AND TOPPING:
- 8oz.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 white baking chocolate or almond bark, melted
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13×9 inch jelly roll pan or rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- 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 to help them set up before cutting.