❤️😍🙌 These Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars are for anyone who loves the Starbucks version. These can be made year-round at home for pennies on the dollar and taste every bit as fabulous and then some! I like to call them Better-Than-Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars!
Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars
Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars are a seasonal favorite that disappear almost as quickly as they arrive. Luckily, they’re easy to recreate at home. Inspired by my white chocolate blondies and coconut white chocolate chip blondies, these copycat bars are essentially start with a chewy blondie base and are loaded with white chocolate and cranberries, then topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting infused with melted white chocolate.
Denser, richer, and packed with more cranberries and white chocolate in every bite, the homemade version is even better than the original. Plus, you can adjust the texture to your liking by adding baking powder for a fluffier base or leaving it out for a denser, fudgier one.
The real star here is the frosting. Cream cheese and white chocolate are whipped together until smooth, then spread on generously (thicker than Starbucks does!) and finished with a sprinkle of cranberries and a drizzle of melted white chocolate. The result is a decadent, bakery-worthy treat that’s dangerously easy to make in just about 30 minutes. These bars have all the nostalgia of the Starbucks classic but with the cozy, homemade taste that mass-produced treats can’t match. If you’re craving a holiday-inspired dessert, these copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars are a must-try!
I made this for the first time last (2022) Christmas…DIVINE!! I will be making this year too and gifting some also. If you like cranberries do not hesitate to make these little jewels! Another winner from Ms. Averie! ❤️
Christa
What’s in Cranberry Bliss Bars?
To make this cranberry bliss bar recipe, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs – Let the egg come to room temperature for easy mixing
- Light brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour – To keep these bars gluten-free use a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour
- Salt
- White chocolate chips
- Dried cranberries – Use Craisins or whatever brand you like best
- Orange zest
- Cream cheese – You may use whipped or light cream cheese, you know, to save calories, so you can eat more
- Confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Cranberry Bliss Bars
It’s a very simple batter that comes together in less than 5 minutes by hand:
- Combine the bars: Melt butter, and combine it with the wet ingredients and dry ingredients. Then, fold dried cranberries and white chocolate chips into the dough. Pour the blondie batter into a prepared pan, and bake in a preheated oven. The batter bakes up quicker than you may think, about 18 to 20 minutes. They will be a light beige, not golden brown. Even a few extra minutes of baking time will create a much drier bar, ruining the bliss!
- Make the cream cheese frosting: While the bars cool, melt white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring frequently. You can also use a double boiler. Add part of the melted white chocolate to a pile of confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with a stand mixer or hand mixer on medium speed until the mixture is fluffy. I didn’t bother sifting the confectioners’ sugar used in the frosting because I knew that any tiny lumps would be concealed. Sift if you prefer or are serving these to royalty who may chastise you over a minuscule lump of confectioners’ sugar.
- Top the bars: Spread the frosting in an even layer over the cooled bars. It will look a little like almond bark! Sprinkle dried cranberries on top of the bars, followed by the remaining melted chocolate.
- Rest: Set the bars aside to rest, allowing the chocolate to set. Speed this up by placing the bars in the fridge! If you don’t let the bars set, they’ll crumble, and the layers are likely to separate.
- Slice: Lift the bars out of the pan. (Leave aluminum foil or parchment paper hanging over the edges as you line it to make this easy!) Slice the cooled blondies by making a cross, creating four small squares or quadrants. To each of the four quadrants, slice on the diagonal to create two triangles, for a yield of eight triangular-shaped bars. They’re generously-sized, very similar in size and shape to the Starbucks version, but the beauty here is that this recipe makes just eight bars, since it’s baked in an 8-by-8-inch pan.
Can I Double This Recipe?
I have not tried doubling the recipe, and in theory, doubling and using a 9-by-13-inch baking dish would probably work, but I haven’t tried. Eight of these puppies in one batch was plenty, eating 16 of them before the frosting gets a little too crunchy or dried out would have been overkill for our family of three.
Cranberry Bliss Bars
Equipment
- 1 Medium Microwave-Safe Bowl
- 1 Small Microwave-Safe Bowl
- 1 Stand Mixer Fitted with a Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
For the Bars
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt, optional and to taste
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup dried cranberries, loosely packed
- ½ teaspoon orange zest, optional and to taste (edited to add this on 12-9-12)
For the Frosting and Topping
- 1 cup white chocolate chips, melted and divided
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (whipped or light may be used)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, I used about 2 3/4 cups
- ¼ cup dried cranberries, loosely packed (optionally, roughly dice them if the pieces are larger)
Instructions
For the Bars:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 90 seconds.
- To the melted butter (allow it to cool slightly so you don’t scramble the egg), add the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and stir to combine.
- Add the flour, salt, and stir until just combined, taking care not to over-mix or the bars will be tough.
- Fold in 3/4 cup white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup cranberries, optional orange zest, and stir to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing it lightly with a spatula or offset knife if necessary.
- Bake for 18 to 21 minutes, and center is set and golden or until edges begin to slightly pull away from sides of pan, or a toothpick comes out clean; do not overbake.
- Allow bars to cool before frosting them. While they cool, make the frosting.
For the Frosting and Topping:
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate on high power, about 1 minute, reheating in 10-second intervals, or until it can be stirred smooth. White chocolate is notorious for scorching so melt it very carefully, and slowly, heating in quick bursts, and keep a watchful eye; use a double boiler if that’s easier.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cream cheese, about three-quarters of the melted white chocolate (about 3/4 cup, just eyeball it), 2 cups confectioners’ sugar (I don’t sift it because any tiny lumps will be covered up by sprinkled cranberries and white chocolate drizzle), vanilla, and beat until smooth and fluffy.
- Start by mixing on low speed so sugar doesn’t spray, and then beat on medium-high for about 3 minutes. Mixture will seem stiff at first but will loosen and fluff up after 2 to 3 minutes of beating on medium-high; stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add additional confectioners’ sugar (I used about 2 3/4 cups, I like it on the thicker side) based on taste preference and desired frosting consistency.
- Frost the bars; if you have excess, it will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 1 month.
- Evenly sprinkle 1/2 cup cranberries over the top of the frosted bars. Evenly drizzle bars with remaining melted white chocolate, reheating for a few seconds in the microwave if it has set up.
- Allow bars to set up for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Cranberry Dessert Recipes:
Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Bliss Cake — This fast, easy, no-mixer cake is light, soft, fluffy, and moist. It’s springy and bouncy, with just enough density to give it some heft and dimension.
Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies – Cranberry Bliss Bar flavors, in cookie form. Tender, soft, pillowy centers!
Cranberry Bliss Seven Layer Bars — A buttery graham cracker crust, topped with white chocolate chips, chocolate chips, walnuts, dried cranberries, coconut, and sweetened condensed milk!
Crustless Cranberry Pie —A FAST, super EASY, no-mixer dessert that’s perfect for holiday entertaining!! Somewhere in between pie, cake, and blondies is what you get with this FESTIVE recipe! Take advantage of those fresh cranberries!!
Cranberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars — The bars are soft, slightly chewy, and the hearty oats with big crumbles are a perfect contrast to the juicy cranberry filling.
Cranberry Orange Bread— The fresh cranberries in this cranberry orange bread contrast nicely with the sweet orange glaze, making it the perfect blend of sweet and tart!
Cranberry Chocolate Chip Blondies — The soft, buttery, caramely, brown sugary, blondie base is the perfect complement to the chewy, tart cranberries.
Made these twice during Christmas. They were Great. Thanks.
I finally made these tonight after bookmarking them the day Averie posted the resume. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the bars to cool so that I can frost and dig in! Trick to heating white chocolate in the microwave without burning is to heat at 50% power. That typically saves it from seizing. Thanks so much for the recipe-I will be making these frequently for friends and family. Absolutely delicious!
So happy to hear you made them, Jennifer, and that you love them so much! I do too! Good tip on the 50% power, too. I am an old pro at melting chocolate – don’t know if that’s good or bad – and can melt it in my sleep but good for people who aren’t as familiar to save them from a mess. So glad you love the bars & thanks for LMK!
The cranberry bliss bars were my favorite homemade treat this year. Thanks so much for posting this, the recipe was spot on (but SO much better than the store bought!)
I am so glad to hear they were your fave treat of the YEAR! That’s such high praise and thank you – and I agree way better than storebought! Thanks for coming back to LMK!
These are so good! But I wanted to share that I’ve made them 3 times, and it’s taken them a full 40 min (yes, forty!) to set up in the middle. Not sure why. All my other recipes have come out according to the recommended baking time, so I don’t think it’s my oven. Regardless, they turned out delicious, which explains why I’ve made them 3 times in the past month. Thank you for sharing!
Baking them FORTY minutes would cause them to be burned to a black state of nonrecognition in my oven. Same with all my blondie recipes – even when I bake them in my other oven in my other house, it’s always in the range of maybe 20-25 mins. Never ever past 30. And 40 would ruin them. They do sell oven thermometers for like 5.99 at most grocery stores or Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. May be worth it just to check yours. I check mine every couple months and it’s right where it should be but that’s interesting to me the big variance. But hey, at least you’re getting the results you want!
I made these a few days ago and I had the exact same problem. When I checked the bars at 20 minutes, the center was so raw, my toothpick was completely wet with batter.
I have two oven thermometers so I can verify it was at the correct temperature.
I ended up covering them with foil and I’m sure they baked for 35+ minutes which then resulted in the bars being over-baked on the edges.
The end result was good but next time I will add orange (omitted this time) and be more careful about the baking time. I might try a larger pan next time for a thinner bar / shorter baking time.
With any baking, you always have to bake until done in your oven, with your ingredients, and in your climate – and sounds like somewhere between 20 and 35 mins is the magic number for you. Sounds like you enjoyed them though and sometimes recipes can take more than once to get down pat and tweak a little, i.e. the orange or the baking times. Thanks for trying the recipe.
Baking mine too now – and it’s taking about 40 min too! Maybe my oven needs a checkup…
I think your oven does need a tuneup. 40 mins is a very long time…get a $5 oven thermometer and see what’s going on. I suspect it’s running very cold.
AMAZING, you’re awesome. I have one brother who hates peanut butter and one who hates milk/dark chocolate…bizarre. I made these bars following your recipe almost exactly (a little less sugar in the icing) and they both told me it was the best dessert they’ve EVER had!! thank you so much! Very close to starbucks but better!
So glad that you loved them and that they were a hit with your brothers, too. For people who hate PB and chocolate, the fact that they love cranberries and white chocolate, hey, that’s awesome. Normally it’s the other way around! But regardless, thanks for making these, glad you ALL loved them, and thanks for coming back to give such a successful report!
Averie…thanks for your reply about the white choc chip brand. So sorry I called you Zoe. Wrong blog…too much going on! Can’t wait to make these..they sound fabulous.
Thank you for your quick reply. At the store just now buying the ingredients. :)
ENJOY! Lmk how they go!
These look delicious. I’m looking at the ingredients and I don’t see any baking soda or baking powder. Is that correct?
Thanks
That is correct – no baking powder or soda. They are a denser bar that doesn’t call for chemical leavnening agents.