❤️😍🙌 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.
I have made the bliss bars for Christmas gifts and people love them. I changed my bliss bar recipe and use orange zest and orange extract in the frosting, which makes them extra yummy and have a very festive presentation in my opinion.
I’ve been craving these bars lately but didn’t want to make them so “seasonal.” Now I’m thinking about using dried blue berries (Ocean Spray Craisins type) and have been wondering about sub’ing the orange extract in my recipe with vanilla and a tiny dash of lemon extracts in the frosting. Am I on the right track here?
My recipe calls also for 1/4 c. minced crystalized ginger as well as 1/4 tsp. of ground ginger. Do you think the ginger should remain if I use blueberries? Just looking for an excuse to celebrate spring and use a different berry.
PS: My recipe calls for the orange zest to be added to the frosting and not the base. Interesting to see all the variations.
Really just make them according to your taste and what you feel like – you can’t go wrong with blueberries, craisins, ginger, etc. Enjoy! :)
I made the bars as written, but put 1/2 t. baking soda as I do like them a bit cakier and also included satsuma zest (as I had them instead of oranges). They were exceptionally greasy. I took out too early (10 minutes), so put them in for another 20 (checking after the first 10 and thereafter at 5 minute intervals). The middle still didn’t seem to be 100% done, but since the edges were a bit crispy, out they came. Still, hubby said it tasted only partially done.
The frosting made as is would have been absolutely way off for us. I only used 1/2 c. Guittard chips, 4 oz. cream cheese, 1/2 t. vanilla, and ~1/4 c. confectioner’s sugar. This was entirely sufficient, and the bars did not need any additional white chocolate drizzled over them.
By the by, I used my microwave’s melt chocolate button for 1/2 c. and put it on below “recommended.” It really looked as if it hadn’t melted, but when I stirred (per the microwave’s instruction), it was absolutely perfect.
Delicious? Absolutely! Not as sweet as the original (thank goodness!) and rather greasy.
I don’t find them to be greasy at all, but I also make them as written and you used baking soda, which maybe altered the texture. Some brands of butter, climates, etc all vary so it’s hard to say. And have you tried the real ones? They’re pretty moist and soft and loose, i.e. ‘greasy’, but that’s just the way they are. A very soft, supple, tender bar. Thx for trying the recipe.
These were spot on! Thank you so much for sharing these. I live in Colorado and all of the Starbucks here are actually completely sold out the past week or two because of a shipping or purchasing error , so these were a huge hit for several of my friends and coworkers who were going through withdrawals! Thanks again!!
So glad you love them and find them to be spot on! Wonderful to hear!
I am thinking about making these for a bake sale — does the frosting harden enough to wrap them individually? If not, any tips for making a frosting that would not stick to the wrapping? Thanks!
The frosting marginally hardens. I mean, it will likely come off onto saranwrap. Some of it will be lost to the plastic. You could wrap them in parchment but I find parchment doesn’t get airtight and things dry out. If you’re okay with wrapping in saranwrap, I would just do that. They are wonderful bars – one of my fave recipes of all time!
This recipe is awesome! For a first time baker, this was so easy to follow and replicate. I did replace the orange zest with minced candied ginger, so it tasted a little different, but was still great. Thank you!
Glad to hear that for a first time baker (WOW!) that these were great for you. I am impressed because they’re not ‘hard’ but if it’s literally your first time baking something, and you chose these – I am impressed! Thanks for LMK you found the recipe easy to follow & replicate!
I made these exactly as written (except for the frosting!) and they’re soooo insanely good. Honestly, one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. And I think the other people who tried them agreed. They’d take a bite, and then just look at me and shake their heads in disbelief. I made these and two other bars and while the other bars were good, people just couldn’t stop eating these. It got to the point where people were saying, “Keep them away from me!” because they couldn’t stop inhaling the bars.
I made these for a dinner party (which only Germans would be attending and they don’t like things too sweet) so I left the powdered sugar out of the frosting and they were still plenty sweet. I’m sure the texture isn’t the same but it’s not like we have Starbuck’s cranberry bliss bars over here so who cares. :D
And if you’re in Germany, use half Type 405 and half 550 flour. They won’t come out properly if you don’t! And drain your cream cheese. :)
Thanks a ton for the amazing recipe! I usually like to make things healthier but no way am I going to mess with this recipe. ;)
Just one quick glance at your website and I know I will LOVE trying your recipes! Can’t wait to carve out more time to look thru everything (especially these copycat recipes!).
Just a thought, I have an old Cranberry Bliss copycat recipe from the Oregonian newspaper and it calls for diced candied ginger. Maybe something to try?
Thanks for your great site — Becky in OR
I’ve seen some recipes call for it, and it’s not actually ginger that is likely in the real ones; I am pretty sure it’s a teeny tiny bit of orange zest or orange extract. Although ginger couldn’t hurt, I don’t know if it’s as ‘authentic’ if you’d include it. That said, I love love love these bars as written and everyone who makes them seems to be super happy! So before I started messing around with tweaks and twists, I thought I would just leave well enough alone – and they’re one of my fave bars ever :)
Delicious!! I have been wanting to make your recipe for these bars for 4 months now…and finally got a chance to a couple days ago. They are fabulous!!! LOVE the blondie/cranberry/white chocolate chip base, and the frosting is so yummy! I can’t wait to make these again (and I am not waiting another 4 months this time!). Thank you for the well written and delicious recipe!
So strange (in a good way!) to get a comment on these bars now b/c it’s not ‘holiday season’ but they are good enough to make year-round, I agree!! Thanks so much for trying the recipe, glad you felt it was well written with delish results! Thanks for coming back to tell me you made them after having your eye on them for 4 mos :)
I am so excited about this recipe! A friend just forwarded to me. Love your blog (I’m now a follower) and love this recipe. Your food photography is stellar.
Thanks for finding me and the compliments…these bars…are one of my fave things I made in 2012. I highly!!! recommend them. Especially if you’re familiar w/ the Starbucks version, you will love these!