Cranberry Bliss Bars

3.74 from 15 votes

Homemade Cranberry Bliss Bars are the perfect sweet delights to serve your loved ones this holiday season. These sinfully good blondies are double-loaded with white chocolate and chewy raspberry raisins and topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting! All these great flavors with no complex preparation—just pure bliss!

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

ChillingTime1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cranberry Bars, Cranberry bliss Bars, Cranberry Blondies, Cranberry Squares, Startbuck's Cranberry Bliss Bars

Servings: pieces

Calories: 326kcal

Ingredients

Blondie Bars

1 cup salted butter
1 ¾ cup brown sugar tightly packed
2 large eggs room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 ¼ cups flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup dried cranberries craisins
¾ cup white chocolate chips

Frosting:

1 package of cream cheese, softened 8- ounce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange zest
¼ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups powdered sugar

Topping:

½ cup dried cranberries craisins, chopped
¼ cup white chocolate chips whole
⅓ cup white chocolate chips melted
½ teaspoon vegetable oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” by 13” baking pan with parchment paper.
Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and orange extract. Mix until combined and set this aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring only as much as necessary to blend.
Then gently fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20 minutes. Check with a toothpick. You want there to be just a few crumbs stuck on the toothpick which means it is ready to come out. If it is still quite wet, give it another 5 minutes.
Place the pan on a wire rack and allow the bars to cool completely.
While the bars are cooling you could prepare the frosting.
Beat the cream cheese until creamy. Beat in the icing sugar and cornstarch. Add in the vanilla extract, orange zest, and salt. Beat this until well blended.
When the bars are cooled, spread the icing all over the top. Then sprinkle evenly with the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips with the vegetable oil. (Melt and stir in 15 second intervals - chocolate can burn very quickly.) When this is fully melted, use a fork to beat it smooth, then use the fork to drizzle the melted chocolate over the frosted bars.
For best results, place the pan in the fridge and allow the finished bars to cool for an hour before cutting and removing from the pan.
To cut the triangle shaped bars, cut the pan into 3 rows of 4. (3 long rows cut into 4 squares each) This will give you 12 large squares. Then cut each square diagonally and you will have 24 triangle shaped bars.

Notes

Serving and Storage Instructions

Serve these cranberry bliss bars slightly chilled or at room temperature. These bars will last up to 5 days when kept chilled in an airtight container. You can freeze the bars in freezer bags for up to 3 months when making in advance. Thaw the bars overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

FAQs for Cranberry Bliss Bars

Could I use baking chocolate instead of chocolate chips in this recipe?

Yes! You could chop up 5 squares of white baking chocolate, which will work fine for the bars. Then melt 2 for the drizzle on top.

I don't have any orange extract - what else could I use?

You could substitute 1 teaspoon of orange zest and 1 teaspoon of orange juice for the orange extract.

I want to make these ahead and freeze them - any tips?

Yes. These do freeze really well. You can freeze them for up to 3 months. Allow them to cool completely (give them a few hours in the fridge) before cutting them (it is much easier to cut them before freezing). Then wrap them in both plastic wrap and aluminum foil or place them in an airtight container.

Is there something I could use instead of dried cranberries?

Sure, dried cherries are delicious in this recipe as well.

I only use unsalted butter for baking- how much salt would I need to add to the recipe?

You need to add ¼ teaspoon of salt for each ½ cup of butter. So, in this recipe, you will add ½ teaspoon more salt than called for in this recipe. Since the bars call for 1 cup of butter, you will add a ½ teaspoon salt to the bars plus the ¼ teaspoon already in the recipe.

Can I make them gluten-free?

Yes, feel free to use the gluten-free flour blend on this recipe and swap out the all-purpose flour, ensuring that all other ingredients used are acceptable for your dietary needs.

Nutrition