Cranberry Bliss Bars

Over the last few weeks I have had two different friends ask me if I had a recipe for Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars. (Thanks for the motivation Teri and Debby!)

As I am not a coffee drinker, nor a frequent visitor to Starbucks, I had never had a Cranberry Bliss Bar – until yesterday.

Because I aim to please and I remembered a recipe I cut out of the Portland newspaper a year or so ago for a Cranberry Ecstasy Bar I figured I better give the recipe a try.

Yesterday I made a batch of Cranberry Bliss/Ecstasy Bars.  I also went to Starbucks and bought a Cranberry Bliss Bar.  My dad was over so I had him help with  the taste comparison test.

Here is the real thing from Starbucks:

And a side by side comparison – they look pretty much the same! 

The verdict:  mine were better.

I delivered a plate full of bars to my friend who is a Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar fan (she has a whole box of them in her freezer) and she agreed!  The cake on the homemade version is lighter and not as dense which everyone preferred.

When I did the taste comparison between the real one and the homemade one the only difference I could detect was that the store bought one had some orange zest in the cream cheese frosting but other than that I think there were pretty darn close – if not better!  I’ve added the orange zest into the frosting recipe below.

The Cranberry Bliss Bar would make a great addition to a cookie plate too – they are pretty.  So if you are looking for some Bliss in your life – give these a try.  If you are a Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar fan I’d love to know what you think!

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Cake Base:

2 sticks/cubes butter, softened

1 1/4 C brown sugar, packed

3 eggs

1 tsp ground powder ginger

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 C flour

1/4 C minced dried cranberries

1/4 C quality white chocolate.  I used a Lindt white chocolate bar, coarsely chopped

1/4 C minced candied ginger

Frosting:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 C powdered sugar

2 Tbsp butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp grated orange rind

Drizzle:

2 Tbsp minced dried cranberries

1/3 C white chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 13 pan

Beat together butter and sugar and then add eggs and vanilla beating until light and fluffy.  Add flour, powdered ginger and salt.  Beat well.  Fold in the cranberries, chocolate chunks and minced candied ginger.  Spread batter in pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.

After cake cools, mix all frosting ingredients together and spread over top of cake.  Sprinkle with minced cranberries.  Use a cake decorating bag of melted chocolate with a small round decorating tip to drizzle the chocolate over the cake.  Cut into bars.

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Tagged as: Cranberry Bars, Cranberry Ecstasy Bars, Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars