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White chocolate, cranberry & citrus heaven, this Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar is the most delicious blondie you’ll eat! Add it to your “to-bake” list ASAP!
Cranberry Bliss Bar Recipe
A couple of weeks ago one of my followers (actually like 25 of you) reached out and begged me to create a copycat recipe for the popular Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars. Mission accepted! While Starbucks may only offer these seasonally, oh my gosh, they’re good enough to be a constant staple!
A soft & chewy blondie base stuffed with white chocolate, orange and cranberry PLUS a creamy, decadent orange zest cream cheese frosting and more white chocolate + cranberries? Cranberry bliss bars deserve to be eaten year round. Thankfully, with this recipe, you no longer have to count down the days until it’s back on the Starbucks menu – you can whip them up whenever you’d like! Which, if I’m being honest, I’m predicting is going to be extremely often.
While cranberry bliss bars haven’t been on my holiday baking radar before, they will definitely be an annual addition. Completely comforting, these spectacular bars are ultra yummy + so festive, but like, without trying too hard? I’m obsessed. Skip the drive thru line and make this cranberry bliss bar recipe at home in your cozy socks next to the Christmas tree.
Ingredients in Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Salted butter – I always use salted butter! Feel free to sub unsalted and add extra salt to the dough.
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla – The vanilla will bring out all of the other flavors in this delicious bar!
- Orange zest – This works SO well with the white chocolate and cranberries in these bars.
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch – This will make the bars incredibly soft!
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Ginger – Ginger adds a subtle warmth to the bars! You could swap for cinnamon, but it wouldn’t be a true copycat.
- White chocolate chips – I’m begging you to use high quality chocolate here. I like to use Ghirardelli white chocolate chips.
- Dried cranberries (craisins)
Frosting
- Cream cheese – You want this to be room temperature!
- Butter – Again, use salted!
- Powdered sugar
- Heavy cream– You can use milk instead, you will just need significantly less because it is thinner.
- Clear vanilla – If you’d rather, you can use regular vanilla – your frosting just won’t be as pure white.
- Orange zest – This will give your frosting a yummy citrus-y flavor and gorgeous pops of color!
- Dried cranberries (craisins)
- White chocolate
How to Make Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or with a stand mixer, cream together salted butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Mix in the vanilla, and orange zest until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp ginger.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, baking soda and ginger to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Mix in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
- Spread the thick batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
- Next, make the frosting.
- In a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer or with a stand mixer, beat together cream cheese, and butter until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing slowly until completely incorporated. Repeat this step until all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated.
- Add the clear vanilla mixing until smooth and creamy.
- Adjust the consistency of the frosting by adding the heavy cream, a small amount at a time, up to 1/4 cup, until your desired consistency.
- Once the bars are completely cooled, spread the frosting evenly over the top.
- Sprinkle the dried cranberries and orange zest onto the top of the frosting.
- Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave (30 second intervals) until smooth.
- Transfer the melted chocolate to a zip top bag and snip the corner. Drizzle the white chocolate on the top of the bars.
- Place the pan in the refrigerator to allow the frosting to set.
- Once chilled, cut into squares and then into triangles.
- Serve and enjoy!
Can I make these Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars ahead of time?
You certainly can! Just store in the fridge in an airtight container until you are ready to serve. These will be best when eaten within 3 days. You can also freeze these bars for up to 3 months.
Can I switch out some of the ingredients to change the flavor of the bars?
Sure, just remember that it won’t be a copycat for the Starbucks’ version! I’ve thought about changing out the chocolate type (dark instead of white) or adding in lemon instead of orange.
More Festive Recipes to Try
Cranberry Bliss Bars (Starbucks Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
Frosting + Toppings
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 oz salted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature
- 2 tsp clear vanilla
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or with a stand mixer, cream together salted butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Mix in the vanilla, and orange zest until well combined.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, baking soda and ginger to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Mix in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
- Spread or press the thick batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
- In a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer or with a stand mixer beat together cream cheese, and butter until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing slowly until completely incorporated. Repeat this step until all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated.
- Add the clear vanilla mixing until smooth and creamy.
- Adjust the consistency of the frosting by adding the heavy cream, a small amount at a time, up to 1/4 cup, until your desired consistency.
- Once the bars are completely cooled, spread the frosting evenly over the top.
- Sprinkle the dried cranberries and orange zest onto the top of the frosting.
- Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave (30 second intervals) until smooth. Transfer the melted chocolate to a zip top bag and snip the corner. Drizzle the white chocolate on the top of the bars.
- Place the pan in the refrigerator to allow the frosting to set.
- Once chilled, cut into squares and then into triangles.
- Serve and enjoy!
These look way more delicious than the Starbucks ones! Can’t wait to try!
So so sooooo good!!! Can’t wait to serve these tomorrow at the party I’m hosting.
Delicious recipe as always! I have made them three times already and I am sure I will hundreds of times more. Everyone loves them the last time was for a hot tea cocoa hour at work I didn’t ice the bars and cut them in biscotti like strips once baked and they were a huge hit even without icing! Thanks for another winner.
Hi Karli, I love your sites. First, I had to change them to GF and I also cut the recipe in half. I used an 8×8, I will use a 9×9 next time. I use a 2:1 mix of GF blend and GF oat flour. The flavor on these was fantastic, they were gobbled up at the BD party I took them to. Due to the pan sizing, they were a little too thick and were not as thin as yours appeared to be. I love the fresh orange flavor, good job on the knock off!!! Keep on baking!!!
Made these for a holiday cookie exchange. The frosting took awhile to set but overall these bars were a hit.
These are just like the ones from Starbucks! The cookies are nice & dense, and frosting light & fluffy. I think next time I will put more less frosting, but otherwise great 😋
I am not a baker at all, and for some reason, recipes never turn out for me, but this was easily the best thing I have every baked! Tastes just like starbucks and was surprisingly easy to make! Definitely going to be making another batch later this week!
I made these last night as an extra to my Christmas baking and they are 12/10 amazing!! Perfect copy cat for Starbucks but better! And the clear vanilla is such a great hack that I never knew existed!