How to Make Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars

Cooking With Kids
By topsecretrecipes.com

Do you love the Cranberry Bliss Bars that are sold every holiday season at Starbucks? Well TopSecretRecipes.com has a recipe that is similar to the delicious treat found at my favorite coffee house. This isn't an easy recipe to make but when I give it as a gift during the holiday season everyone loves this holiday dessert.

You Will Need:

CAKE:
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1-1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries
4 ounces white chocolate, cut into chunks (or high quality white chocolate chips)

FROSTING:
4-ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DRIZZLED ICING:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

What to Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

2. Make the cake by beating the butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs, ginger, vanilla, and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in the flour and baking powder until smooth. Mix the chopped dried cranberries and white chocolate into the batter by hand. Pour the batter into a buttered 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is lightly browned on top. Allow the cake to cool.

3. Make the frosting by combining the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. When the cake has cooled, use a spatula to spread the frosting over the top of the cake.

4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of dried cranberries over the frosting and the cake.

5. Make the drizzled icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, milk, and shortening. Drizzle the icing over the cranberries in a sweeping motion with a squirt bottle or fill a small plastic storage bag with the icing and cut off the tip of one corner.

6. Cover the cake and let it chill out in the fridge for a couple of hours, then slice the cake.

Makes 16 bars

References:
topsecretrecipes.com
Photo by Stephanie Felzenberg