Description
Delicious Cranberry Bliss Bars featuring a soft, cinnamon-spiced bar studded with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries, topped with creamy vanilla-infused cream cheese frosting, chopped cranberries, and a drizzle of melted white chocolate. Perfect for holiday treats or anytime dessert indulgence.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Bars:
- 1 ½ cups (186g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅔ cup (134g) granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup (134g) packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (38g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
For the Frosting:
- 1 8-ounce block cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (57g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries, chopped into smaller pieces
- 1 ounce white baking chocolate, melted
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pan: Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 13×9-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. If you prefer thicker bars, use a 9×9-inch dish instead.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Stir until evenly mixed.
- Cream Sugars and Butter: In a separate large bowl, cream together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and melted unsalted butter. Mix well until smooth.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
- Combine Dry and Wet Mixtures: Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring until a dough forms.
- Fold in Mix-ins: Gently fold in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries so they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Spread Batter in Pan: Spread the dough evenly into the prepared baking dish and press down gently with the back of a spatula to create an even layer.
- Bake the Bars: Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow bars to cool completely in the pan.
- Prepare Cream Cheese Frosting: While bars cool, beat together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl using a hand mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Frost the Bars: Spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the cooled bars.
- Top with Cranberries and Drizzle Chocolate: Sprinkle the chopped dried cranberries over the frosting. Drizzle the melted white baking chocolate over the top. Allow the white chocolate drizzle to cool and set.
- Cut and Store: Cut the bars into 9 large squares, then cut each square diagonally to create triangles. Store the bars in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- To melt white chocolate, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 10 seconds, stir, then heat for another 10 seconds and stir until melted. Be cautious as white chocolate melts and burns quickly.
- Do not overbake the bars; extra baking time will result in crumbly and dry texture.
- For optional flavor enhancement, add some orange zest either to the cream cheese frosting or the batter. The citrus notes complement cranberries beautifully.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar (approx. 1/9th of batch)
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 25g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 50mg
