A little decadent Starbucks dupe treat : All the fun minus the eaters remorse with this copycat recipe Starbucks cranberry bliss bar
Copycat recipe Starbucks cranberry bliss bar! Starbucks cranberry bliss bars were a seasonal favorite of mine until several years back when Starbucks changed their recipe and they became greasier. This copycat Starbucks cranberry bliss bar recipe is healthier, less greasy and pretty easy to make.
Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar
Copycat Starbucks cranberry bliss bars were always something to look forwards to over the holiday season. So I decided rather than just eating calories that weren’t worth it and I no longer enjoyed, I’d go on the hunt for a Starbucks cranberry bliss bar recipe that I could bake myself. Plus if I baked them myself I could tweak the recipe to my taste and make it slightly healthier. Since I couldn’t find a version that was any healthier than the Starbucks version, I decided to create my own.
Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar Recipe
I’m not going to lie, although these are healthier than the ones at Starbucks, these are still a treat and made of real butter and sugar. But that’s another thing about baking them yourself; you know whats gone into them. They’re all ingredients you can pronounce and aren’t full of preservatives. When they taste this good, they’re not going to be sat around long enough to need preservatives anyway!
With all of the cookie swaps and hosting that goes on at this time of the year I thought having a popular classic under my belt would be a good head start to looking like I know what I’m doing when it comes to baking!
I fell in love with this version even before they were ready to eat as the raw batter and icing tasted so good as I was going along. Yes! I’m totally guilty of licking the spoons before washing up!
What does the copycat Starbucks cranberry bliss bar recipe taste like?
I’m impressed at how close to the authentic flavor of the original Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars these are but in my opinion, even better! The lemon in the base and frosting contrasts nicely with the sweetness, and the white chocolate chips in the base add nicely to the texture. I’m not even going to say what constitutes a portion because I eat 3 generous triangles without even pausing for breath!
Baking seems to be pretty much a science that can go great or horribly wrong! Don’t worry, this is a pretty foolproof recipe even if you’re a beginner, just be sure to follow the recipe for less of a chance of error.
Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar Recipe
This copycat Starbucks cranberry bliss bar recipe makes 1 10”×14” baking sheet
Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar Dupe dough
Copycat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar Recipe – Healthier Version
Ingredients
- 1½ sticks unsalted butter (softened, not melted)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¼ cup brown sugar
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 organic eggs
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ginger powder or finely grated fresh ginger
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- ¾ cup Craisins/dried cranberries
- 4 oz. white chocolate chips
Cream Frosting (optional) - 4 oz. low fat cream cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar (so it’s not too sweet, many recipes call for 3 cups)
- 4 tsp. lemon juice
Topping - ½ cup Craisins/dried cranberries
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F (preferably convection bake) with the rack in the middle.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cream together brown sugar, salt & butter.
- Crack the eggs into a jug (to make sure no shell goes into the mixO.
- Add the eggs one at a time & the vanilla and lemon extract, creaming the mixture in between. You can do this by hand or with a mixer. I used a handheld mixer.
- Afterwards, add the grated ginger, flour & baking powder and using a wooden spoon, stir everything together.
- Add cranberries & white chocolate (from base ingredients NOT the topping) and fold them in.
- Using cold, wet hands or a wet spatula spread the batter evenly in the baking pan.
- Place in the preheated over and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until the middle is baked through. Check by inserting a fork, it should come out clean. Do not overbake or the bars will dry out.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Then place a cooling rack over the base and flip over onto it. Gently remove the parchment paper and allow to cool completely.
- Once the cake bar’s cool make the frosting.
Frosting: - Add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice & vanilla extract to the bowl of a mixer. Beat everything together until creamy and all of the powder is combined with the other ingredients, there should be no lumps. At this point it will be sticky and not hard, don’t worry, we’ll get to that in the next step.
- Carefully spread an even layer over the top of the cooled base.
Topping: (optional but what makes it more of an authentic Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar) - Sprinkle the craisins on top.
- Place the white chocolate in a microwave proof dish/bowl/jug for about 40-80 seconds, stopping and stirring every 10-15 seconds to make sure it doesn’t overcook.
- Once the chocolates melted, spoon into a small bag such as a ziplock, squeeze the chocolate down into one corner by twisting the bag around the chocolate.
- Make a tiny snip at the corner the chocolates at with scissors and then gently squeeze to drizzle the white chocolate on top in any pattern you wish. You need to work quickly before the chocolate sets.
- Place the bar in the fridge and allow to cool for about 3 hours until the top of the cream cheese frosting isn’t sticky to the touch.
- Once firmed up, you can either trim the edges or leave them. I like to leave them so that they’re more rustic looking and obviously home-made.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the bars into squares, you can even cut the squares diagonally into into triangles to make them look even more like the Starbucks cranberry bliss bars.
That’s it! Enjoy and post pics of your Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars. Tag me @glamourandgains so I can see and share your awesome work!
