Starbucks, step aside! These homemade copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars are even better than the original and so satisfying to make at home. Orange extract adds a bright surprise to these holiday classics, while a perfect balance of white chocolate & cranberries makes this one of my most-requested bars all year round. Recipe lightly adapted from Belle of the Kitchen.
My pet bird smells like wet socks.
As I sit here trying to describe the bright, citrus tones and velvety rich white chocolate notes that make these Copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars so damn wonderful, all I can focus on is the freshly-bathed wet parrot sitting on my shoulder and how much she smells like, well…drying footwear.
Of course, she’s also insanely cute and keeps asking adorably for head rubs as I type, so she’s a keeper. And so, it seems, is this new copycat recipe, which recently became a smash hit with our friends and has become one of my most requested recipes to date!
(See? I knew we’d come back on-topic sooner or later!)
If you’ve never tried the original version of this recipe, these Cranberry Bliss Bars are a seasonal holiday classic from Starbucks that taste absolutely unlike what you’d expect to find at a coffee shop bakery with nearly 35,000 locations worldwide. With both summer and my craving for these bars in full swing recently, though, I thought I’d try my hand at making these myself…and was not disappointed!
The copycat recipe I used from Belle of the Kitchen is, in my opinion, even better than the cafe original. It perfectly captures the ratios of dried cranberry, white chocolate, and cream cheese frosting, but the unexpected touch of orange extract shoves this dessert from “chef’s kiss” land to downright “Cookie Monster fiendish devouring” territory. Whether you’re looking for a way to satisfy your cravings or simply wow your friends with a deceptively simple, elegant dessert, I guarantee that this one is a keeper!
Just like my pet bird, who–as I sit here finishing this post 30 minutes later–still smells like wet socks. (See? I knew we’d get off-topic again sooner or later.)
What Starbucks recipe would you love to copycat?
Copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars
Starbucks, step aside! These homemade copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars are even better than the original and so satisfying to make at home. Orange extract adds a bright surprise to these holiday classics, while a perfect balance of white chocolate & cranberries makes this one of my most-requested bars all year round. Recipe lightly adapted from Belle of the Kitchen.
Ingredients
For the bars:
- 1 cup salted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
For the frosting & topping:
- 1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup white chocolate
Instructions
To make bars:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar. Mix in eggs, orange extract, and vanilla extract until well-combined.
- Gently fold in flour, baking powder, ginger, and cinnamon. Stir in white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges and a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting (recipe below).
- Store in airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
To make frosting:
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in orange extract and vanilla extract.
- Spread frosting on top of cool bars, then sprinkle dried cranberries and white chocolate chips on top. Slice bars and enjoy.
This sounds delicious! I’ll have to give it a go next weekend, there’s a bag of cranberries in the back of my pantry that I’ve been ignoring… So you posted at the right time!
I have a bird at home too and I’ll never understand why they smell worse after a bath 🤣
Mary!! I don’t know how I missed your comment, but thank you for it, fellow bird whisperer! I actually just made this recipe again tonight and caught your comment 😀 hope you had a great baking time! Our little birdie is dry from another bath and thankfully smells much better XD