In the Kitchen: White Chocolate Cranberry Bliss Bars {recipe} inspired by Starbuck’s

Merry Christmas to my friends who celebrate the holiday!  Happy holidays and I hope you have something sweet today!  I’ll be back later this week!

I love to bake and share buttery, sugary sweets with my and loved ones.
I do have a little guilt though about loading up my friends and family with these fattening concoctions without there being at least some benefit.  So I look for lower fat recipes or try to sneak in a healthy ingredient or two.  Bren’s recipe here seemed to be perfect – it is sweet, but also has the warm notes of ginger and a load of cranberries for that great boost of antioxidants.  These bars were a hit with my husband and friends at our holiday party.  It’s all about the white chocolate and cream cheese frosting. The colors definitely evoke the holidays as well and these easy bars put me in a wonderful mood.

Cranberry bliss bars

Adapted from Flanboyant Eats

Bar Ingredients

• 1 cup butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup minced dried cranberries, soaked in 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup + 1 tsp. white chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting Ingredients

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Garnish Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. minced dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, ginger, baking powder and salt, set aside.

2. Chop cranberries and soak 1/3 cup cranberries in vanilla.

3. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and blend well. Fold in flour mixture until well incorporated. Spread batter into a 9″x13” pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and center is set. Allow to cool completely, about one hour.

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