Starbucks Copycat White Chocolate Cranberry Bliss Bars

By Foodiewife

The first time I bit into one of these, at my local Starbucks, my eyes rolled to the back of my head. Wow! The first flavor attack on my taste buds was the white chocolate and cream cheese frosting with notes of orange. The blondie bar texture was slightly chewy with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. I savored every bite. I decided to see if I could make these at home for a lot cheaper! After tweaking a couple of recipes I found, online, I was able to duplicate them. I brought these to a potluck, and people went back for more! They raved about them, so here's the recipe.
NOTE: I use LorAnn Natural Orange Oil, which is a food grade product, that I buy online. I used this instead of orange juice and/or orange zest. I don't know how much orange extract to use, so I'd go with 1/4 tsp and taste until it's the level of orange you want. You want a hint of orange, but not to overpower the frosting.

Ingredients

• For the blondie bars:
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , melted and slightly cooled
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped; divided
• For the frosting:
• 1/4 tsp. Lorann Natural Orange Oil (or 1 tablespoon pure orange juice*)
• 2 4 oz. white chocolate bars** (recommended Ghirardelli);melted and divided
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• If using orange juice, instead of orange oil, you might have to increase the powdered sugar ratio. I suggest zest of one orange (to be 1/2- 1 tsp) and then use the juice; do not use orange juice concentrate!
• You can use 1 cup of white chocolate chips, melted, but I sometimes find they are hard to melt. Chocolate bars melt much easier, because they don't have an additive to shape them into chips.

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350F.

Spray an 8x8 baking pan with baking spray and line with a parchment or foil "sling". TIP: I use binder clips to on each corner of the baking pan to keep the parchment paper in place. Or you can use butter and flour to coat it-- but the parchment sling makes it much easier to remove, after frosting and to cut.

In a large bowl add the melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla.

Whisk to combine, then add in the egg.

Add in the flour and salt and stir until just combined

Add the cranberries and the white chocolate chips and blend together with a spatula (so the chips and cranberries don't get stuck in the whisk!)

Add to the baking pan and spread evenly (an off-set spatula makes this much easier, as the batter is thick like cookie dough).

Bake for 17-20 minutes. IMPORTANT: Do not over bake the dough, as you want them to be very tender. The top should look glossy, but don't depend on the "toothpick test". The first time, I did that, and my bars were dense and a bit dry.

Set on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes to cool completely.

For the frosting:
Melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute in 30 second increments until smooth.

In your stand mixer (or hand mixer), add the cream cheese, and the melted white chocolate.

Add 3 to 3-1/2 cups of powdered sugar,in one cup increments, and the orange oil (or orange juice and zest) and beat on medium high for 2-3 minutes. You want the mixture to be really light and fluffy.

Spread the frosting on the bars, using an off-set spatula, to spread it evenly.

Sprinkle on the cranberries evenly over the frosting. Then, drizzle on the remaining melted white chocolate with a spoon.

Allow to chill and set in the refrigerator.

To serve, lift out the bars with the parchment sling and cut into squares and then each square into a triangle.

Store in the refrigerator. This recipe can be easily doubled.