Cranberry Bliss Bars

I seriously debated blogging this. Its not that these homemade version of a Starbucks holiday treat aren't amazing. They are. And I'd venture to say they are better than the ones here in my city as they look rather dried out. Maybe that's what you get when you import a US Starbucks dessert to the ones here. But honestly this recipe is ALL OVER the food blogging world. I sifted through no less than 5 or 6 recipes on 10 different blogs at least. Most of them were all about the same. And really my version isn't that much different. My goal though was to show you that you could have an equally decadent treat with a lot less of the expensive ingredients than the original recipe I adapted said. In fact I even used homemade cream cheese and they were just as yummy as the ones with real cream cheese. So, here's my China-fied version of Cranberry Bliss Bars. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Cranberry Bliss Bars
6 Tbs (85g) butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp orange extract (opt)
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chopped up bar
1/2 cup loosely packed dried cranberries

Line an 8x8 or 7x11 inch baking dish with parchment paper or foil (this makes for getting the bars out easier later). In a mixing bowl, placed cooled butter, egg, brown sugar and extracts. Mix well. Add flour and salt mixing only until just combined. Gently stir in chocolate and cranberries just until incorporated. Press dough into lined baking pan. Bake at 350F (180C) for 18-20 minutes. Do not over bake. Allow to cool before frosting.

Frosting
2-4 oz cream cheese*
3/4 tsp vanilla
~2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chopped bar, melted
additional handful of dried cranberries

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and vanilla. Add in 1 1/2 - 2 cups of powdered sugar. Set aside and melt the white chocolate. You can do this in the microwave--30 seconds to start, stir well, then additional time in 10 second intervals, stirring well after each time until melted. White chocolate can easily seize--you may want to do it in a double boiler. Mix the white chocolate into the cream cheese mixture. If you need the icing slightly thicker, you can add a bit more powdered sugar.

Spread icing over cooled bars. Lightly chop the extra handful of dried cranberries and sprinkle over the top. Refrigerate before cutting and keep bars refrigerated. Bars also freeze nicely. I cut mine into 12-18 small triangles.

Notes: I used homemade cream cheese in these and regular. When using regular, bought cream cheese the recipe only needs 2-3 oz--4 made way too much icing. I may have rushed my homemade one a bit, so it may have weighed a little heavier but I did use a full 4 oz of the homemade.