Friday, December 2, 2011

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Starbucks is part of my life... I admit it. Quite a few of my friends and family members could tell you that I am a grande non fat no whip mocha girl, except in the summer when I get the iced version. Stopping at Starbucks before I head off to work is part of my daily routine. I have tried to break the habit, or cut back, but I always find myself reverting back to my old ways. I am a huge fan of their red holiday cups and I also enjoy a pumpkin spice latte from time to time.

However, I have never tried their famous cranberry bliss bars. They have never called out to me, even though, I know they are a popular holiday treat. This past weekend we hosted our traditional tree decorating dinner, and I thought it might be fun to attempt to make my own bliss bars. (I'm very grateful that my family doesn't mind trying out my initial attempts at recipes!) So I found a recipe online and they came out really well... although I can't compare them to the original. I'm tempted to buy one from Starbucks this weekend just to compare. 


Ingredients


For the cake
1 cup butter, softnened
1 cup packed brown sugar
zest of one orange
1 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs
1 & 1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 
1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
1/2 cup of white chocolate chips


For the frosting
8oz cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp butter, softened
zest of one orange
1 tsp vanilla


Toppings
dried cranberries
chopped pistacio nuts
chopped white chocolate bar


Directions
Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.


Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and orange zest and mix until well combined.








In separate bowl, sift the flour, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Add this to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.


Fold in the chopped dried cranberries and white chocolate chips... or as I like to call them, the bliss.








Spread the batter into the pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The batter will be very thick. After removing from the oven, allow the cake to cool.


(When I pulled the cake out of the oven the batter was, for lack of a better word, boiling. I have no idea why, and after a couple of minutes it was fine, and looked like a normal cake. I will be making this again soon to see if that happens again.)


To make the frosting mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and softned butter until well combined. Fold in the orange zest and vanilla. Frost the cake, and then top with more bliss!






Enjoy the bliss! These really did come out delicious. Thank you to my baking addiction.com for sharing the recipe!

1 comment:

  1. All caught up and still wide awake! Looking forward to the next post!

    ReplyDelete

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