Cranberry Bliss Bars
Updated Aug 11, 2025
Cranberry Bliss Bars have a thick and chewy blondie base with orange zest and dried cranberries, topped with creamy frosting.
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Cranberry Bliss Bars Are So good!
The first time I had a cranberry bliss bar was at Starbucks, and I immediately wanted to figure out how to make them at home. I’ve been making this version ever since, and I think they taste even better. The chewy blondie base, with cranberries, and the cream cheese frosting, it’s one of those combos that just works.
I usually bake cranberry bliss bars around the holidays for or to give to friends, but the nice thing about making them yourself is you don’t have to wait for Starbucks to bring them back.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Cranberry Bliss Bar Ingredients
For the Blondie Base
- Dry Ingredients: These blondies call for light brown sugar, all-purpose flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
- Wet Ingredients: You’ll need unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and eggs for this recipe. Be sure to use room temperature butter and eggs if you can!
- Orange Zest: Any type of orange will work! I like to use a microplane for zesting.
- Mix-Ins: “Craisins” and white chocolate chips are my go-to mix-ins for these bars, but you can also sub in nuts (think: walnuts, pistachios, or pecans), as well as chopped candied ginger.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- Wet Ingredients: I use unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and cream cheese (in bars, not tubs!) for this frosting. And while low-fat and full-fat cream-cheese will work, skip the fat-free version. It’ll throw off your frosting texture!
- Confectioner’s sugar: Be sure to sift before adding!
- Add-ons: Once my cranberry bliss bars are frosted, I like to top them with Craisins and a bit of orange zest. Feel free to skip this step if you like.
How to Make Cranberry Bliss Bars
Make the Blondie Batter
Bake Your Cranberry Bars
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
Cranberry Bliss Bars Recipe
Ingredients
For Blondie Base:
- 1 ½ packed cups packed light brown sugar
- 1 orange zested
- 2 sticks unsalted butter melted
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
For Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Topping:
- ½ cup sweetened dried cranberries chopped
- Orange zest if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a little excess on all four sides to easily remove the blondies once baked.
- To make the blondies, add brown sugar to a large bowl. Add orange zest and massage the zest into the sugar with your fingers until it is very fragrant. Whisk in melted butter until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, then whisk in vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no streaks of flour remain. Fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate, then scrape batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are slightly brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes, then carefully remove from the pan and set on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the blondies have cooled completely, make the frosting. Add cream cheese and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together at medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes more.
- Spread the frosting all over the cooled blondies in an even layer. Add chopped cranberries on top and orange zest, if desired. Set in the fridge to cool for about 1 hour, then cut into 24 even triangles and serve
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
FAQs
Because these bars have cream cheese frosting, they need to be refrigerated. Store them wrapped in the pan or in an airtight container for up to 5 days!
Yes, you can freeze these bars without the cream cheese! Just place them in an airtight container or freezer bag with wax paper between the layers, stick them in the freezer, and they’ll keep for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator before serving, then frost them fresh when you’re ready to eat!
Cranberry bliss bars can be cut into squares like a traditional blondie, or you make the Starbucks version and cut them into triangles. To do this, cut the bars width-wise so you have long “strips,” then cut each strip into triangles.
Comments
I have made this recipe twice the past two days and both times they came out underbaked. I even tried baking them longer and placing them back into the oven covered with foil at a lower temp to finish baking the middle and no matter what I do they come out underbaked in the middle or too over baked on the outside. SO disappointed ๐
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that the recipe didn’t work for you. Let’s see if we can figure out what went wrong! What type of baking dish did you use? And did you change any ingredients? I’m asking because one small change can make a big difference. For example, using fresh cranberries instead of dried ones would cause these bars to be soggy and underbaked.
Hi! Excited to make the recipe. Do you know what the ratios would be for an 8×8? Thanks!
Good question, Summer! A 9×13 pan is about double the size of an 8×8 pan, so you can simply divide all of the ingredients in half. Hope you enjoy!!
Do you think this could be made gluten free? Is there a type of GF flour you would recommend?
Yes, absolutely! You can substitute the flour with a measure-for-measure gluten-free all-purpose flour blend to make these bars gluten free. Enjoy!!
How much is 2 sticks of butter? Our stores only sell butter in 1 lb packages.
Two sticks of butter is 1/2 lb. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for the recipies. I appreciate your inititiatives and your *bucks hacks. Salam from Abu Dhabi!
Glad you enjoy them!
I love your recipes but it is so difficult to follow because I live in Europe and we donโt use cups or sticks. What does it mean two sticks of butter? How much grams are it?
Canโt you add the European measurements?
Thank you
Hello! Thank you so much! Unfortunately, this is not something I can provide on my site because it’s not what I use. I think using online unit conversions could be a good option. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience. For this recipe, two sticks of butter is equal to 226 grams of butter.
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