Cranberry Bliss Bars
Yields 16 Bars
Ingredients for cake base:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 Large Eggs
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg (optional - i didn't use it :P )
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sifted flour (i used plain all purpose )
1/4 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped (i used Lindt white chocolate!)
1/4 cup candied ginger, finely chopped
Ingredients for frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese (so half a normal package you wont need the whole pack because you'll end up with too much frosting! trust me!!!)
1 1/2 confectioners (powdered) sugar (this is again to taste i probably only used about 1/2-3/4 of a cup and it was perfect)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (i skipped this one too gives it just a hint of lemon if you do add it though!)
And lastly GARNISH!!!
1/3 cup white chocolate - you can use chips but if you buy a Lindt bar you'll have enough for the batter and garnish :) and for reference i always prefer using a bar of chocolate versus chips/morsels
1/2 cup dried cranberries (i use Crasins)
Now to make everything!
* Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9x13 pan (i always grease my pans with softened butter).
1.
* Make the Cake; beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy, add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, waiting until egg is incorporated fully before adding the next
* In a separate bowl sift together flour, ginger, nutmeg (optional) and salt. Next add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture beating until fully incorporated. (I used a whisk for this part didn't switch to my KitchenAid till the frosting) Mixture will be VERY VERY thick. Fold in cranberries, chocolate and candied ginger. Spread the batter into the greased pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until light golden. Let the cake cool (i put mine into the garage for about 30 minutes so it could chill while it was cooling i made the frosting!
2.
* Make the frosting
Using the paddle attachment on an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together until fluffy; add the lemon zest, vanilla, and salt; add the confectioners sugar bit by bit until the frosting has reached your desired consistency (the stiffer your frosting the more it will be like the starbuck's version). Spread the frosting evenly over the cake. and scatter the cranberries on top of the frosting.
3.
*"THE GARNISH"
*now this step is completely optional i don't use it because the bar is sweet enough but again if your trying to clone the starbucks counterpart don't skip this step!
In a double boiler , melt the white chocolate; once it is smooth, use a spoon and drizzle across the top of the frosted and cranberry topped bars
all thats left now is to cut it! :D
slice the whole cake/bar in half lengthwise, and then slice into four equal part horizontally. Slice each rectangle in had diagonally
and folks that gives you 16 triangle-shaped bars!
Lemme know how yours turn out :D!
Also i was going to credit this recipe to someone but i cant find the origional recipe offline! i just had it typed up on my phone!
last ps! best place to get the ginger is Fred Meyer of all places! At the spice rack and candied ginger are surprisingly cheap!
