Mary's Cranberry Blessed Bars

Tis the season to enjoy so many sweets~ of course in moderation, and at our house that usually means just getting to try one piece if we're lucky before the boys swoop in for the taking! This year Mary and I have tried lots of delicious recipes with great success. The latest was her take on Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars™ which everyone decided were definitely as good, if not better, than the originals as well as a lot cheaper!!

I've decided to post this recipe for Mary as my facebook profile status about these "cranberry blessed bars" got lots of comments~ this recipe would be for all the folks that wanted it~ with lots of Christmas wishes for all of you~ from Mary too!!

Cranberry Blessed Bars

Cake-

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar, packed

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cup diced dried cranberries

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Frosting-

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice (Mary used clementine juice)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup diced dried cranberries

Drizzle-

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 teaspoons Crisco™

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger and salt; beat well. Gradually mix in flour until smooth. Mix in 3/4 cup cranberries and white chocolate chips. Pour batter into a well-greased 9x13-inch baking pan and spread evenly. bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake is light brown around the edges. Let cool.

For the frosting, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, orange juice, and vanilla with electric mixer until smooth. After your cake is cool, spread the frosting over the top of the cake, then sprinkle the cranberries over the cake.

Create your icing by whisking the powdered sugar, milk, and shortening. Drizzle the icing over the cranberries in a sweeping motion. Allow the cake to sit for several hours, then slice the cake sideways through the middle. Slice across the width three times to create 8 rectangles, slicing again diagonally to create 16 total triangles.

These can be enjoyed with any coffee and are great for gifts!