Bliss Bars

These bliss bars are everything you could want in a holiday treat – rich, buttery, and loaded with bright, festive flavors. With their soft, chewy blondies base, white chocolate cream cheese frosting, and a sprinkle of dried cranberries, they’re the kind of dessert that disappears in no time at holiday parties. You can make them traditionally with all-purpose, white whole wheat or gluten-free flour.

Inspired by the popular Starbucks cranberry bliss bars, these Christmas dessert bars have become a holiday staple in many homes. Their combination of sweet and tart flavors paired with a creamy frosting creates a balanced, indulgent treat.

Traditionally cut into triangles, their vibrant red and white hues make them a festive addition to any dessert table. Whether you’re recreating the classic version or experimenting with your own twists, bliss bars are a must-bake for the season.

Blondie recipe source

I made Smitten Kitchen’s Blondies recipe about 16 years ago and haven’t made another since then. It’s perfect!

She started making them with browned butter in 2014, but for this recipe, I prefer the original version with regular melted butter.

It’s absolutely perfect as the base for these cranberry bliss bars. The only change I made was to use 1 cup of brown sugar + 1/2 cup of granulated sugar instead of 2 cups of brown sugar.

With all the add-ins and frosting, you’re not going to miss that extra 1/2 cup of brown sugar. And the texture didn’t suffer at all! I was expecting them to be cakier than they came out.

I also added 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder so they’re not too gooey. I love gooey blondies, but I was going for something easy and not-so-messy to serve at holiday parties.

To transform them into bliss bars, I added dried cranberries and white chocolate to the batter and topped them off with the white chocolate cream cheese frosting, which I also used in my Cranberry Bliss Cookies.

Then I added more chopped dried cranberries and piped on the frosting I had reserved.

If you prefer plain cream cheese frosting, this Healthier Cream Cheese Frosting is a great choice! 

Ingredients

Here’s an overview of what you’ll need to make these cranberry bliss bars.

• Butter – I don’t recommend using coconut oil as a sub, as the flavor is better with butter. Same thing with vegetable oil. I also think the blondies wouldn’t firm up enough with a liquid oil.
• Brown sugar – adds a subtle caramel flavor. I don’t recommend coconut sugar as it’s too strongly flavored. But raw sugar would work.
• Granulated sugar – the only okay sub would be raw sugar.
• Eggs – I haven’t had the best luck with egg subs in brownie or blondie recipes, so I’m hesitant to recommend egg subs in this recipe.
• Flour – you can use all-purpose, white whole wheat or gluten-free flour, which I talk about below.
• White chocolate chips – you can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate in place of these. Or just omit them!
• Dried cranberries – provide the tart flavor and festive pop of red. You could use any dried berries that you’d like.
• Cream cheese – the base for the frosting. No sub here.
• Powdered sugar – and no sub here, either.
• Milk of choice – this is for the frosting. You can use whatever type of milk you’d like except for canned coconut milk, as it’s too thick and too coconutty.
• Vanilla – you can also, or alternatively, use almond or orange extract.
• Orange zest – optional, but adds a bright, citrusy note that complements the cranberries.
• Baking powder and salt

How to make them

Here’s a quick overview of how to make these bars. The full recipe can be found below.

Note that the batter is quite thick. There’s no need to add milk, water or anything else.

Looking at the photo above, it looks like more add-ins than I remember. 😆 You can certainly reduce them or even omit one or the other if you’d like.

Make sure to chill the bars before slicing to ensure clean cuts! And use a sharp, non-serrated knife for the best cuts.

Why are they cut into triangles?

The triangular shape of bliss bars adds an elegant touch, making them perfect for Christmas parties and gift trays. It’s a simple yet sophisticated way to present these treats, setting them apart from traditional square or rectangular bars.

This shape also mirrors the design of Starbucks cranberry bliss bars. But you can, of course, cut them in whatever shape you’d like!

Troubleshooting

• If the bars seem too dry, you’ve overmixed or overbaked them. They’re not going to be gooey, but they’re also not going to be cakey. Something in the middle!
• If the frosting is too runny, add a little more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
• If the bars crumble when slicing, ensure they are fully cooled and use a sharp knife.

How to make ahead, store and freeze

• Baked bars – store the unfrosted blondies in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also refrigerate them for up to 5 days. For longer storage, freeze them in layers with parchment paper between each layer for up to 3 months.
• Frosted bars – refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. For freezing, freeze the frosted bars on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to an airtight container. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.

Variations

If you don’t love the cranberry and white chocolate combination, here are some more delicious ideas!

• Swap the base flavor – instead of a buttery blondie base, try using a chocolate base, like these Brownies (which can be made regularly, whole wheat or gluten-free), for a decadent twist that pairs beautifully with cranberries and white chocolate.
• Add citrus zest – incorporate orange, lemon or lime zest into the batter or frosting for a bright, tangy flavor profile that complements the tartness of the cranberries.
• Almond or orange extract – this goes great with cranberries and white chocolate! I’d start off by replacing half of the vanilla in the blondies or the frosting with almond or orange extract. Add more to taste while keeping the remaining flavoring as vanilla. So, if you use 1 1/2 teaspoons of almond extract, you’d use 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. You need 2 teaspoons of extract for both the blondies and the frosting.
• Experiment with mix-ins – fold in chopped nuts like pecans, macadamias, or almonds for added crunch and richness.
• Play with spices – add a hint of warmth by incorporating cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom into the batter.
• Seasonal twist – for a summer version, swap cranberries for dried cherries or diced dried apricots to capture a different fruity note.
• Mini bliss bars – bake the bars in a mini-muffin tin for bite-sized treats that are perfect for parties and gatherings.

Gluten-free version

To transform these into gluten-free bliss bars, I tried them with both Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-free Baking Flour and King Arthur Flour Gluten-free Measure for Measure Flour.

They both came out wonderfully! So feel free to use either of those. 

It could be that other brands will yield gritty blondies. I can’t say without trying each one.

If you feel like experimenting, you must use a blend that’s meant as a direct sub for all-purpose flour. Not almond, coconut, oat, etc. flours.

I hope you’ll enjoy these bliss bars! If you try them out, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks! 🙂

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Bliss Bars

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24

Print Recipe

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 22 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

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Blondies:

• 1 cup (225 grams) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large 50 grams each, out of shell eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (250 grams) flour (see notes)
• 1 cup (170 grams) white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
• 2/3 cup (115 grams) dried cranberries, chopped

Frosting:

• 1 cup (170 grams) white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
• 8 ounces (225 grams) cream cheese, room temp
• 4 teaspoons milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping:

• 1/4 cup (53 grams) reserved frosting
• 1/2 cup (86 grams) dried cranberries, chopped

Instructions

Make the blondies:

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (176 °C) and line a 9” x 13” (23 cm x 33 cm) pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract.
• Beat in the eggs, and stir just until combined.
• Sprinkle the baking powder and salt over the top and stir.
• Stir in the flour until just combined.
• Stir in the white chocolate and dried cranberries.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 19-22 minutes or until the edges have browned, and they're clearly set in the middle. I baked mine for 21 minutes, and at 18 minutes, when I tilted the pan, you could tell that the batter drooped to one side. So they go from still raw to baked pretty quickly.
• Remove to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

Make the frosting:

• Melt the white chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl at 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after every interval, until smooth and totally melted.
• Use a hand mixer to beat in the cream cheese, milk, and vanilla and mix until well combined.
• Reserve 1/4 cup (53 grams) of the frosting.
• Spread the rest over the totally cooled blondies.

Top the bars:

• Evenly distribute the cranberries over the frosting.
• Pipe the reserved frosting over the bars.
• Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. For freezing, freeze the frosted bars on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to an airtight container. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.

Notes

• The blondie base is adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Blondies, and the frosting is from my Cranberry Bliss Cookies recipe on my other blog.
• For the flour, you can use all-purpose, white whole wheat or for a gluten-free version, use King Arthur Flour Gluten-free Measure for Measure Flour or Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-free Baking Flour. If using Bob's, use 276 grams of flour instead of 250 grams.
• Instead of all vanilla extract, you can add in a bit of almond or orange extract.

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