White Chocolate Cranberry Bars Recipe

It’s the holiday season & one of my favorite desserts to make at home for my friends & family is this White Chocolate Cranberry Bars recipe. Yes, it is a version of the one from a popular coffee shop but making them at home is an easy and fun thing to do on a cold winter day to help warm up your home. I made these for a sweet treat but I also wanted to photograph the final product as a test shoot for my commercial photography website to add to my portfolio. Which reminds me, while a lot of work, I do love what I do!

Finished bars stacked on top of one another for a contemporary festive red background studio photo for my portfolio!

Starting out with the main ingredients, I measured them out into individual bowls so that I can quickly mix them together as needed. For the bars crust I also started to chop up some dried cranberries with a chef’s knife for the crust and the cream cheese whipped topping.

Mixing together the ingredients for the bars cookie base then folding in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Once I finished mixing the ingredients for the cookies crust, pouring it into a glass 9×13 pan lined with parchment paper, I popped it in the oven to bake.

While that was baking I prepared all of the ingredients for the frosting, also measuring them out in glass stackable bowls I got from Sur La Table. I find prepping everything before I start cooking or baking helps me stay organized and not miss any ingredients for any recipe. It is also the Virgo in me!

With the cream cheese in a glass bowl I started to mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, doing so by hand at first, then switching to a hand blender to get a creamy whipped finish.

Finished cream cheese frosting waiting to be spread over the bars once they come out of the oven and cool.

Once the bars have cooled I carefully lifted the entire cookie out of the pan with the parchment paper and placed on a cutting board. Then evenly spreading the cream cheese frosting over the entire cookie bar.

The final steps included sprinkling the chopped dried cranberries evenly over the entire whole bar, then drizzling melted white chocolate over the whole bar. To cut the bars into the triangle shape I started with one sides corners edge, then saw the entire 9×13 bar could be cut down the middle in half and follow the pattern of cutting the edges into triangles. Maybe next time I will make a video to better show what I am talking about!

Bars:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Frosting and Drizzled White Chocolate:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/4 of white baking chocolate or 1/4 of a cup of white chocolate chips, melted
• 1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries, roughly chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper.
• Mix together melted butter and brown sugar over medium speed with an electric hand mixer. Add in eggs, 1 tsp orange zest, and 1 tsp vanilla extract until mixed together well. Add in salt, ginger, baking powder, mixing until just blended. Add in flour in a half a cup at a time. Do not over mix as it may make the batter to thin.
• Stir in white chocolate chips and dried cranberries by hand to the cookie batter.
• Spread cookie batter evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 18-20 minutes until set and golden brown at the edges. Test the middle of the cookie with a toothpick to see if it is baked. Do not over bake or the bars will be to hard.
• Remove the bars from the oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool for at least one to two hours. The bars must full cool before topping with the cream cheese frosting, otherwise it will melt.
• For the frosting, slowly hand mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a little at a time. Once partially mixed use an electric hand mixer to whip the frosting into a creamy whipped texture.
• Add 1/2 tsp orange zest to the frosting and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and mix well.
• Spread cream cheese frosting evenly over the cooled bars. Sprinkle evenly with chopped dried cranberries.
• Melt white chocolate chips or bars in a microwave 15-30 seconds at time, stirring between, until fully melted together. You can also boil water in a pot over the stove top and use a glass or metal bowl (that is slightly larger than the pot) to slowly melt the chocolate in, stirring while it melts. I prefer this method as you can better control the melting process and not burn the chocolate.
• Drizzle melted white chocolate over the top or bars with a spoon or fork. Dip fork into the white chocolate then shake it gently over the top of the bars to create thin streaks. Using a spoon will create thicker streaks and may puddle if using to much.
• Place the bars in the refrigerator for about an hour to set before cutting. Cut into triangles or bars and enjoy!

Tips for best results

• Use a 9×13 pan as it works best to get the triangle shape if desired.
• Line your baking pan with parchment paper for an easy clean up and to be able to lift the bars out of the pan with ease.
• Using a hand mixer to whip the frosting together will mix the ingredients together well and make it a creamy whipped finish.
• White baking chocolate or white chocolate chips can be used for the final topping. Each are easy to melt in the microwave but I prefer to use the stove top method with boiling water. I used a spoon but you can also use a fork over the bars to get the strings over the bars. If using baking chocolate bar you can also break off chunks to spread around the top as well for an extra sweet treat!
• Storing the bars once they are cut should be done in an airtight container and will be good for five to seven days.
• To freeze any leftover bars for later cover tightly (once cooled in a refrigerator for 5 hours so the frosting is set) in a container separated with wax paper or parchment paper. The bars can be frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw the bars leave in the fridge overnight before serving.