Enjoy Starbucks' Cranberry Bliss Bars as quick, easy holiday cookies with this simple Cranberry Bliss Bar Cookie recipe! Just as tasty!
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If you like Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars, you will LOVE these Cranberry Bliss Bar Cookies.
Every year, I am SO excited when Cranberry Bliss Bars return to Starbucks. They are one of my FAVORITE holiday treats.
One year, I made copycat Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars for Christmas. I ate SOOO many.
They surprisingly took more effort and time to make than I thought they would. Not that they weren’t worth it though.
BUT, if you’re short on time or want to make something a little easier that still taste like Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars, these Cranberry Bliss Bar Cookies are perfect for you.
For other Holiday ideas, please check out:
- How to Make DIY Reindeer Candy Canes
- How to Make DIY Reindeer Gift Bags
- Easy Hot Cocoa Cookies – Made with Hot Chocolate Mix
Cranberry Bliss Bar Cookies
These are seriously my new favorite holiday cookie. I can’t get enough.
These cookies are PERFECT for cookie swaps, Christmas parties, holiday gift-giving, or just a special treat for you and your family.
I did my best to mimic the texture and taste of Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars. This took several tries.
The cookie needed to be a little more robust to hold the cream cheese frosting.
I also didn’t want to chill the dough. I wanted this to be a quick, easy alternative to the Cranberry Bliss Bars that we all know and love.
Fortunately, I figured out the right combination of ingredients that prevented the dough from spreading without chilling.
And still tastes like the Starbucks' favorite.
Looking for more Starbucks Copycat recipes? Check out my Lemon Loaf Bread -- It's even better than Starbucks'!
What's Needed?
This recipe is truly easy. I also already had all the items in my house.
Dried Cranberries - I eat them on salads every day.
Cream Cheese - I've been eating too much of this CARAMEL APPLE CREAM CHEESE SPREAD by She Wears Many Hats. It's absolutely delicious and super easy. So, I have a lot of cream cheese.
White Chocolate Chips - I use these in other recipes like my Easy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies – The BEST Christmas Cookie and Matcha Green Tea Cookies with White Chocolate.
Ground Ginger - I have been using this in a few recipes that will be posted soon!
The rest of ingredients are the usual baking needs - butter, brown sugar, egg, baking powder, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar.
The Frosting
This cream cheese frosting is INCREDIBLE!!! I could eat spoonfuls. Seriously.
My aunt also likes to sneak some tastes while I’m making it.
You can easily mix this frosting by hand. But, if you have a hand mixer or a stand mixer, that’ll create a more whipped consistency.
I recently used this KitchenAid Stand Mixer and I'm OBSESSED. It was so easy to use and did a beautiful job.
Tips for the Best Holiday Cookies
- Allow all ingredients to warm to room temperature before beginning. This is especially important with the cream cheese.
- When making the cream cheese frosting, gradually add the powdered sugar to the cream cheese mixture. This will prevent it from billowing up in your face.
- Chop the dried cranberries that will be used as topping. Smaller pieces of dried cranberries look better and distribute the taste more evenly.
For more recipes with DELICIOUS cream cheese frosting, check out:
- Easy, Homemade Pumpkin Cake with the BEST Cream Cheese Frosting
- Quick and Easy Carrot Cake Cookies (with Cream Cheese Frosting)
Cranberry Bliss Cookies – Just like Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter softened
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Egg large
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Ginger ground
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ¾ cups Flour
- ½ cup Dried Cranberries
- ½ cup White Chocolate Chips
For the Frosting:
- 4 oz Cream Cheese softened
- ¾ cup Powdered Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
For the Topping:
- ¼ cup Dried Cranberries chopped
Instructions
For the Cranberry Bliss Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until just combined.
- Add the flour, salt, baking soda, and ground ginger. Stir.
- Fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.
- Scoop dough into balls and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until done.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Frosting:
- In a medium mixing bowl, mash softened cream cheese and vanilla extract together.
- Add the powdered sugar. Mix. A hand mixer or a stand mixer will help create a whipped consistency.
- Once the Cranberry Bliss Cookies are room temperature, smear the frosting on each cookie.
- Sprinkle chopped dried cranberries on top.
- Enjoy!!
Sue says
I love a good copycat recipe and this one is a winner - thank you!
Debra says
Huge hit at our Cookie Swap this year. Thank you for making me look like a star!
Pam Greer says
My daughter loves these cookies!!
Angela says
Love these cookies! Just like the bars I love from Starbucks.
serena says
Perfect for the holidays!
Emily says
Tastes just like the real thing! Thanks for the recipe.
Brianna says
Made these for my office and everyone loved them!