Small-batch copy-cat Starbucks bars made with cranberries and white chocolate are super easy to make and will hit everybody’s festive-ness and sugar cravings.
Here is the small-batch version of my mini-batch copy cat recipe from before but this one is closer to the real deal, dare I say indistinguishable, yeah, there I said it.
Because I taste-tested it and they are.
I got a Starbucks one (well actually the whole “cranberry bliss bar revival” started with me buying one in the first place to go into a recipe development frenzy for the next week or so, you baker folk know how it is) and I cut two pieces, one of Starbucks, one of mine and ate them side by side and yes they lead me to the exact same experience.
Even the nutritional info on them were pretty much exactly the same which is sometimes the metric I use for the accuracy of my copy-catting endeavors.
If you don’t believe me, get out your calculators and do some math before I go full-nerd and you navigate away from my page.
I cut my bars into 12 small bars in an effort to create the iconic triangular shape but I’ll be the first to admit they ended up being too small and I keep eating a bar and a half so I do recommend just cut them into 8 squares.
It’s not about geometry y’all it’s about the party in your mouth.
OK I’ve hit my word limit. Try this and let me know what you think!
Small-batch Cranberry Bliss Bars
Equipment
- Standard loaf pan or muffin pan
Ingredients
Bar dough
- 4 tbsp (plant) butter, softened (56 g)
- 4 tbsp sugar (48 g) brown/coconut works best
- 3 tbsp ripe banana, mashed (45 g) sub applesauce or a flax egg, this is your egg replacer
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- (optional) orange/lemon zest
- 3/4 cup flour (90 g) gf all purpose if desired
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
Mix-ins
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips (45 g)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped (40 g)
Frosting
- 1/4 cup vanilla frosting (60 g) read recipe notes for how to make at home
- (optional) more chopped cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line your baking pan with parchment (or use muffin liners).
- In a bowl, melt the butter (30 sec in the microwave) and stir in sugar, banana, vanilla and orange zest. I just mashed the banana while mixing.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until just combined. The dough should be a bit thick and sticky. If too dry, add 1 tsp water/milk at a time to thin.
- Fold in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
- Transfer the mixture to the pan and press down evenly with your hands or a spatula. Bake for 17-20 minutes until the top is set and starting to have color around the edges. Do not over bake or they will dry out.
- Allow the bars to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then carefully use the parchment paper to lift them out and onto a cooling rack. Cool completely (ideally refrigerate overnight) before frosting.
- Frost with the frosting and sprinkle cranberries.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- To make a (vegan) cream cheese frosting beat together: 1 tbsp softened (plant) butter, 2 tbsp softened (vegan) cream cheese, 1/2 cup (60 g) powdered sugar and a drop of vanilla until fluffy and smooth. There will be a bit leftover to eat with some strawberries, yum!
- To make a flax egg, stir together 1 tbsp (7 g) flax seed meal and 3 tbsp water and let it sit and thicken for 5 minutes.
- No they do not taste like banana, but if you’re extra paranoid about the banana taste, use applesauce or flax egg. I just think banana is super convenient as I always have some ripe nanars on hand.