Vegan Cranberry Bliss Bars

These chewy blondies have hints of ginger and orange essence, are speckled with white chocolate and tart dried cranberries, and are topped with a sweet cream cheese frosting. The perfect Starbucks copycat recipe so you can now recreate their Cranberry Bliss Bar at home without dairy or eggs. Easy to make anytime of the year, no one will guess these decadent cookie bars are vegan!

4.89 from 34 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Vegan Blondies, Vegan Cookie Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Cooling Time:: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 37 minutes

Servings: 24

Calories: 270kcal

Author: Bronwyn

Ingredients

For the Bars:

¾ cup vegan butter, softened (sticks, not tub style), softened
1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
3 tbsp plant-based milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
½ tsp orange extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cornstarch
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
⅔ cup vegan white chocolate chips (or chopped bars)
⅔ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
¼ cup crystallized/candied ginger, finely chopped

For the Frosting:

½ cup vegan cream cheese, brought to room temperature
¼ cup vegan butter, sticks, not tub style, brought to room temperature
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Icing Drizzle:

2 tsp refined coconut oil, melted
½ cup confectioner's sugar
1 tsp plant-based milk
½ tsp orange extract
½ tsp vanilla extract
⅓ cup dried cranberries, finely chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Bars:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9x13” cake baking pan with parchment paper.
Beat the softened vegan butter and brown sugar together in a stand mixer with paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in the plant-based milk, vanilla and orange extracts.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, cornstarch, ground ginger and salt together. Add to the wet ingredients, mixing just until blended.
In a small bowl, combine the chopped ginger, dried cranberries and white chocolate . Add to the dough and mix with a spoon. Spread evenly into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes until lightly golden brown at the edges. Don't over-bake or the bars so they remain chewy. Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:

Beat vegan cream cheese and vegan butter until smooth with a balloon whisk in a stand-mixer, or a medium bowl with an electric mixer. Sift in the powdered sugar together until smooth and creamy. Add 1/2 tsp orange extract and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and mix well.

For the Drizzle:

In a small bowl, melt the refined coconut oil. Whisk in the confectioner's sugar, plant-based milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. If it's too thick to drizzle, add another teaspoon of plant-based milk.

To Assemble:

Spread the cooled bars evenly with frosting. Sprinkle the bars with chopped dried cranberries. Using a fork or small spoon, drizzle the icing over the top to create streaks in different directions.
For best results results, chill the bars before cutting for cleaner slices. Cut into triangles.
For dessert size: cut in thirds width-wise and into quarters lengthwise (the long side.) Cut each square diagonally in half for 24 triangles. If you would prefer smaller snack sizes, cut each triangle in half diagonally for 48 cookie bars. The nutrition information below is an estimate based on dessert serving size.

Nutrition Info:

Notes:

Storage: best kept refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 10 days.

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