ATTENTION...5 POUNDS right here!!

[Susan]

okay ladies - I'm going to begin this by asking for your forgiveness.

I'm sorry. Really I am. I don't know what else to say, except "I hope you can handle this"!!!

Prepare yourselves...for heaven on earth. Or at least, heaven in your bedroom closet. Because THAT is where you'll want to sequester yourself after these are made so you DO NOT HAVE TO SHARE THEM!

Cranberry Bliss Bars {a.k.a. "Starbuck Bars"}

Bars:

1 ½ C. light brown sugar
1 C. butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla
2 ¼ C. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 ¾ C. white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 ½ C. dried cranberries
1 C. toasted pecans
1/3 C. candied ginger

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 11 X 15 (jelly roll) pan. In large bowl which brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in flour, baking powder and salt until blended. Stir in white chocolate chunks, cranberries, pecans and ginger, blend. Spread in pan and bake until golden brown; 20-22 minutes. Cool.

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese (room temp)
1 C. powdered sugar
½ C. butter, softened
2 T. vanilla

Mix all ingredients in mixer until smooth and fluffy. Frost bars.

Topping:

½ C. coarsely chopped cranberries
6 oz. white chocolate

Sprinkle cranberries over frosting. Melt white chocolate and drizzle over cranberries, cool. Cut into diamond shape to serve.

This recipe is from my girlfriend here in Phoenix - she and her mom and her sister in law had a bake off to mimic the Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars...and this is the winner of the contest.

TO DIE FOR!

So gather your supplies, warn the family, and start in on the recipe. I'm making my own batch this weekend and I will be cutting them in TEENIE-TINY squares. Because that really should be the portion size. I'm fairly certain the 8" square piece that I wanted to eat had a few too many Weight Watchers points for my monthly allowance! LOL

ENJOY!

[Karen W]

Susan - this is terrific, thanks for sharing I was in Starbucks the other day and totall resisted the Bliss bar.

I am thinking this would be a fun treat for some folks between Christmas and New Years! (better that they have the calories! )

Karen

[AnnaMatrix]

OOOOH! This sounds heavenly and evil at the same time! Think I'll recruit DH with his baking skills to make a batch this weekend, right after I "accidentally" throw out our scale... One question - are the cranberries used for the topping fresh or dried?? Thanks, Susan! Gail

[Karen W]

Gail, I believe the crnaberries are the dried ones. Lovely and sweet!

Karen

[AnnaMatrix]

Thanks, Karen! Gail

[Deleted]

If we ALL make these bars and eat them, doesn't that cancel out the calories?

[Susan]

Dec 17, 2010 12:41:22 GMT -5 @casunflower said:

If we ALL make these bars and eat them, doesn't that cancel out the calories?

there's power in numbers ladies - !!!!! one of my favorite cocktail napkins in my current stash says "Lord make me thin - and if I can't be thin then make my friends the same size as me!"

Let's all make them and enjoy them together - and in January {late in the month!} we diet! In a group!!

And yes Gail, Karen is right - use the Craisins for the recipe!

YUMMMMMMM

[Basketlady]

Susan, you beat me to the punch. I have a few recipes--one that I had and a few that were sent to me. I did a bake off the other day and That Lynne's recipe won hands down. It's actually her mom's recipe (thanks, Mrs. B!)

But dagnabbit, this recipe is different from the other three that I tried. Now I'm going to have to bake another batch! OR

My family will be happy, but we don't need more goodies. But I'm going to a caroling party tomorrow and may need to bring some of these little bits of goodness...

I'll report back after I've made Susan's recipe. The oven is heating up now!

Michelle

[Deleted]

Oh, me...

I think I put on that 5 pounds just copying the recipe into my cookbook!

[AnnaMatrix]

My DH just finished making a batch of these, OMG, they are totally divine! These should have a disclaimer: "Make only if willing to assume the risk of having to buy Fat Pants." Gail