Cranberry Bliss Bars

The holidays are officially here.  I love everything about the holidays but of course, I especially love baking any sort of Christmas cookie I can imagine.  I already shared my favorite ginger chewies from last year (seriously, they are to die for), but today I'm sharing another cookie (its a bar but I'll categorize it as a cookie) that I made last year (at least a few times).  Although I got the idea from Good Things Catered, they are a version of the treat you see in the Starbucks display case.  I've never tried the Starbucks version, but these are amazing -- a white chocolate, cranberry, ginger cookie with cream cheese frosting.

I hope to share all of my favorite holiday cookie and dessert recipes with you over the coming weeks!  If you have a favorite treat that you make year after year, we'd love for you to share it with us!

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Source:  Good Things Catered

Yields:  16 Bars

Ingredients: 

for cookie

1 c. butter, softened

1 1/4 c. light brown sugar, packed

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp orange extract

1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. diced dried cranberries

3/4 c. white chocolate chunks

for frosting

6 oz cream cheese, softened

3 c. powdered sugar

4 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 c. diced dried cranberries

for drizzled icing

1 c. powdered sugar

1 Tbsp milk, plus a bit more if needed

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare (well grease) 9x13 baking pan.

-In bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy and light in color, about 2 minutes.

-Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt; beat well.

-Gradually mix in flour just until combined.

-Remove bowl from mixer and fold in cranberries and white chocolate.

-Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.

-Place in oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake is barely light brown on the edges.

-Remove from oven and let cool.

-Meanwhile make the frosting.

-In stand mixer bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and beat on low until smooth.

-When the cake has cooled invert onto cutting board and spread frosting over top, evenly.

-Sprinkle top with diced cranberries.

-Prepare icing by whisking powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp of milk, adding more if needed to come to a thick consistency icing.

Place icing in a pastry bag, snip the end and drizzle over cranberries in a sweeping motion.

-Place cake on cutting board into the fridge to set, at least 1 hour.

-Remove cake from fridge and, using a long knife, carefully slice the cake lengthwise (the long way) through the middle.

-Slice the cake across the width three times making a total of eight rectangular slices.

-Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices.

-Serve immediately or place into the fridge to keep for later.