This is a guest post recipe by massage therapist, doula, and my mom, Chris Mitchell.

I love to bake especially at Christmas time. I also LOVE Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars. Baking brings back wonderful memories from childhood of my mom, sisters and I mixing together doughs for cookies, muffins, and candies (fudge and penuche). Once I had children of my own, I continued the tradition of baking with my daughters.

Once I found out I was gluten intolerant I had to figure out how I could continue to bake and enjoy my favorite recipes. Challenge accepted! When I first found out I was gluten intolerant there wasn’t gluten free all purpose flour mixes, so I had to make my own. Can I say how much I love the convenience of going to Sprouts and being able to purchase a mix?! It just makes my day!

I feel very privileged to be able to share my recipe for Cranberry Bliss Bars. Who doesn’t love white chocolate and cranberries together with a hint of orange? I don’t feel like I’m missing out on a Starbucks goody! Plus I can have it year round not just at the holidays. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Cranberry Bliss Bars Recipe

This recipe is two parts. The blondies and the frosting.

For the blondies you will need 1 cup room temperature salted butter, 1/2 cup raw sugar (sucanat/cane sugar), 3 eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (like this one), 3/4 cup diced dried cranberries, and 6 ounces of white chocolate.

For the frosting, you will need 1 package of cream cheese at room temperature, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 2 teaspoon orange zest, 1 teaspoon orange or lemon extract, 6 ounces of white chocolate, and 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries.

Let’s get to baking!

To bake the brownies, first, preheat the oven to 350. I use butter and grease my pan. This gives a nice buttery flavor to the brownie. Beat butter and brown sugar together until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger and salt beat well. Gradually add baking powder and flour until smooth. Melt the first 6 ounces of white chocolate in a double boiler. Then mix in cranberries and melted white chocolate into the batter by hand.

Pour batter into a well greased 9X13 baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until it is light brown on the edges. Allow the brownie to cool completely before frosting.

Once the brownies have cooled, it’s time to make the frosting. Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until well blended. Melt the remaining 6 ounces of white chocolate in the double boiler again. Gradually add half of the melted white chocolate, zest and extract – beat until smooth. Frost brownies and sprinkle with cranberries. Drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over the top. Enjoy!

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