We are BIG fans of the original Cranberry Bliss bar recipe that Starbucks used to make during the Christmas season! Do you remember it? Before they changed up the recipe a bit, I believe they now add the extra orange flavour that really changes the original goodness — in my opinion, anyway. If you happen to miss that original delicious bar as well, do we ever have a treat for you! I asked our Food Editor, Erin, to work her magic and see if she could recreate that original blissful recipe.

Merry Christmas to us because she did just that! Here you have it: The most amazing piece of gooey cranberry bliss with the perfect amount of white chocolate chips and ginger cake flavour! We like to call it a Cranberry Ginger Blondie.  I am so excited to include this holiday recipe during our Make it Monday series! This is a one-bowl recipe that can be whipped up in no time. Under an hour to be exact! Perhaps include an eggnog latté on the side, too? Delish… Enjoy! AND…I might have eaten one — and a half — right after I photographed them. They are soooo good!

Cranberry Ginger Blondies
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Portions 12

Ingredients
For the blondies
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of cloves
Pinch of nutmeg
¾ cups unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp.  molassess
½ cup dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips

For the frosting
2 ½ cups of icing sugar
¼ cup butter at room temperature
4 oz. of cream cheese (about ½ cup) at room temperature
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the garnish
⅓ cup chopped dried cranberries

Directions
Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. (Tip: Spray a bit of cooking spray on the pan first so the paper sticks to the pan without moving around.) Preheat your oven to 325°F for convection ovens (350°F for non-convection).

For the blondies
In a medium-sized bowl, sift all of the dry ingredients together. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, or alternatively your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together both sugars, eggs and vanilla on high for around 2 minutes until the mixture starts to get light and fluffy. Next, add the molasses and mix well, slowly steam the melted butter and mix well.

Incorporate the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake in the oven for around 25-30 minutes. It should look almost set, but still be a bit soft.

Remove from the oven and let the blondies cool completely in the pan.

For the frosting
Cream together the softened butter and cream cheese. Once they’re nice and fluffy, add the icing sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and juice. Cream on high until light and fluffy.

Remove the blondies from the pan. Ice with the cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with chopped dried cranberries. (we opted for piping the icing to make it a little more fancy)

These will keep in the fridge for 3–4 days in a sealed airtight container. You can also freeze the bars if you’d like.