Monday, October 25, 2010

Cranberry Bliss Bar

It's been a busy couple of weeks and I have not had much time to bake. Although with the holiday season right around the corner, I am starting to crave some of my favorite holiday treats! One thing that always signals the start of the holiday season, for me, is the those famous red cups filled with rich, spicy coffee delight from Starbucks! I probably should not post this... you should go get the real thing from Starbucks, but unfortunately, they are no longer offered here at Starbucks in Australia! This leaves me no choice but to make it my self to get my Cranberry Bliss Bar fix!

Enjoy!




Cranberry Bliss Bar

· 1 cup butter, softened
· 1 ¼ cup of brown sugar
· 3 eggs
· 3 TBS ground ginger
· 2 tsp cinnamon
· 2 tsp vanilla
· ½ tsp salt
· 1 ½ cup flour
· 1 cup cranberries, chopped
· ½ cup of white chocolate, chopped
· ½ cup candied ginger, chopped

· 4oz package of cream cheese
· 1 ½ cups icing sugar
· 2 TBS butter, softened
· 1 TBS vanilla

· Preheat oven to 180 (160 for fan oven)

· Grease (I prefer to line it with baking paper!) a 9x13 pan

· Beat brown sugar, butter , eggs and vanilla

· In a separate bowl, sift flour, ginger, cinnamon & salt

· Combine both mixtures and add white chocolate, ½ cup cranberries & candied ginger. Don’t over mix,stir until all ingredients are just combined.

· Press mixture in to lined pan

· Bake for 20-25 mins or until golden brown and then cool completely on a cooling rack.

· For frosting, combine cream cheese, icing sugar, butter and vanilla, mix for about 2 mins.
Spread cream cheese frosting over the base and then sprinkle with remaining cranberries