Think soft cookie bliss, bursting with pops of cranberry and sweet white chocolate chips. Add a silky ribbon of melted white chocolate on top, and you’ve got a Cranberry White Chocolate Bar that rivals anything behind a coffee-shop counter. These might be your new favorite treat.
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp grated orange zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract your preference
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup +⅓ cup white chocolate chips divided
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a microwave safe mixing bowl, add the butter, cover with a paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds to achieve a softened, but not completely melted texture.
- Add the brown and white sugar to the bowl with the butter and use an electric hand mixer to combine until the butter is completely absorbed into the sugar.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, almond extract, and fresh orange zest to the mixture. Beat again.
- Then, beat in the all purpose flour and baking soda.
- Dice the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips, then use a rubber spatula to mix in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.
- Add the dough to the parchment lined pan. Spread to the edges and push down slightly to flatten.
- Bake for 26-30 minutes or until the edges of the bars are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and place into the refrigerator (on a pot holder). For 1-2 hours until chilled.
- While the cookie bars are chilling, make the cream cheese frosting. With an electric hand mixer, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk. Whip together until smooth, then stir in the orange zest.
- Once the bars have cooled, spread the cream cheese frosting across the top. Then melt the remaining white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each. Use a spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate over the bars in a back-and-forth fashion. Optionally, add additional orange zest and dried cranberries to the top.
- Cut the cookie bars into large squares, then cut them diagonally to make triangles. Enjoy!
Notes
Don’t over-bake your bars! The soft cookie texture really makes these bars. You want the center just slightly underdone when you pull them from the oven, as they’ll continue to cook as they cool.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
