These Bliss Bars are all dressed up for the holidays. Cranberries and white chocolate are joined by traditional gingerbread spices to make a terrific holiday treat.
Servings: 24bars
Author: Mary Gillespie
Ingredients
1/2cup/ 125 ml buttermelted
3/4cup/ 187.5 ml brown sugar
1/4cup/ 60 ml granulated sugar
1/4cup/ 60 ml molasses
2teaspoons/ 10 ml orange zest
1egg
2cups/ 500 ml all-purpose flour
1teaspoon/ 5 ml baking soda
2teaspoons/ 10 ml cinnamon
1teaspoon/ 5 ml ground ginger
1/4teaspoon/ 1.25 ml cloves
1/4teaspoon/ 1.25 ml nutmeg
1/4teaspoon/ 1.25 ml ground pepper
1/2teaspoon/ 2.5 ml salt
1/2cup/ 125 ml dried cranberrieschopped (reserve 2 tablespoons / 30 ml for sprinkling on top of frosting)
1/2cup/ 125 ml white chocolate chipschopped up slightly to make into smaller pieces
4ounces/ 125 g cream cheese1/2 of a regular package
1/4cup/ 60 ml buttersoftened
2cups/ 500 ml icing sugar
1teaspoon/ 5 ml orange zest
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 176 degrees C.
Grease a 9x13-inch / 23x33 cm pan.
In mixing bowl, stir together butter and brown and granulated sugar until thoroughly mixed.
Beat in orange rind, molasses and egg until smooth.
In separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, pepper and salt.
Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and stir together. When the flour is almost completely incorporated, add the cranberries and white chocolate and mix gently until they are evenly distributed.
Spread dough into prepared pan.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Do not overbake. The bars should not be hard. They will be very dense.
Remove from the oven and let pan cool on a wire rack.
The center of the bars will drop as they cool, leaving the edges higher. You can trim these off, if you prefer, or leave them.
While the bars are baking, beat together the cream cheese and butter until thoroughly blended. Add the icing sugar and orange zest and beat until smooth.
When bars are completely cool, frost with the prepared icing.