by Jennifer Hamilton, Help! We’ve Got Kids
It’s that time of year again – time when work is crazy-busy, home is been crazy-busy and life in general is …you guessed it, crazy-busy. By the time I have tucked my six year-old into bed, read him a story, brought him water, rearranged his pillows, tucked him in again, gotten him books to read in bed, taken him to the bathroom, tucked him in again and finally said good-night to him (not that I won’t see him again that night, as he has been migrating to my bed in the middle of the night lately), I’m usually too tired to venture into the kitchen to bake sweet treats.
On one of those busy nights after all the tucking and good-nighting was completed, I just couldn’t bring myself to go to bed. I wasn’t tired and I didn’t want to watch television. There were no good books waiting for me on my nightstand (not sure where they went, since I never did finish any of them) and for the first night in weeks I hadn’t brought any work home with me. I was alone and in need of comfort…I ventured into the kitchen.
Looking into my cupboards I instantly knew what I wanted to make. I had been thinking about this recipe for a few weeks – every time I went to Starbucks they were staring me in the face, begging to be bought. I had split one with a co-worker the week before and was determined to make a tray of them at home.
The Cranberry Bliss Bar is now one of my favourites. Sweet, tart, delicious; a hybrid of a cookie and a cake, with scrumptious cream cheese frosting – the perfect Holiday treat. And by the way, so super simple to make you’ll never spend your life savings buying them from Starbucks again.
Recipe
Cake (Base):
- 1 cup softened butter
- 1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 1 tablespoon fresh, grated ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup minced dried cranberries
- 6 ounces white chocolate, cut into chunks
Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup minced dried cranberries
Drizzled Icing:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 teaspoons softened butter
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, ginger, and salt and beat well.
- Gradually mix in flour until smooth.
- Add ¾ cup minced dried cranberries and 6 ounces chopped white chocolate into the batter and mix by hand.
- Pour batter into a well-greased 9 x 13″ baking pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake is light brown on the top. Allow to cool.
- Make the frosting: combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Spread frosting over top of cooled of cake and sprinkle top with diced cranberries.
- Make icing: with a fork, mix together powdered sugar, milk, and butter. Using a pastry bag or plastic bag with a fine tip cut at the end, drizzle icing over cranberries in a sweeping or zig-zag motion.
- Refrigerate for several hours, then slice the cake into small triangles.
