Sweet Treats

Christmas time always means; Cookies, Cakes, and Candies, Galore! I must admit that I have a much love hate relationship with all the sweets that come out around the holidays. I love to eat their deliciousness, but I sure do hate that when I start, I can’t stop. I think I may have a problem; the first step is acknowledgement, right? Okay yes, I have a serious addiction to the sweet table at the holidays. So, I thought I would share one of my favorite holiday sweet addictions with you.



Cranberry Bliss Bars

-Bars-

1 cup butter, very softened

1 ½ cups brown sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons orange zest

¾ dried cranberries (Craisins)

¾ cup chopped white chocolate chips

-Frosting-

8 ounces cream cheese, very soft

2 tablespoons butter, very soft

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons orange juice

-Topping-

½ cup dried cranberries

8 ounces of white chocolate chips

-Bars- Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and orange zest and best until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients, except cranberries and white chocolate chips. Add wet and dry ingredients and beat until combined. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate chips. Spread on a parchment lined 10”X15” pan and bake at 350 for 20-24 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. It is very important to not over bake! Let cool and, if possible, remove from pan and slide onto counter or cooling rack in one piece. It makes cutting them into triangles easier this way.

-Frosting- Cream together cream cheese and butter; add vanilla, orange juice, and salt. Beat in confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Spread over bars when completely cooled. Cut into 16 rectangles (4 rows with 4 columns) then cut each rectangle diagonally, you will then end up with 32 pieces.

-Topping- After the bars have been cut, sprinkle cranberries on top. Melt 8 ounces white chocolate, I melt the chocolate in a Ziploc bag and then snip a small hole in the corner, drizzle the chocolate over the triangles and let it harden completely.

These have to be my all time favorite holiday treat, now I am allergic to orange so I used mango or apricot juice and leave out the zest, it still tastes delicious! I got this recipe from the Simple Girl blog years ago, so click here if you want too check out all her other recipes.! They are scrumptious, I promise!

Holiday Traditions, Part 1 // Part 2