Description
These Homemade Cranberry Bliss Bars are a homemade take on the Starbucks’ holiday favorite! These cakey blondies are chewy and loaded with cranberry, orange, and white chocolate flavors. They’re gluten free, paleo and vegan.
Ingredients
Scale
- ½ cup cashew butter
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- 1 large egg or flax egg, for the flax egg, whisk 1 tablespoon flax meal with 2.5 tablespoons water, let set for 5 minutes
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, from one orange
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (108g) almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup white chocolate chunks, optional, and dairy-free if necessary
For the frosting
- ⅔ cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours, and then drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup coconut cream
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice + zest of one orange
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, or ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
- 2 ounces cacao butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8” square baking pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together the cashew butter, coconut oil, coconut sugar, egg or flax egg, orange zest, and vanilla extract until smooth and combined. Stir in the almond flour, baking soda, ground ginger, and salt. Fold in the dried cranberries and white chocolate if using.
- Spread evenly in prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
- For the frosting, combine the soaked cashews, coconut cream, maple syrup, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract/powder in a high powered blender (I used my Vitamix). Blend on high speed for 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary, until completely smooth.
- Spread on cooled blondies before garnishing with chopped dried cranberries and drizzling with the melted cacao butter.
- Let set in the refrigerator, and then cut the blondies in 16 squares or cut into 9 big squares and then cut each diagonally for a Starbucks-esque look.
- Keep stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Keywords: cranberry, bars, cashews, christmas, vegan, gluten-free