With the same soft texture and holiday flavor as the popular Starbucks recipe, these homemade vegan cranberry bliss bars are an absolutely delightful treat!
Starbucks vegan cranberry bliss bars
From frappuccinos, to peppermint hot chocolates, to cinnamon dolce lattes and apple crisp oatmilk macchiatos, the vegan options at Starbucks abound.
However, one item that you still cannot get as a vegan at Starbucks is their famous cream cheese cranberry bliss bars.
Not wanting to miss out on the holiday fun, I’ve come up with my own vegan version of the coffee shop classic. Besides being egg free and dairy free, these homemade cranberry bliss bars can be low calorie, keto, sugar free, and gluten free as well!
Also make these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cream cheese frosting recipe
You can either use your favorite vanilla or white frosting (many packaged brands are accidentally vegan!) or go with the vegan frosting recipe below:
Beat softened 8 ounces of store bought cream cheese or homemade Vegan Cream Cheese with 4 ounces of butter or plant based butter, 2 cups of powdered sugar or powdered erythritol, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
Add milk of choice, such as almond milk or coconut milk, if needed to thin it out.
This vegan cream cheese frosting recipe makes more than enough to frost the bars. Try using leftover frosting on these Vegan Cinnamon Rolls.
Vegan cranberry bliss bars ingredients
The festive cranberry Christmas bar recipe calls for dried cranberries, powdered ginger, baking soda, salt, pure vanilla extract, almond flour, sweetener of choice, water, orange zest, and optional regular or mini white chocolate chips.
Almond meal can be substituted for the almond flour. Or for a nut free version, you can make my Chickpea Blondies, substituting dried cranberries and white chocolate chips for the dark chocolate chips. Be sure to add the orange zest as well.
I have not tried any other flours in this recipe, such as coconut flour, white all purpose flour, or gluten free flour. So I cannot recommend any other flours here.
The recipe works with pure maple syrup, agave, honey (not for vegans), or keto maple syrup. If you wish to experiment at your own risk with granulated sugar or another dry sweetener, be sure to report back with results!
How to make the vegan cranberry bars
Start by lining an eight inch square pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the almond flour, powdered ginger, salt, baking soda, and the dried cranberries.
Add all remaining bar ingredients, and stir to form a batter. Because these are made with gluten free almond flour, there’s no need to worry about overmixing.
Scoop the batter into the prepared eight inch pan. Place a second sheet of parchment paper over top, and use your hands to smush down until the batter evenly covers the entirety of the bottom of the pan.
Bake on the center rack of the oven for 12 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.
The vegan cranberry bliss bars can be left out at room temperature if serving them at a party or event. For freshness, I recommend storing leftovers covered in the refrigerator. Bars can also be sliced and then frozen. Thaw before consuming.
Keto cranberry bliss bars
For a low carb and sugar free recipe, use keto maple syrup or your favorite keto liquid sweetener instead of the pure maple syrup.
I would guess that using powdered erythritol and replacing the liquid with water could also work, but I have not tried it yet and therefore cannot recommend this.
The recipe calls for almond flour, so there is no need to substitute any flours. Do not try to substitute coconut flour, because the bars will come out very dry and crumbly.
You might also like this Keto Cheesecake
Converting the recipe to gram measurements
If, like me, you prefer to bake with a food scale instead of measuring cups for precision and easy clean up, here are the measurements to use:
360g almond flour, 45g water, 10g pure vanilla extract, 120g maple syrup, 60g white chocolate chips, 60g dried cranberries, and other ingredients not measured in grams.
One medium orange will yield around two teaspoons of orange zest.
Watch the cranberry bliss bar recipe video, above
Vegan Cranberry Bliss Bars
Ingredients
- 3 cups almond flour
- 3/4 tsp powdered ginger
- 1/2 tsp each: salt and baking soda
- 3 tbsp water
- zest of one orange
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup or keto maple syrup
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup mini white chocolate chips, optional
- see frosting options above
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line an 8 inch pan with parchment paper, and set aside. Stir dry ingredients together, then add all remaining ingredients (except frosting) to form a dough. Cranberries can be mixed into the dough or sprinkled over top, or both. Transfer to the prepared pan, and use a second sheet of parchment to press the dough evenly into the pan. Bake 12 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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More Holiday Desserts
patricia says
In your picture of ingredients……what is in the small dish or orange? it looks like pumpkin,
CCK Media Team says
Hi, this is the orange zest.
Ruth-Ann says
I’m excited to try this and give as gifts. Due to allergies, what can I use instead of almond flour?
CCK Media Team says
Try adding the spices and orange zest to this recipe instead. You can bake them in an 8×8 pan for 14 minutes then frost and cut into bars: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/vegan-sugar-cookies/
Karen says
Delicious and nutritious and easy..thanks again Katie!
I’ll definitely make this recipe again.
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making them 🙂
Jo Truan says
I never tried the Starbucks ones, but these sounded so good I made them. Deliciousness!! Definitely will be making them again!!
CCK Media Team says
This makes us so happy 🙂
Carolyn Bothwell says
I just love your recipies I have made a lot of them. I take them to cards and get a lot of oh’s and ah’s
CCK Media Team says
This makes us so happy 🙂
TS says
These taste amazing! I baked mine longer than stated and they are still very soft, almost wet, like an underdone brownie. Is that the texture you were going for or should I have baked longer or added more almond flour?
Lucky Woman says
I used 360 grams of flour, which is actually FOUR cups. They came out perfect after 12 minutes!
Suzanne Blouin says
I made this a few days ago and have to say 12 minutes for baking was not nearly enough, turned out quite mushy, I could not even cut it into squares. The taste was fantastic though. I made another one and baked it for almost 20 minutes, turned out perfectly.
CCK Media Team says
Hi! So glad they turned out well :). Baking time can vary based on so many things, including humidity, elevation, outside air temperature, and whether you are using a glass or metal pan. We always like to err on the side of the shortest amount of time it should take, so readers can always add extra time if they need it!
Lucky Woman says
I had the same experience when I used 3 cups of almond flour. This time I weighed 360 grams, as per Katie’s instructions. Lo and behold the bars were done perfectly in 12 minutes! So I decided to put 360 grams of almond flour into a 4 cup measure. It turns out 360 grams equals FOUR cups of flour exactly!
David B says
I abhor anything maple…what can you suggest as a substitute for the maple syrup?
CCK Media Team says
The recipe works with pure maple syrup, honey, or agave.
Lucky Woman says
I have made your Cranberry Bliss bars several times and everyone loves them and pleads for more! This year I’m adding them to my Christmas gift list! My question is, will doubling the recipe and using 13.5” X 9.5” glass pan affect the baking time?
Karen says
These are delicious and so easy to make!