If you've ever sunk your teeth into a similar bar at a famous coffee shop, then you probably wanted to have another! This recipe was printed in my local newspaper as a knock off recipe that someone developed. I couldn't wait to try it. I did add a splash of Almond extract, as my own twist.
What could show someone love more than a plate full of their "favorite" bars from you? You could tuck in a coffee gift card to elevate the gift if you really wanted to become their favorite friend!
OR.. take them to a work potluck. Sit back and watch how quick they disappear. Then sit back and watch how long it takes for people to start asking for your recipe.
Theses are so addicting! Try and get them out of your house and onto treat plates as quickly as possible!
Yield: 16 bars
Cranberry Almond Ecstasy Bars
A knock off of those famous coffeehouse bars, these Cranberry Almond Ecstasy Bars will leave you wanting more!
ingredients:
Bar Cookies:
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 cup minced, dried cranberries
1 1/2 oz, chopped white chocolate.
1/4 cup. minced crystalized ginger
Frosting:
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon lemon or orange zest
1/3 cup minced dried cranberries
(Optional: 1/4: Minced Crystalized Ginger)
White Chocolate Drizzle:
1 oz White Chocolate
1/8 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon milk
instructions:
Bar Cookies:
Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees, and spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray.
In Medium Bowl, sift together flour, ginger, and salt, and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mix on medium high speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. add eggs and almond extract. Beat untl fully combined. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture and mix just until combined. Fold in cranberries, white chocolate, and crystallized ginger by hand with a spoon.
Spread batter in prepared baking pan and bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. remove pan from oven. transfer to wire rack and cool completely.
Frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer on the medium -low speed, combine cream cheese , butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, lemon or orange zest, and mix until creamy about 2 to 3 minutes. Using an offset spatula spread the frosting uniformly across the cake. Sprinkle the dried cranberries on top of frosting. Sprinkle the minced ginger across the frosting if you are using this optional topping. Refrigerate 1 hour.
White Chocolate Drizzle: In either a double boiler in a bowl over gently simmer water, or in a bowl in a microwave melt the white chocolate. Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and milk. whisk until fully combined.Scrape chocolate into a small plastic bag and cut a tiny corner from the bag . squeeze bag to drizzle the chocolate across the bars in a decorative drizzle.
To slice the bars: Cut the cake lengthwise down the center. creating two long rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 4 equal portions; ten slice each of these in half diagonally, to create 16 triangle pieces.
Created using The Recipes Generator
