Holiday Food Recipe: Cranberry Bliss Bars

At Christmastime, you can always be assured that that Peppermint and Pumpkin Spice Lattes will be sold like they are going out of style at Starbucks, but there is a phenomenal confection that Starbucks has that makes me get in the "betcha can't each just one" mode. The Cranberry Bliss Bar.I grabbed this one from TopSecretRecipes.com and it is spot on with how they turn out, IF you follow the directions exactly. They take a lot of ingredients and patience, but when they are done, your palate will be happy.
Prep time is only 10 minutes and cook time is about 40.

Ingredients:
BARS:
3/4 cup butter,softened
1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 Tbsp minced crystallized ginger
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup vanilla or white chocolate chips

FROSTING:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 cup powdered sugar
4 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped sweetened dried cranberries

TOPPING:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk
2 tsp olive oil or shortening

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350^.Butter a 9x13-inch baking pan. Set aside.

BARS:

1. Beat together the butter and brown sugar with electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the ginger,vanilla and salt. and beat well.
2. Gradually mix in the flour and baking powder until smooth. Mix the chopped cranberries and chocolate chips into the batter by hand.
3. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Use a spatula to spread evenly across the pan.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes, until the bars are lightly browned on top. Cool on wire rack.

FROSTING:

1. Combine ingredient,except cranberries, in a mixer bowl and beat until smooth. Spread on bars when completely cooled.
2. Sprinkle the cranberries over top of frosting.

TOPPING:
Whisk together ingredients and drizzle over cranberries in a back and forth motion using a squirt bottle or plastic storage bag, corner cut off.

Cover bars and chill for 2 hours. Then cut bars length-wise down the center -then cut then across 4 times making 8 bars and cut those bars in half diagonally making 16 triangular bars.