A recipe and a tree...

We finally got our tree up today!! This year we bought a fake tree... this is my first time with a fake tree, so it will take some getting used to. I told Jon that I will have to buy some pine scented candles to make it seem real. But it does look really pretty! I just love sitting in a dimly lit house with candles flickering and tree lights shimmering. It is so peaceful!

Here is the recipe that I found for Cranberry Bliss Bars. It is by Todd Wilbur.

Cake:
1 c.(2 sticks)butter, softened
1 1/4 c. light brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 t. ginger
1/4 t. salt
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. diced dried cranberries
6 oz. white chocolate, cut into chunks

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 c. powdered sugar
4 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. vanilla

1/4 c. diced dried cranberries

Drizzled Icing:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 T. milk
2 t. vegetable shortening

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Make cake by beating butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in flour until smooth. Mix 3/4 c. diced dried cranberries and white chocolate into the batter by hand. Pour batter into a well-greased 9x13 baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until cake is light brown on the edges. Allow cake to cool.

3. Make frosting by combining softened cream cheese, 3 c. powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. When the cake has cooled, use a spatula to spread the frosting over the top of the cake.

4. Sprinkle 1/4 c. diced dried cranberries over the frosting on the cake.

5. Whisk together the Drizzled Icing ingredients. Drizzle icing over the cranberries in a sweeping motion or use a pastry bag with a fine tip to drizzle frosting across the top of the cake.

6. Allow cake to sit for several hours, then slice the cake lengthwise(the long way) through the middle. Slice the cake across the width three times making a total of eight rectangular slices. Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices.
Makes 16 bars.

PS- If I make them again, I think that I would use less powdered sugar in the frosting. I added more lemon in mine, because the frosting was so sweet from the powdered sugar that you couldn't taste the lemon at all. Mine was done in less than 35 minutes too, so just keep your eye on it. Also, I think that you could use craisins instead of plain cranberries and it would be fine. Let me know if you try them, and what you think.:)

A Starbucks treat

At our house we love Starbucks, and especially this time of year. I love the Gingerbread Latte, Gingerbread Macadamia Nut Biscotti, and the Cranberry Bliss Bar!! As if we didn't have a hard enough times during the holidays with tempting and yummy foods, Starbucks has to bring out all of my favorites! Well, this year I got a little worried when the Gingerbread Latte came out in Danville, but the Cranberry Bliss Bar was nowhere to be found. I even asked the manager if they would be getting it. She had no idea what I was even talking about. I was so sad, that I knew I had to do something. I began searching for a recipe for Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars. I found one and decided to give it a try. My thought was that if I could never get a Cranberry Bliss Bar here in Danville, at least I could make them. Tonight our old Sunday school class had a Christmas party and we were invited. I had the perfect opportunity to try out my new recipe. I was a little dissapointed by them... my white chocolate melted into the bars instead of staying in solid chunks and they didn't seem as moist... but I am also my own worst critic, especially in the kitchen. Jon says that they tasted better than Starbucks. That's a pretty good compliment from a non-dessert kind of guy. I am still not convinced, but it was fun to try. I may try them again and tweak the recipe a bit.:) If you have never tried the ones at Starbucks, you really should go and get one!!

Go Navy! Beat Army!