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Cranberry Ecstasy Bars Recipe
Recipe Type:
Cookies,
Christmas Cookie,
Cranberries,
Bar Cookies
Yields: 16 bars
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
1 1/4 cups firmly-packed light brown sugar
3
eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose
flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup minced dried
cranberries
1 1/2 ounces white chocolate (such as Ghirardelli brand) chopped
1/4 cup minced crystallized ginger
Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe below)
White Chocolate Drizzle (see recipe below)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and then butter the paper, or use the Silicone Baking Mats
to prevent the cookies from sticking.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla;
continue mixing until light. Sift together flour, ground ginger and salt; add to
the butter-sugar mixture. Continue mixing until flour is incorporated. Fold in
dried cranberries, chocolate, and crystallized ginger. Spread the batter in the
prepared baking pan and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove
from oven and let cool completely in pan before frosting.
Prepare Cream Cheese Frosting. Remove cake from pan and trim off the edges so
cake is uniformly flat. Using an offset spatula or the back of a large spoon,
uniformly spread the frosting onto top of cake. Sprinkle minced dried cranberries on top of frosting and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Prepare White Chocolate Drizzle. Drizzle
White Chocolate Drizzle decoratively over the entire frosted cake top.
To serve, slice the cake lengthwise down the
center, making two long rectangles. Cut each rectangle into four equal portions; slice each of these in half diagonally.
Makes 16 bars.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8-ounce package) cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered (confectioners')
sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon grated
lemon zest
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup minced dried cranberries
In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and salt
until well mixed.
White Chocolate Drizzle:
1 ounce white chocolate
1/4 cup sifted powdered (confectioners') sugar
1 teaspoon milk
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt white chocolate, whisk in powdered sugar and
milk until well-mixed. Scrape into a small, sturdy plastic bag; cut a tiny
corner of the bag and squeeze to decorate.
