frosted cranberry cookie bars
Pure bliss and more delish than what you'd pay out the wazoo for at the coffee shop.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, divided
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries, divided
cream cheese frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, cold
- 1 tbsp Cointreau (orange liqueur)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 inch cake pan with parchment.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Whip in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla extract. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. Fold in 1 cup of the white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup dried cranberries. Do not overmix, you nerd.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 22-25 minutes until the edges are set and the center is no longer shiny, but still soft. Let cool completely, in the pan, on a wire rack for at least an hour. I like to refrigerate my slab of cookie overnight to ensure it's nicely set up.
- Melt the remaining 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute. Stir, then heat an additional 20-30 seconds as needed to completely melt. Let cool 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, make the glaze. In a large bowl, beat on low speed the cream cheese, Cointreau, and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and mix until combined, then hike up the speed to medium-high and whip until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
- Spread the frosting completely over the cookies. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of cranberries (or more if you'd like!). Drizzle with the melted white chocolate. Slice into triangles, or bars if you'd like a larger quantity (up to 24). Serve immediately, or cover and chill for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Notes
*To make ahead: Cookie bars can be prepped through step 3 and chilled for up to 3 days before frosting!