My favorite Starbucks treat turned into a cupcake! Blondie cupcakes packed with white chocolate and cranberries, topped with a sweet, tangy white chocolate cream cheese frosting.

Cranberry Bliss Cupcakes: My favorite Starbucks treat turned into a cupcake! Blondie cupcakes packed with white chocolate and cranberries, topped with a sweet, tangy white chocolate cream cheese frosting. | stressbaking.com

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, then you’re probably well aware of my affinity for Starbucks. To keep money in my bank account, I do my best to come up with copycat recipes for my favorite S’bucks drinks and eats.

I already figured out how to make my absolute favorite thing — Cranberry Bliss Bars — but a few weeks ago I wondered if I could morph that into something else.

I kinda forgot about it until I had a dream the other night that was clearly a sign. I mean, seriously. Listen to this.

In the dream, I walked into Starbucks to order a Cranberry Bliss Bar and they told me they didn’t carry them anymore. I must have made a pretty epic pouty face, because the girl behind the counter said, “Please don’t cry! We can make you something even better – just have a seat over there and I’ll bring you something shortly.”

So she goes into this secret back room kitchen and whips up a single cupcake in a matter of a couple minutes (totally realistic, by the way). She walks out with a beautiful little cupcake sitting atop a little white doily on a delicate tea plate.

There was a white glow shining down from the heavens onto the plate as she carried it and angels were singing.

Well, actually, it zoomed out and I saw the glow was just a guy adjusting one of the store lights and the angels were just a holiday CD playing. Even my dreams play out like a sitcom.

I woke up giddy at the idea of turning the bars into cupcakes and got right to work. It took a few different rounds of cupcake batter to get it the way I wanted it.

The first time I overloaded it with cranberries and white chocolate chips and they were way too dense.
The second time I think it was a combination of too much butter and not enough flour.
The third time I almost had it, but I tried using melted white chocolate in the batter and it just made it too heavy.

And finally, fourth time’s a charm. They’re a little more dense than any cupcakes I’ve made in the past, but I like it that way.

If it were lighter it wouldn’t be the kind of base I needed for what I was going to pile on top. The frosting you guys… the frosting. It’s so freaking delicious.

It’s almost exactly what I used on top of the bars with a small addition of vanilla extract and I added butter to stabilize it – you know how much I like to pipe frosting nice and tall.

Ingredients for cranberry bliss cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
¾ cup milk
¼ cup greek yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup dried cranberries
½ cup white chocolate chips

Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, cold
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
6 ounces white chocolate chips, melted
Dried cranberries, for garnish

How to make cranberry bliss cupcakes

Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon together. Set aside.
In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave.
In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add in egg, milk, yogurt, vanilla and orange extracts and whisk together until combined.
Add in dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Fold in cranberries and white chocolate chips until just combined – don’t overmix!
Pour batter into cupcake liners, filling them all the way to the top. Bake for 20-23 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting

In a large bowl with a stand or hand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add butter and beat until smooth and creamy.
In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips in the microwave. Set aside to cool a little.
Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and grated orange peel and beat until combined.
Pour in half of the melted white chocolate and beat until well combined.
Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes however you’d like. Top them with dried cranberries and drizzle with the rest of the melted white chocolate. Enjoy!

Just look at them… the specs of orange peel, the velvety frosting. And these cupcakes wouldn’t be complete without a delicious garnish – dried cranberries and a white chocolate drizzle.

If you’re looking for an excuse to shove your face with cranberry-y white chocolate-y goodness, these are it. Go make them – you can thank me later.