Cranberry Bliss Bars as a muffin!
I was determined. I had a need to turn Starbucks' Cranberry Bliss Bars into a muffin. I wanted this muffin to be dense but not stodgy, and the minute you took a bite, you knew exactly what you were tasting. I think I hit the nail on its head. You really want to go for the Craisins (dried cranberries) in this recipe to replicate the taste. Fresh cranberries would be good, but the muffins wouldn't taste like the Bliss bars. Since the frosting is cream cheese-based, I highly recommend refrigeration, but never fear... these muffins are out of this world slightly warmed!
Ingredients
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Large Egg (room temperature)
1 Cup Light Brown Sugar (firmly packed)
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) Unsalted Butter (melted)
3 Teaspoons Orange Zest
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Sour Cream (take chill off)
1/4 Cup Whole Milk (take chill off)
1 1/2 Cups Dried Cranberries (chop lightly, soak in cool water 5 minutes, then drain)
1 1/4 Cups White Chocolate Chips
Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)
4 Tablespoons (1/2 Stick) Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
1 1/2 Cups Confectioner's Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Pinch Salt
Directions
Preheat Oven to 425 degrees F.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a medium bowl, mix egg until pale. Add sugar and mix until thick and well-combined, then add melted butter and mix until combined. Stir in vanilla and orange zest. Mix sour cream and milk together. Add to mixture in two additions, mixing each until combined.
The dried cranberries should be drained and pat dry with a paper towel. Add cranberries to the flour mixture along with chocolate chips and toss until distributed.
Add the sour cream mixture to the flour, folding gently until just combined - about 12 or 13 folds. Do not overmix or the muffins will be overly dense and tough due to gluten development. The batter will be thick and there may be very small bits of flour left. This is ok.
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop into prepared or lined muffin tins. Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake 20 more minutes or until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting: Using a hand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until well combined. Add vanilla, salt, and confectioner's sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
Frost completely cooled muffins with a knife or offset spatula. Garnish with some chopped dried cranberries. Melt 1/3 cup white chocolate chips. Drizzle the chocolate over the tops of each muffin and allow to sit until the chocolate hardens - approximately 20 minutes.
Notes
White chocolate and melting it - Personally, I'm a fan of Ghirardelli white chocolate, but Nestle is OK, too. Just avoid store brands. You have a couple of melting options here. First, you can microwave melt but placing the chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heating at 50% power in 15-second increments, stirring in between until melted. To improve the consistency a bit, you can add about 1/4 teaspoon of vegetable or coconut oil, but not much more. The other option is to melt using a double boiler.
The average trigger ice-cream scoop has about 1/4 cup volume, so this recipe will yield 18 muffins. If you have a 1/3 cup scoop, it will yield a dozen.
And seriously. Warm these up when you take them out of the fridge for about 15-20 seconds. Yummo.
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