My favorite Starbucks delicacy has been transformed into a cupcake! Blondie cupcakes stuffed with white chocolate and cranberries and topped with a delicious and tart white chocolate cream cheese frosting.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a long, you’re undoubtedly aware of my Starbucks addiction. To preserve money in my bank account, I try to create copycat recipes for my favorite Starbucks beverages and foods.

I already knew how to create my absolute favorite item, Cranberry Bliss Bars, but I was wondering if I could morph that into something different a few weeks ago.

I had completely forgotten about it until I had a dream the other night that was plainly a message. Really, I mean it. Have a look at this.

In my dream, I went into Starbucks to purchase a Cranberry Bliss Bar and was informed that they were no longer available. I must have produced an epic pouty face because the girl behind the desk said, “Please don’t cry!” We can build you something even better; just take a seat over there and I’ll be right over.

So she enters this hidden back room kitchen and whips up a single cupcake in a matter of minutes (totally realistic, by the way). She steps out with a lovely small cupcake perched on a little white doily on a fine tea dish.

Angels were singing and a white radiance shone down from the skies onto the dish as she carried it.

Actually, the lighting was really a person changing one of the shop lights, and the angels were just a Christmas CD playing. My fantasies are even like a comedy.

I awoke ecstatic at the prospect of transforming the bars into cupcakes and went straight to work. It took a couple different batches of cupcake batter to get it just right.

• 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.

Finally, the fourth time’s the charm. They’re a bit denser than previous cupcakes I’ve prepared, but I prefer them that way.

That wouldn’t be the type of basis I required for what I was going to put on top if it were lighter. The icing, my friends, the frosting. It’s insanely tasty.

It’s virtually precisely what I used on top of the bars, with a tiny amount of vanilla extract and butter added to solidify it since I prefer to pipe icing 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 (aff link)
• 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 (aff link), 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 (aff link), 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 (aff link) and drizzle with the rest of the melted white chocolate. Enjoy!

Look at the orange peel specks and the silky icing. And these cupcakes would be incomplete without a tasty topping of dried cranberries (affiliate link) and a white chocolate drizzle.

These are the perfect excuse to stuff your face with cranberry-y white chocolate-y bliss. You may thank me afterwards if you create them.