Gluten Free Cranberry Bliss Bars (Almond Flour)

Bake Starbucks-style gluten-free cranberry bliss bars at home—these almond-flour blondies are kissed with maple syrup for sweetness and orange flavor then stuffed with cranberries and white chocolates, and finally layered with a delicious cream cheese frosting.  

These gluten-free cranberry bliss bars are a lighter Starbucks copycat: almond-flour blondies studded with dried cranberries and white chocolate, topped with tangy cream-cheese frosting —ready in 35 minutes.  

Hi! I’m Kelli, MPH, RD. This better-for-you twist features almond flour, maple syrup, and a lighter frosting (optional), allowing you to enjoy that iconic flavor with a fresher feel.  I originally posted these bars in 2017, and since then, they have been the number one requested item every Christmas from my family and friends.  In fact, I'm updating this post because my husband asked me to make some to take to his work potluck, where they were a huge hit.  I love the traditional Starbucks cranberry bliss bars, and I still get one every year, but these bars are absolutely fire too and are SOOOOO easy to whip up.  Plus, with dietitian-approved ingredients like almond flour, coconut oil, and maple syrup, they are slightly better for you, too! 

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Ingredients for Copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars (Gluten-Free)

Here are a few notes about ingredients for these bars.  These bars are gluten-free, if you need a swap or substitution, check below!  

• Almond flour: Keeps the crumb tender and naturally gluten-free. Use superfine blanched almond flour for the best texture.  Please do not substitute almond flour for any other flour; it likely won't work.  Almond flour is higher in fat and protein than regular flour or gluten-free flour, so substituting it will not work with this recipe.  
• Maple syrup: Balanced sweetness without a heavy aftertaste.  You can substitute any liquid sweetener here like agave nectar or honey, but it will slightly change the flavor.  However, you can not substitute a dry sugar like coconut sugar, though, as it will change the wet/dry ratio too much and the bars likely won't work.  
• Coconut oil or butter: I typically use coconut oil, but you could theoretically substitute butter as well for a richer flavor, if you don't have any coconut oil on hand. I would not, however, use any other except maybe palm oil.  Oils that are liquid at room temperature will not provide the structure these cookies need to stay together as bars.  
• Eggs:  Ideally you use room temperature eggs, but if you don't forget to take them out of the fridge in time it will be okay!  I have not tried using a vegan substitute like flax eggs before, if you try it let us know!
• Orange & Vanilla extract: Signature citrus pop that lifts the cranberries, I know it's tempting but please please please DO NOT SKIP THE ORANGE EXTRACT.  It makes or break the cookies. I know it's tempting because you probably don't have any in your house, but again, please don't skip!  The vanilla is optional, preferred, but you can skip it if needed.  
• White chocolate chips/chunks & Dried cranberries:  Gives that classic cranberry bliss bar flavor. 
• Frosting: I often chose store-bought frosting over homemade for one simple reason, it's shelf stable.  So, if you are taking these somewhere they wont' be able to refrigerated for a while then you may also want to use store bought frosting, Miss Jones makes a really clean dairy free one!  Or, you can make my greek yogurt cream cheese frosting if you can refrigerate them!

Troubleshooting & Pro Tips

Nail When To Remove Them From The Oven

I actually recently underbaked these (yes even after years of making this recipe) so I thought it would be good to share a photo.  The edges should all be lightly golden, center set with a faint gloss.  With regular cookies you want to err on the side of undercooked, but these should lean towards more cooked.  

Do Not Skip the Orange Extract 

I know it's a pain if you don't have at some at home, but I promise it's worth the final result to go get some at the store! Don't skip! 

Get Perfect Triangles

Use a ruler to measure out and evenly space your rows and columns, once those are even then your diagonal triangle cuts will be too! Not gonna lie in the photo below I eyeballed it (also almost ran out of cranberry toppings, but that's beside the point.) 

How to Store & Freeze Gluten Free Cranberry Bliss Bars

• Room Temp (unfrosted or frosted with shelf stable frosting): Up to 24 hours, covered.
• Refrigerator (frosted): 4–5 days in an airtight container. Layer with parchment to protect the frosting.
• Freeze (best for frosted bars): Chill cut bars until frosting is firm. Freeze on a sheet pan until solid, then wrap individually and store in a freezer bag (up to 2 months). Thaw: 30–45 minutes at room temp, unwrapped once surface chill lifts to prevent condensation.

PS Variation Tip: the photo above shows the bars cut into bigger triangle's with dairy-free frosting (Miss Jone's brand), it's the original photo from 2017.  I now tend to cut them into smaller triangles and I often use just regular cream cheese frosting off the shelf when I serve them to other people (Mr. Hungry's coworkers, friends, random other gatherings, etc), because they will have a more traditional taste that way compared to the Miss Jone's dairy free frosting (and still be shelf stable.) But I do often use Miss Jone's when I make them for family, because we love it!

FAQs

Can I make these ahead for a party?
Yes—frost, chill 30 minutes to set, then cut. Refrigerate up to 5 days; add the final cranberry sprinkle right before serving for the freshest look.

How do I get clean triangle slices?
Chill the slab first. Use a long, sharp knife; wipe the blade between cuts. Cut into rectangles, then slice diagonally.

Can I reduce the sugar?
You can increase/decrease chocolate chips and dried cranberries.  If you decrease the amount of maple syrup you will need to make it up with an equal amount of some sort of liquid.  This is a risky swap, so I don't recommend it unless you are very familiar with modifying almond flour based recipes.  If you try it though, let us know how it goes! 

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5 from 8 votes

Gluten-Free Cranberry Bliss Bars

Bake Starbucks-style gluten-free cranberry bliss bars at home—these almond-flour blondies are kissed with maple syrup for sweetness and orange flavor then stuffed with cranberries and white chocolates, and finally layered with a delicious cream cheese frosting.  

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dessert, Treat, Treats

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cranberry bliss bars, gluten free cranberry bliss bars, healthy cranberry bliss bars, starbucks copy cat bliss bars

Servings: 36 bars

Calories: 246kcal

Author: Kelli Shallal MPH RD

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons orange extract
• ⅔ cup coconut oil melted
• ⅔ cup maple syrup
• 4 eggs
• 6 cups almond flour
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• 11 ounces Greek yogurt cream cheese frosting or store-bought

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F. Add a piece of parchment paper to a 17 x 11 sheet pan.
• Mix together vanilla extract, orange extract, melted coconut oil, maple syrup and eggs in a large bowl.
  
• Mix almond flour, sea salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until dough forms. 
  
• Fold in chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
  
• Spread dough across the sheet pan. To help roll it out place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or wine bottle to help you roll it out evenly to the edges. 
  
• Bake for 22-26 minutes until the edges are light and slightly golden brown. Let cool completely before adding frosting!
  
• Add frosting and garnish with more dried cranberries.
  
• Makes 36 Bars. Cut 6 rows parallel to the short side and 3 columns parallel to the long side.  Then make diagonal cuts to make bars!  
  

Video

Notes

Note: use store-bought cream cheese frosting if you need it to be shelf stable (the bars will sit out a while) 

Pro tip:  use disposable baking trays to take to a party, then you can leave whenever and don't have to worry about your dish. 😉

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g

Tried this recipe?I'd love to see what you made! Tag me @hungryhobbyRD or tag #hungryhobby if you try this recipe!