This copycat Cranberry Bliss Bars recipe is as good as or better than the Starbucks version. Healthy and keto-friendly, these low carb bars will satisfy all your holiday cravings. This post is sponsored by ChocZero.
I am happy to say that I have long since conquered my former Starbucks addiction. Creating amazing keto versions of their popular treats like these Cranberry Bliss Bars has helped immensely. I now only frequent Starbucks when I am traveling, and even then, it’s only for a cup of black coffee.
Now that I think of it, I have a lot of keto Starbucks copycat recipes. I clearly get plenty of inspiration from the famous coffee house chain. I do love taking some old favorites and making them keto-friendly. I’ve got keto vanilla bean scones, keto maple pecan scones, keto pumpkin cream cheese muffins, and keto gingerbread loaf, to name just a few.
I actually have an older version of low carb cranberry bliss bars too. Really old, back from 2010 when this blog was in its nascent stages. They were fine, they were serviceable, but this recipe is much better and I felt it deserved a whole new blog post.
New and Improved Keto Cranberry Bliss Bars
What makes this newer keto cranberry bar recipe so much better? Well, a number of things. For one thing, my baking skills have improved immensely in the last 9 years and these updated bars have a more dense, chewy cookie bar quality, rather than the cake-y bars of yore.
But an even more important factor is the development of keto-friendly white chocolate chips. At long last!
I have tested out both brands of white chocolate chips now and I will tell you that the ChocZero chips are far superior in many ways. That, my friends, is the honest opinion of a professional home baker (because this IS my profession, after all).
The ChocZero chips hold their shape during baking and don’t melt away into nothingness, which is a huge benefit for keto cookies and bars. They also have a little more of the true white chocolate flavor.
I am not knocking the other brand, as I am delighted by the fact that brands are seeing a need and trying to fill it. The keto world needs more of this. We don’t need any more keto energy bars, thank you very much. We need chocolate!
You may have noticed that this post is sponsored by ChocZero. Do not take that as influencing my opinion whatsoever. I managed to sweet talk ChocZero into sending me some for testing and comparison and I raved so much about them that they offered to partner with me. Now that’s serendipity.
How to make Keto Cranberry Bliss Bars
There are a few other things that go into the new and improved Cranberry Bliss Bars. For one thing, I made the batch smaller, fitting into a 9×9 inch pan. It serves still serves 16, but they cut more evenly into the classic triangles from Starbucks. And they have fewer carbs!
They also have a better texture. I created the base similarly to my famous Keto Brown Butter Blondies, but I used baking soda rather than powder, so they would be more dense. I also added a little gelatin for extra chewiness.
And of course my own sugar-free dried cranberries, which I make a big batch of every year.
I added white chocolate chips to the bars themselves but I also melted a little to drizzle on top of the cream cheese frosting. This too is a hallmark of the Starbucks version.
One tip when melting ANY kid of white chocolate, be it high sugar or sugar-free, is to add a little cocoa butter or coconut oil. White chocolate is even more finicky than dark or milk, and it tends to seize easily. The added oil helps it melt smoothly. But do not use butter, it thickens it too much for drizzling.
And for heaven’s sake, do not try to melt it in the microwave unless you want a clumpy mess. Double boiler style provide much gentler heat.
Eager to make some Keto Cranberry Bliss Bars? I know you’re going to love them! Do note that the ChocZero white chocolate chips are out of stock at the moment but don’t worry, they assure me that they are getting them back in the next few weeks. Just in time for the holiday rush!
More Great Keto Cranberry Recipes
- Sugar-Free Cranberry Sauce
- Keto Cranberry Biscotti
- Keto Cranberry Cobbler
- Cranberry Cheesecake Pie
- Cranberry Cream Cheese Loaf
- Cranberry Shortbread Streusel Bars
Keto Cranberry Bliss Bars
Ingredients
Bars:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup Swerve Brown, (can sub granulated)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp fresh grated ginger, (can sub 1 tsp ground)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 tbsp grassfed gelatin
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup sugar-free white chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup sugar-free dried cranberries, chopped
Frosting:
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 tbsp almond milk, room temperature
Garnish and Drizzle:
- 2 tbsp sugar-free dried cranberries, chopped
- 3 tbsp sugar-free white chocolate chips
- 1/2 tsp coconut oil, (or a little bit of cocoa butter)
Instructions
Bars
- Preheat the oven to 325F and lightly grease a 9×9 inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until well combined. Beat in the egg, ginger, and vanilla extract.
- All at once, add the almond flour, gelatin, baking soda, and salt. Beat until the dough is thoroughly combined. Stir the cranberries and white chocolate chips in by hand.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are golden brown but the center is still soft to the touch. Remove and let cool completely.
Frosting
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with the sweetener until well combined. Beat in the vanilla and then beat in the almond milk until smooth and creamy.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the bars.
Garnish
- Sprinkle the bars with the chopped dried cranberries.
- In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, combine the white chocolate chips and the coconut oil or cocoa butter. Stir frequently until melted and smooth.
- Drizzle over the bars and let set 20 minutes before cuttng into bars.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I make these over and over again because they are so good! Non-keto people love them too.
Thanks so much!
Do these have to be refrigerated?
They are fine for 3 days or so on the counter.
Are you kidding me right now? CAROLYN! How did you do this? These are incredible and I couldn’t tell a difference with the store brand ones! I cannot get enough of your recipes and am so grateful to you for sharing these. And the sugar free cranberry recipe? Genius! I do agree about the white chocolate seizing up as mine did the first time and I’m not sure why, but I gave it another attempt and what a success.
Omg!! I just made these today and they are amazing. They look and taste like Starbucks but to me they taste better because I know they’re healthier for me.
And is that correct? 2.6 carbs for each bar? That’s it?
Thank you so much for this recipe and I agree with you completely about Choc Zero! I love that company. They are amazing, great product. great customer service, affordable and speedy delivery.
Again, I say thanks. I’m going to explore more recipes on your website.
I made these for a Christmas party and they went like hotcakes! Everyone asked for the recipe and nobody could believe they were sugar-free. One note: be sure to use only 1-2 TEASPOONS of milk for the frosting or it will be too runny. Perhaps the tablespoon is a typo? Also, I added a couple tablespoons of softened butter to the cream cheese frosting. It was truly amazing!
I really want to make these for the holidays!! They look delicious! Is grass fed gelatin the same as the unflavored jello type gelatin? Or can you sub that type?
You can use some Knox gelatin (or any plain brand you can find). For the Knox, you would only need 1 envelope.
I made these today (11-23-24).These are the absolute best. I believe they are better than Starbucks. These bars were my favorite when the Holiday treats came out. Thank you, Thank you for making a Ketofied version.
These are really good. Next time I will cut back on the almond milk in the frosting as mine was a bit thinner than I would prefer. Otherwise, this is a super substitution for the super sweet Starbucks version.
I am so eager to make these, the Starbucks are my FAVORITE… but I haven’t eaten them in years due to my keto lifestyle.
I thought they contained orange as well? Has anyone eaten an actual Starbucks one lately that could confirm? Wondering if I should add a little rind to go with that gorgeous ginger!
Yes, you can absolutely do that!
I had many cranberry bliss bars from Starbucks during the holidays. When I made these I did use fresh orange zest in batter and frosting. Turned out pretty darn close to the real thing.
I used rind of half an orange in the batter and the other half in the icing and I wouldn’t use more or it overpowers the ginger and I agree with the other poster to use teaspoons instead of tablespoons of the milk in the frosting. I did it as it was in the recipe and it was too soft for me. You can always add more milk to get it to the consistency you want.
These are the BEST I have ever tasted . . Thank you Carolyn!!!
This could be a great web site – but all the endless ads guarantee that I will never return again. Sorry, this even puts a downer on your books and I now have a bitter taste in my mouth when I even look at them.
Wow! What a shame to deny someone the chance to make a living from their hard work. Thankfully, I have hundreds of thousands of more understanding supporters. Take care!
I changed this a bit. Didn’t want to buy expensive white chocolate sugar free chips for one recipe. I used 1/2 C unsweetened shredded coconut in the bars.
For the frosting, I added 3 drops of coconut extract. Eliminated the drizzle. Yes, I know you were imitating Starbucks bars. But these came out amazing!
Sounds delish!
hopefully this gets answered! can I sub collagen powder for the grass fed gelatin?
If using collagen, use 1/4 cup to get the same affect.
I couldn’t get the white choc chips and coconut oil to anywhere near a drizzle consistency. I used Lily’s chips. What could be the problem?
Did you add the coconut oil? Sounds to me like your heat was too high if it thickened up. White chocolate seizes very easily so it has to be super gentle heat.
can you use cocoa butter to thin the chocolate? also maybe I missed it, how to store these? thanks!!!