TASTE
Lightened cranberry bar a year-round delectable
| • | Learning to trust your taste buds |
By Elaine Magee
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Q. I would be deeply grateful if you could invent a light version of Starbucks' Cranberry Bliss Bar. If you can do this, I would be able to make these at home throughout the year.
A. The Cranberry Bliss Bar is definitely one of the tastiest tidbits that the holiday season brings us — if only for a month or two. I did get the chance to taste these this past December, so I think I know what our target flavor and texture are. I started out with a light blonde brownie recipe I developed a couple of years back, using whole-wheat flour, less sugar, and a less-fat margarine, topped it with a light lemon frosting made from lemon curd, less-fat margarine and powdered sugar. The dried cranberries and white chocolate chips were stirred into the brownie batter.
If you don't want to use Sugar Twin's Brown Sugar to cut the calories from sugar in half, just increase the brown sugar in the recipe below from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup (which still cuts the calories from sugar by 25 percent).
I don't have the nutritional breakdowns for the original of this bar, but, just for comparison, a serving of Starbucks' Aussie bar contains 300 calories, 21 grams fat, 13 grams saturated fat; and a serving of its Toffee Almond Bar contains 360 calories, 19 grams of fat and 9 grams saturated fat.
MOCK LIGHT CRANBERRY BLISS BAR
For the frosting:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch square baking dish with canola cooking spray.
Add whole-wheat flour, white flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a separate bowl. Whisk together well, and set aside.
Melt 1/3 cup less-fat margarine in a small nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and Brown Sugar Twin if desired. Cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute. Let cool for a few minutes.
Add brown sugar mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add in the egg and vanilla, and beat on medium-low speed until well blended. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture, a little at a time, until all ingredients are just blended. Stir in white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes (or until just golden brown around the edges and on top). Let cool.
Meanwhile, add lemon curd, margarine and powdered sugar to a small mixing bowl and beat on medium until smooth. Spread on cooled cranberry bars and cut into bars.
Makes 12 bars.
Elaine Magee is a registered dietitian. Learn more at www.recipedoctor.com.
