Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars Recipe

TikTok made me bake it! I came across a recipe for Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars on TikTok and I knew I just had to try it. I am so glad I did because these came out perfectly delicious. I personally think they are better than the Starbucks ones. I also love that these are budget friendly being made at home. 

You can find the original recipe over at MumpyMakes on TikTok or on Instagram. I link both because I know some people only do one of the Apps. She made hers so much prettier, as she melted the white chocolate and made beautiful crisscross lines on top when it was finished baking.

I just sprinkled white chocolate chips on the top while it was still warm, let them melt a little, and used a knife to spread them across. You can see the one I made on TikTok or Instagram as well. These are so buttery and every bite had the perfect amount of cranberries and white chocolate chips.  

I doubled her recipe and baked it in a 9x13 Pyrex dish lined with parchment paper.  If you have a big family or like to share your homemade baked treats with friends and family, definitely make this double version below. Once you try how delicious these turn out, you will be glad you did. You can see the original recipe and great tips on her website MumpyMakes.

What you need:

4 Cups of Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1 1/2 Cups of Light Brown Sugar

1 1/2 Cups of White Sugar

2 Cups Salted Butter Melted

4 Eggs

2 Teaspoons Vanilla

2 Cups Dried Cranberries

2 Cups White Chocolate Chips

A handful of White Chocolate Chips for topping.

Directions:

Sift and combine dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, and cornstarch.

Mix and combine melted butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.

Add in dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and mix in cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Place in a 9x13 Pyrex dish lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, until edges are golden brown. 

I set it out and sprinkled a handful of white chocolate chips on top while still warm to melt and spread across with a knife. Let cool fully before slicing. 

Happy Baking and Merry Christmas!

10+ Things to Do With Your Family During Christmas Break

We are not quite on Christmas break yet, we have a couple of school days left but a lot of our friends are. I thought I would share some ideas of fun things to do with your family over the break. While these are events or places to go that cost money, here is an older blog post with FREE ideas click here. We really do have a lot of fun family-friendly things to explore here in Sacramento and nearby. While our family has been hosted at some of the events below, many of them we have frequented over the years, these are all things our family has enjoyed and many we will do over Christmas Break again, even though we've been before. I love seeing the Christmas decorations that we don't see any other time of year. 

1. Enchant - At Sutter Health Park - This is a winter wonderland experience put on by The Hallmark Channel right here in Sacramento! You can also look for them near you, they are set up in 8 cities. You see stunning Christmas light displays, go through a light maze, see a tree that is 100 feet tall and so much more! You can check out my blog post on Enchant here, or see it on our TikTok or Instagram page. Only here through January 1st, purchase your tickets at EnchantChristmas.com/Sacramento.

2. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom - Visiting here during the holidays is one of our favorite times to go. I love seeing the park all decorated, they have holiday-themed treats, shows, and character meet and greets. Holiday in the Park at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA goes through January 1st, be sure to check online for holiday hours.

3. Downtown Sacramento Ice Skating - We love our outdoor Ice Skating Rink, this is also one of our favorite things to do during winter break. Be sure to check their calendar for fun-themed dates. The Ice Skating Rink is open through January 16th. 

4. Get Out Pass - Bowling, Scandia, Arcade, and more! Of course, you can check out any of these places without the Get Out Pass, but the Get Out Pass is seriously such a great way to save money. You will be able to enjoy many activities weekly or monthly for free with your Get Out Pass card, all year long. This would be a great gift that keeps on giving. Use code BLOGABOUTITALL to save on your Get Out Pass, with this code brings the pass down to $74.95. This is an affiliate code, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

5. SMUD Science Museum - We just visited on a school field trip and I was really impressed at how hands-on this museum is. If you have littles this is the perfect place for them to explore, bonus is that it is something indoors you can do if it is raining or cold. If you have elementary to middle school-aged children, there is so much to explore and learn. My sixth grader loved it! Adults 18+ are $17 and youth ages 2-17 are $14, parking is $6. They are located Downtown at 400 Jibboom Street, Sacramento, CA.

6. Imaginarium at Cal Expo - This is hosted at Cal Expo, it is like a winter State Fair/County Fair. There are rides, all our favorite State Fair foods, and light displays. Our favorite here is the lighted roses, so beautiful. You can check out our blog post on Imaginarium here. They are open through January 2nd, purchase your tickets at Imaginarium360.

7. Sea Quest Folsom - Located in the Palladio at Broadstone shopping area in Folsom, CA, you'll learn about all types of animals, sea creatures, birds, fish and so much more. They have interactive animal experiences available from feeding a sloth to swimming with sting rays and sharks. You can check out more details here. This is another activity that is included on the Get Out Pass. Purchase your tickets at VisitSeaQuest.com/Folsom/.

8. Sacramento Zoo - I love our Zoo, and with talks of it moving, now is the time to visit and take photos so you can remember it how it has been for so many years. Be sure to check the hours before you go, they are closed on December 24-25th. Purchase your tickets at SacZoo.org. If you are headed to the Zoo, be sure to check out the BEST Cinnamon Rolls at Spinners, it is right nearby.

9. Old Sacramento Waterfront - We love walking around Old Sacramento, visiting Candy Heaven, of course shopping at Evangeline's and we can't leave without getting Danny's Mini Donuts. You can check out the Theatre of Lights Show Thursday, December 22nd, shows at 6 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 23rd, shows at 6 p.m. & 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, December 24th, show at 6 p.m.

10. Check out our local malls, DOCO, Arden Fair, and the Galleria. Each of these places is beautifully decorated for the holidays and they have a ton of shops and yummy places to eat. 

Bonus: Check out Christmas lights! Our favorites are Pebble Creek neighborhood in Rocklin, Dovewood Court in Orangevale, and the Bayside Drive Through light experience.

Be sure to look on Groupon and each place's website, you can often save money if you purchase tickets online instead of at the door. 

Soft Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipe

Tis the season for holiday baking! I love baking and making Christmas Sugar Cookie Cutouts is an annual tradition. It doesn't quite feel like Christmas until I have made tamales with my mom and baked Christmas cookies. My kids love helping, and are always excited when we start, but because we make so many I usually end up with two kiddos in the kitchen while two somehow disappear, working on a school project of course. My mom does remind me that growing up my siblings and I used to complain and quit early as well, but look now how it has become a favorite Christmas tradition. So I hope my boys will still want to bake and help their mom bake to give out treats when they are older. I came across a statement this year from Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons Facebook Page that said "Don't come at me with your little gift bag or Christmas tin, and be all "it's not much, but". Let me tell you something if you think enough of me to build, buy, make, bake, paint, craft, or grow something for me, out of 7 billion people, this one thing is just for ME. . .  that is MUCH! Let's not forget that this year when we say it's not much because the thoughtfulness to think of someone else IS MUCH!"

I couldn't agree more!

I hope you'll get in the kitchen and bake or cook with your kids over winter break, it is a great spot to talk, share and impart to them. It is also a lot of fun, put on Christmas music, bake, frost, and eat of course and yes, you will probably have a child disappear toward the end but hopefully, they will look back fondly on baking with mom and continue the tradition with their own children.

Ingredients:

3 1/4 Cups of Flour

1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

1 Cup of Butter

1 1/2 Cups of White Sugar

2 Eggs

2 Teaspoons of Vanilla

Buttercream Icing Ingredients:

1/2 Cup of Butter (1 stick)

4 Cups of Powdered Sugar

1 Tablespoon of Vanilla

3 Tablespoons of Milk

 

Sugar Cookie Directions:

1. Combine your dry ingredients. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in one bowl.

2. In a separate bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time. Add in vanilla. 

3. Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients until combined. 

4. Place in saran wrap and chill for at least two hours, I usually let it chill overnight. I like to flatten it a bit in the saran wrap, this makes it easy and ready to roll out when you take it out of the refrigerator after chilling. You want it to soften a bit but not too much, having it still a little cold helps it not to spread when baking. 

5. Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees, and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

6. On a clean flat surface, sprinkle powdered sugar to roll out cookie dough, not flour. I like to leave them a little thick so they are soft and chewy, when they are thin you get a crispier cookie, still good, but not as good in my opinion.

7. Bake cookies for about 10-12 minutes, until the edges are barely brown, let them cool slightly on the cookie sheet before transferring them to wire wracks to cool more. 

Buttercream Icing Directions:

Cream butter and powdered sugar. Add in Vanilla and Milk one Tablespoon at a time. If it is too thick add in a little more milk slowly to the consistency of your liking. 

I split the frosting into bowls and then add the food coloring. I use a combination of food coloring, I have gel food coloring, and liquid food coloring and love my Wilton Right Color set, but I usually end up using a little bit of everything to get the colors I want. 

This is my mother-in-law's buttercream frosting recipe and my kids absolutely love this frosting.

While I absolutely love the taste of this frosting it takes a little bit longer to set/dry to stack cookies. When we bake Christmas cookies we bake a ton to give to teachers, coaches, neighbors friends, and family. We made 65 buckets to give out this year that had a variety of homemade treats. This is why I usually in the past used a corn syrup icing recipe because it sets so much faster, but now that I have teenagers, my quick-setting icing has been voted out, we use Grandma's recipe. My teenagers still tell me, Grandmas' comes out better because it is made with love. If you could only see my eye roll.

I will share a video of this recipe on my TikTok and Instagram I'll have them pinned at the top if you like to watch video recipes. I often like to watch the recipe video and see the recipe in print form. 

I hope you and your family have a very Christmas, thank you for every bit of support of my blog, I truly appreciate every like, comment, and share.  

Frontier Fiber in Elk Grove, CA | Building Gigabit America Tour

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Frontier. Although I receive these benefits I always give an opinion that is 100% mine.

Frontier Fiber has arrived in Elk Grove, CA!!!! This new digital infrastructure is a major step forward for our city and will empower us to live better, more connected lives!

See it in action this weekend at the Elk Grove Teen Center for the Building Gigabit America Tour. I was able to attend the event on Thursday, it is amazing how many of our devices need a strong internet connection. They have a cool dial that has you tally up just how many devices you have, I was shocked when we totaled ours up.

This is a family-friendly event, bring your teens, they will love the gaming, prizes, free merch, and checking out the Elk Grove Teen Center!

While Frontier is about providing fiber infrastructure, you know what impressed me the most. I LOVE that they are using Broadband for good and investing in the communities they serve.

This week they honored our local Veterans, they invested in the Elk Grove Teen Center with new furniture, fresh paint, and more to improve and help them serve the teens right here in Elk Grove, CA. At this weekend's events, they are partnering with the Elk Grove Food Bank and accepting non-perishable donations!

I hope you will swing by the event this weekend and check out all Frontier has to offer. As a content creator, I rely heavily on a strong internet connection, which is vital to my small business. As a family, a strong connection is essential, my husband works from home and we have four boys, someone is always streaming, gaming, or working, depending on staying connected for everyday life, work, and play.

When: 

Friday, December 9th from 3 PM to 7 PM

Games, Prizes, Giveaways & More!

Saturday, December 10th from 10 AM to 2 PM

On Saturday: Snacks, games, prizes, and Santa!

Location: 

Elk Grove Teen Center, 8978 Elk Grove, Blvd., Elk Grove, CA 

You can enter your address here to view plans in your area.

Enchant Presented by Hallmark Channel | Sacramento, CA

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Enchant, in exchange for my time and efforts in attending and reporting my opinion within this blog. Even though I receive these benefits, I always give an opinion that is 100% mine.

Enchant presented by the Hallmark Channel is here in Sacramento through January 1, 2023! Located at the Sutter Health Park where the Sacramento Rivercats play at 400 Ballpark Drive, West Sacramento, CA. We had such an amazing night exploring all the stunning light displays and soaking up all the festive fun! If you are not in the Sacramento area, look for Enchant in a city near you, they are coming to nine locations this year.

Tickets start at $34 for Adults and $20 for children. Know they do have a clear bag policy, this is pretty much standard at all events these days. I encourage you to purchase a clear bag now, so you have it for this and future events. You can save on tickets with their Family 4 Pack - Save 20% when you purchase a Family Four Pack which includes 2 Adult and 2 Child tickets. They also have a Wednesday deal, Kids FREE Wednesdays on select Wednesdays (December 7 & 14) you can get one free child ticket with each full-price paid ticket purchased. Purchase your tickets at EnchantChristmas.com/Sacramento.

We started our adventure in the spectacular, all-new story-themed Christmas Light Maze. This year discover The Mischievous Elf Maze. Eddie the Elf and his reindeer friend Sparky were playing in Santa's Workshop and somehow lost eight toys! You are on a mission to help find the missing presents in time for Santa to deliver them to the boys and girls on Christmas day. You can pick up a Maze Passport right at the entrance to guide you in your search. Find all the missing eight toys and stamp your passport at each station. Drop off your completed Passport to be entered to win an exciting Hallmark Channel trip sweepstakes!

Take your time in the Light Maze, there is so much to see! You'll stroll through lighted tunnels, and there are a ton of spots to take photos. One of our kids favorite spots was the giant Rubik's Cube area, the lighted tiles change colors as you dance and walk on them. There is even a giant sleigh the entire family can climb in and a fun lighted airplane and train.  Everyone around us was happy to help take your picture, so your entire family could be in it. Find your way to the epic 100-foot-tall Christmas tree that you can walk through! I could have stayed all night watching the colors change and listening to the festive Christmas music.

They have an Ice Skating Rink with real ice! You can glide through a dazzling forest of Christmas lights. Ice Skating is a timed-entry add-on, tickets are $18 per person. Ice skates are provided or you can bring your own. The Ice Skating Rink is quite beautiful!

Explore the Village of tiny shops, artisan vendors, specialty crafts, and boutiques. They have holiday beverages and treats that are sure to put even Scrooge in a festive mood. They have signature Lightbulb cups that really light up! You can find hot chocolate, cocktails, and mocktails, at their beverage stations and bar. They had delicious fresh gyros being made to order, oysters being made right on the grill, and we saw one of Sacramento's favorite food trucks Bubble Cone and more. They also have desserts from local vendors, they have churros, ice cream and so much more!

At the Little Elves Play Place, you can make an ornament and gather around for story time with Mrs. Claus. You can snap photos with your own camera with Mrs. Clause, she has a beautiful area with a fireplace. You can see Hallmark's touch in every area. Continue on the path and bring your little ones to Santa's Landing. They have professional photographers at Santa's Landing ready to capture the moment for you. You can view and select your images as you exit, they have a variety of photo packages available to purchase. They did quite a few different photos, I loved when they had our boys pose with surprised faces.  You can also snap your own photos, it is the perfect backdrop for your family Christmas card!

There were lots of seating areas, all around, including a cozy Hallmark-themed area complete with couches, oversized beanbags, and TVs to watch the Hallmark Channel. This is also the spot where you will turn in your completed passport, they had a red mailbox here. There were plenty of seating areas near the stage areas so you could sit and enjoy the Live entertainment!

Enchant really did an AMAZING job at transforming Sutter Health Park into a Winter Wonderland! I am so grateful we were able to attend. The end of the year tends to get really busy, I sure do appreciate anytime we can carve out time to spend together as a family having fun. If you don't have kids, find some friends to go with, it would be a great date night for couples as well. 

They also have a Night Owl Special, you can save on tickets by visiting during the last two hours of the event. Enjoy Enchant for only $25 when you select the Night Owl Option, which is good for the last two hours of the event. Prepaid Parking is available when you purchase your tickets, the entrance is off of Market Street off of 5th Street.

Hours of Operation

November through December 18th Wednesday-Thursday 5:30-10:30 PM, Friday 5:30-11:30 PM, Saturday 4:30-11:30 PM, and Sunday 4:30-10:30 PM.

December 19 through December 25th Monday-Wednesday 4:30-10:30 PM, Thursday-Sunday 4:30-11:30 PM.

December 26 through January 1st Monday through Sunday 4:30-10:30 PM.

Share your photos with #EnchantChristmas and tag @Enchant.Sacramento, you may be featured on their socials! Be sure to follow them on social media to stay up to date with hours, and specials, and with the rain, we had this past weekend they offered ticket holders to change their reservation date.

You can see an Instagram Reel of our fun at Enchant @BlogAboutItAll. If you have any questions I am happy to help, feel free to DM me on Instagram or TikTok or send me an e-mail at theblogaboutitall@gmail.com. Tag your family and friends and let them know you would love to go with them. 

Some people have asked how much time is spent here, which really is depending on your group. You could see everything in a little over an hour, but you could just as easily spend three hours or more, if you add ice skating, sit and enjoy a meal, sit and listen to the live entertainment. I hope you are able to visit Sutter Health Park and enjoy Enchant Sacramento and have a very Merry Christmas!