white chocolate cranberry cookie bars

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper.

In a small dish, whisk the ground flax with water until well combined and set it aside for it to slightly thicken. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and sea salt with a fork. In a separate bowl, stir together melted coconut oil, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir in the thickened flax and water mixture until well combined. If using vegan butter beat the butter with the brown sugar until well combined and fluffy, about 5 to 6 minutes. Then add vanilla extract and thickened flax and continue to beat until well mixed and sticky. Add the dry ingredients and continue to fold together or beat over low speed until it's about half combined, then add in the cranberries and white chocolate and continue to mix until well combined.

Press the batter into the prepared baking pan evenly making sure it fills to the edges. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes until the surface is golden brown and it looks slightly cracked on the surface. Place the baking pan on a wire rack. Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes. As it cools the middle will sink slightly, leaving a raised edge all around. Once it's cool enough to lift it out of the baking pan by the parchment paper overhang, place the cookie bar directly on the wire rack to cool completely before icing.

For the glaze, use a spatula or hand mixer to combine the yogurt or cream cheese with confectioners sugar, orange zest, and orange juice until smooth.

Spread all the glaze evenly on the top of the cookie bar with a large icing spatula and take it just to the edges so it drips down the sides a little bit.

Sprinkle the chopped dried cranberries on top of the icing. Let this sit until the icing has hardened before slicing into bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.