Description
These Gingerbread Cookie Bars offer a delightful blend of warm spices and rich molasses in a soft, chewy cookie bar topped with a creamy spiced cream cheese frosting. Perfect for holiday gatherings or a cozy treat, they are baked in a 9x13-inch pan for easy serving and shareability.
Ingredients
Scale
Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- small pinch of ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar (recommended dark)
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (113g/80ml) unsulphured molasses (Grandma’s brand recommended)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 ounces (170g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- small pinch each of ground ginger, cinnamon, and allspice
- optional for garnish: sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare Oven and Pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and adjust the oven rack to the center position. Line a 9×13-inch metal or glass baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy lifting, and set aside.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper, and salt until combined.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk melted unsalted butter with brown sugar, granulated sugar, and molasses until smooth and lump-free. Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Combine Dough: Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a large spoon or silicone spatula until no flour pockets remain. The dough will be thick and shiny.
- Press Dough into Pan: Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and press evenly into a smooth, thin layer.
- Bake: Bake for 26 minutes or until the top is set but still soft, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with some moist crumbs. Avoid overbaking as the bars will firm up while cooling.
- Cool Bars: Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack for at least 1 hour before frosting.
- Prepare Frosting: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the softened cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl as needed.
- Mix Frosting Ingredients: Add confectioners’ sugar, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla extract. Beat on low for 30 seconds, then on high for 2 minutes until creamy and well combined. Adjust sweetness with a pinch of salt if desired.
- Frost Bars: Spread the spiced cream cheese frosting evenly over the cooled bars. Garnish with sprinkles if desired.
- Chill: Refrigerate the frosted bars for 30 minutes to help set the frosting before cutting.
- Serve and Store: Lift bars from the pan using parchment overhang, cut into 18-24 squares. Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Unfrosted bars store at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerated up to 1 week.
Notes
- You can make the dough ahead and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 3 months; bring to room temperature before baking.
- Baked and cooled bars, frosted or plain, freeze well for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Use brick cream cheese for frosting, not the spreadable tub variety, for best texture.
- Avoid letting melted butter cool too long before mixing with sugars to prevent crumbly dough.
- Use unsulphured or dark molasses (Grandma’s brand recommended); blackstrap molasses is too bitter.
- You can halve the recipe for an 8-inch or 9-inch pan; begin checking bake time at 22 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 260 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 140 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 34 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
