Description
These Gingerbread Cookie Bars are a festive and flavorful treat perfect for the holiday season. Featuring warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a tender cookie bar base, topped with a creamy spiced cream cheese frosting, they’re easy to make in one pan and are delightfully soft and chewy with a lightly set top.
Ingredients
Scale
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 dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (113g/80ml) unsulphured molasses
- 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
- Preheat oven and prepare 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 on the sides to easily lift the bars out later. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and molasses together until smooth and lump-free. Whisk in the egg and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
- Make the dough: Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and use a large spoon or silicone spatula to mix until no flour remains and the dough is thick and shiny. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and press it evenly into a smooth, thin layer.
- Bake the bars: 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 a few moist crumbs. Bars will puff and then settle as they cool. Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for at least 1 hour.
- Prepare the frosting: In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed with a handheld or stand mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add confectioners’ sugar, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until creamy and combined. Taste and optionally add a pinch of salt if too sweet.
- Frost the bars: Spread the spiced cream cheese frosting evenly onto the cooled bars. Optionally, sprinkle with festive sprinkles. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to help set the frosting before slicing.
- Serve and store: Use the parchment overhang to lift the bars out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares (yielding 18-24 bars). Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Unfrosted bars can be kept at room temperature for 3 days or refrigerated for 1 week.
Notes
- You can make the dough up to 3 days ahead and keep it refrigerated or freeze for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature before baking.
- Baked bars (frosted or unfrosted) freeze well for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- To halve the recipe, use an 8-inch or thin 9-inch pan and check for doneness starting at 22 minutes.
- Use unsulphured or dark molasses for best flavor; avoid blackstrap which is bitter.
- Use brick-style cream cheese, not spreadable tub cream cheese, for the frosting.
- Mix sugars and molasses into melted butter promptly to avoid crumbly dough and cakey bars.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 230 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 140 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
