Gingerbread Bars
These Gingerbread Bars are delicious soft, and chewy cookie bars laced with molasses, cinnamon, and ginger to bring that favorite spicy holiday flavor to life in these delicious cookie bars. The bars are topped with a smooth cream cheese frosting, and sprinkles for a fun holiday look!
Servings: 24
Calories: 375kcal
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
For the Gingerbread Bars:
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup molasses (unsulphured, not blackstrap)
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese (1 block, softened)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick, softened)
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- holiday sprinkles
Instructions
For the Gingerbread Bars:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 10.5x15.5 baking pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt and whisk them together.
- In another large bowl (a stand mixer works well) beat the butter on low speed, then add in the sugar and mix them together for a couple minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing until just combined after each egg.
- Then mix in the molasses until incorporated.
- Add the flour mixture, while mixing the mixture, until you have a nice soft dough.
- Scoop the dough into the prepared pan and press it into the edges and corner of the pan.
- Bake the bars for 18 to 24 minutes, until the edges start to turn golden. And a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bars comes out clean.
- Let the bars cool completely, by setting the pan on a wire rack.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Add the cream cheese to a large mixing bowl and beat it over medium speed until smooth.
- Add in the butter, cut into tablespoon slices, while beating. Continue mixing until it's blended and smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix over low speed until the ingredients are combined and the frosting is nice and creamy.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled bars.
- Add the sprinkles evenly over the top of the frosting.
- Slice the bars evenly into squares and enjoy.
Nutrition
Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 230mg | Potassium: 157mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 623IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg