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    Home ยป Recipes ยป Bars & Brownies

    Gingerbread Cookie Bars

    Published: Dec 19, 2018 by Sam Merritt ยท 48 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
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    Gingerbread Cookie Bars

    Soft and chewy Gingerbread Cookie Bars are decorated with a simple frosting and sprinkles! Flavored with all my favorite holiday spices, this is a fun festive treat for the season.

    There’s no chilling or cookie cutters necessary for today’s recipe, making this a simple alternative to my classic Gingerbread Men. Recipe includes a how-to video at the bottom of the post! 

    Gingerbread Cookie bar square with sprinkles

    Gingerbread Cookie Bars

    Another lazy-day cookie bar recipe today! After Monday’s Christmas Cookies round-up, I’m feeling a little exhausted with all the scooping, rolling out, and chilling, and thought something a little simpler was in order.

    Dense, buttery, chewy, and flavored with all of the best holiday spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves, & nutmeg!), these Gingerbread Cookie Bars are simple, but they’re lacking nothing in terms of flavor. Oh, and you are just going to love the thick, creamy layer of cream cheese frosting on top.

    Gingerbread cookie bar square decorated with icing and sprinkles

    Frosting

    No good Gingerbread Cookie is complete without a decorative frosting, and the same can be said for these Gingerbread Cookie bars! While you could get away with using my sugar cookie frosting here, I prefer to use a sturdy, pipe-able variation of my cream cheese frosting instead. The subtly tangy flavor of the cream cheese is the perfect complement to these brightly spiced bars. Not a fan of cream cheese frosting? Use the buttercream frosting in my sugar cookie bar recipe instead! 

    You’ll notice that I add cornstarch to my frosting. I use this technique with the frosting on my Carrot Cake Cookies, as well. What this does is it helps make the frosting more firm and encourages it to “crust” or harden after a few hours. This means a less messy, easier to slice and to transport cookie bar. If you don’t have cornstarch on hand, you can leave this ingredient out, your frosting will just be softer.

    I used a Wilton 2B tip to pipe the frosting on my gingerbread cookie bars, and you can see just how I did my design it in the video below. Of course, you can decorate them any way you please, or just spread the frosting evenly over the bars (the easiest way to do it!).

    Soft and chewy Gingerbread Cookie bar with a bite out of it

    How to Store Gingerbread Cookie Bars

    Personally, I store these cookie bars at room temperature in an airtight container. However, because of the cream cheese frosting on top, I recommend erring on the side of caution, and if you are going to have them around longer than a day or two, I would place them in the refrigerator. Store in an airtight container and allow them to come back to room temperature before serving.

    Enjoy!

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    How to Make Gingerbread Cookie Bars

    Gingerbread bar on marble surface

    Gingerbread Cookie Bars

    Soft and chewy Gingerbread Cookie Bars are decorated with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles! These are a fun festive treat for the holidays.
    5 from 13 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 22 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 42 minutes minutes
    Servings: 20 bars
    Calories: 279kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter melted
    • 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar firmly packed
    • 1 large egg room temperature
    • ¼ cup (60 ml) unsulphured molasses it should say unsulphered on the label, I used "Grandma's" brand
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 cups (265 g) + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
    • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 2 teaspoon ground ginger
    • 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
    • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

    CREAM CHEESE FROSTING*

    • 6 Tablespoons (85 g) salted butter softened
    • 6 oz (170 g) cream cheese softened
    • ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
    • 2 ¼ cups (280 g) powdered sugar
    • 2 tsp cornstarch**
    • Sprinkles for decorating optional

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a 9x13 paper with parchment paper (use enough so the parchment is hanging over the sides so that you will be able to lift it out of the pan once it's baked and cooled) or lightly grease and flour.
    • Stir together melted butter, brown sugar, and molasses in a large bowl.
      ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar, ¼ cup (60 ml) unsulphured molasses
    • Add egg and vanilla extract and stir well. Set aside.
      1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
      2 cups (265 g) + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
    • Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir until completely combined.
    • Spread batter evenly into prepared baking pan. Transfer to 350°F (175°C) and bake for 22 minutes. Allow to cool completely before decorating with frosting.

    FROSTING

    • Once your cookie bars have cooled, prepare your frosting by combining butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract. Use an electric mixer (or a stand mixer) to cream ingredients together until well-combined.
      6 Tablespoons (85 g) salted butter softened, 6 oz (170 g) cream cheese, ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
    • Gradually (with mixer on low-speed) add powdered sugar until completely combined. Stir in cornstarch (make sure it's well incorporated into the frosting).
      2 ¼ cups (280 g) powdered sugar, 2 tsp cornstarch**
    • Spread or pipe (I used a Wilton 2B tip) frosting over completely cooled gingerbread bars. Decorate with sprinkles (if desired), then slice and serve.
      Sprinkles for decorating

    Notes

    *Not a fan of cream cheese frosting? Try the simple buttercream frosting that I use on my Sugar Cookie Bars, instead!
    ** Corn starch helps the frosting to harden or "crust" without affecting the flavor You can leave this out but your frosting will be softer.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1bar | Calories: 279kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 139mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 444IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!
    « French Toast Casserole
    Champagne Granita »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kit

      December 30, 2024 at 6:35 pm

      5 stars
      I’ve made this recipe several times now and it is amazing! My husband loves gingerbread anything, I’ve tried several different recipes, but this recipe is by far the best. He took some to his Bible study and it was a huge hit with all of the guys.
      Thank you, for a fantastic recipe!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        December 30, 2024 at 6:36 pm

        Thanks for the review, Kit! We are so happy everyone loved the bars ๐Ÿฅฐ

        Reply
    2. pam

      December 18, 2024 at 5:27 pm

      These are absolutely amazing!! You should have a lot more followers as everyone at my work asked for the recipe ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        December 19, 2024 at 3:38 pm

        We’re so happy you enjoyed them, Pam! Thanks for trying our recipe ๐Ÿฅฐ

        Reply
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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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