Every holiday season, my family requests my chewy gingerbread bars recipe! It’s quick, easy, and filled with cozy flavor from a variety of warming spices. Top the cookie bars with velvety cream cheese frosting for a tangy contrast, and they are simply irresistible.
There’s no need to fuss with chilling cookie dough or cookie cutters for these gingerbread treats, so you’ll be making these over and over again! For more gingerbread recipes, try my gingerbread cake, gingerbread muffins, and gingerbread cookies.
What You Need To Make This Recipe
Cornstarch — a small amount of cornstarch keeps these cookie bars soft and chewy.
Baking soda — the main leavening agent in this chewy gingerbread bars recipe.
Spices — plenty of flavor is packed into these cookie bars from ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg.
Sugar — light brown sugar and granulated sugar sweeten the batter and contribute to the chewiness of the baked bars.
Butter — melted unsalted butter adds richness to the flavor.
Molasses — a key ingredient to enhance the flavors in this easy recipe, but be sure to use unsulphured molasses. Blackstrap molasses will be much too bitter.
Eggs — eggs help to bind the gingerbread bars and provide a texture that is chewy and just dense enough.
Vanilla — use good vanilla extract, not synthetically flavored vanilla essence.
Cream cheese frosting — make a smaller yield of my favorite cream cheese frosting with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt for topping the bars.
Decoration — chopped candied ginger or colorful sprinkles make an eye-catching garnish.
How To Make Gingerbread Bars
1. Whisk together all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
2. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, melted butter, granulated sugar, and molasses until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together with a spatula until combined.
3. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake at 350°F for about 25 to 28 minutes or until the top is set, the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let the bars cool completely in the pan.
4. Make the cream cheese frosting in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed for about 1 minute until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed just until combined. Then, increase to medium speed for about 2 minutes.
5. Spread the frosting over the top of the cooled gingerbread bars with molasses.
6. If you like, you can garnish the chewy gingerbread cookie bars with slices of candied ginger or sprinkles.
Variations and Topping Ideas
- Mix in chopped candied ginger. For even more gingery flavor, add ½ cup finely chopped candied ginger to the batter before spreading it into the pan.
- Add chocolate chips. Feel free to gently fold in ½ cup chocolate chips to the batter before transferring it to the baking pan if you like chocolate in your gingerbread. You can any type of chocolate chips you like (white, semi-sweet, milk, or dark).
- Flavor the frosting. Add lemon zest, almond extract, or ground spices to the classic cream cheese frosting for a twist.
- Use different frosting. Swap the cream cheese frosting for a classic vanilla buttercream or rich chocolate buttercream instead.
- Skip the frosting. Leave the gingerbread bars plain and instead add sprinkles on top before baking. Or, dust with powdered sugar after the bars are baked and cooled. You can even drizzle a festive powdered sugar glaze over the cooled gingerbread bars, like the one used on my eggnog cake.
- Garnish with candied fruit or sprinkles. Candied ginger, candied orange peel, and sugared cranberries complement the gingerbread cookie bars beautifully. You can also use holiday sprinkles to make these even more festive.
How to Store
Refrigerating: Store iced gingerbread bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freezing: Place them in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the cookie bars overnight in the refrigerator or for a few hours on the counter.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Weigh the flour. Using too much flour will lead to dry gingerbread bars. The most accurate way to measure flour is using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour in its container and spoon it into your measuring cup.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Set the butter and cream cheese for the frosting and the eggs out about an hour or so before you start baking. Room-temperature ingredients are easier to blend with other ingredients. If you forget to set out the butter, see my post on how to soften butter quickly (this trick works for cream cheese, too).
- Use brick-style cream cheese for the frosting, not the spreadable kind that comes in a tub.
- If the frosting is too thick when mixed together, you can add up to 1 tablespoon of milk or heavy cream to thin it out a bit. I recommend adding just 1 teaspoon at a time until it reaches a thick yet spreadable consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Gingerbread bars are a great make-ahead option. Just remember that since they’re iced with cream cheese frosting, which contains dairy, they’ll need to be refrigerated if made more than 24 hours before serving.
Yes, you can. Spread the dough into the prepared baking dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap. It will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month before baking. If freezing, add a layer of aluminum foil for extra protection. Bake directly from the fridge, adding a few minutes to the baking time. If frozen, I recommend letting the dough thaw for a few hours before baking it.
I don’t recommend it. Instead, make a batch of my gingersnap cookies!
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this gingerbread bars recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Gingerbread Bars Recipe
Equipment
- 9×13-inch pan
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment or handheld electric mixer
Ingredients
For the Bars:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar (220g)
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted (226g)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (133g)
- ⅓ cup unsulphured molasses (80mL)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 6 ounces cream cheese room temperature (170g)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened (56g)
- 3 cups powdered sugar (360g
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Chopped, candied ginger or sprinkles to garnish
Instructions
For the Gingerbread Bars:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine the brown sugar, melted butter, granulated sugar, and molasses until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk together until the mixture is thick and well combined.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir with a spatula until combined.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and spread into an even layer.
- Bake for about 30 to 32 minutes or the top is set, the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely in the pan.
For the Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed for about 1 minute until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed just until combined. Then, increase to medium speed for about 2 minutes until light and creamy.
- Spread over top of the cooled gingerbread bars. Garnish with slices of candied ginger or sprinkles if you like.
Notes
- Weigh the flour. Using too much flour will lead to dry gingerbread bars. The most accurate way to measure flour is using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour in its container and spoon it into your measuring cup.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Set the butter and cream cheese for the frosting and the eggs out about an hour or so before you start baking. Room-temperature ingredients are easier to blend with other ingredients. If you forget to set out the butter, see my post on how to soften butter quickly (this trick works for cream cheese, too).
- Use brick-style cream cheese for the frosting, not the spreadable kind that comes in a tub.
- If the frosting is too thick when mixed together, you can add up to 1 tablespoon of milk or heavy cream to thin it out a bit. I recommend adding just 1 teaspoon at a time until it reaches a thick yet spreadable consistency.
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