Gingerbread Cookie Bars
These Gingerbread Cookie Bars are soft and chewy with plenty of molasses flavor and warm gingerbread spices. A thick layer of spiced cream cheese frosting and festive sprinkles turns them into an easy Christmas treat without any rolling or cookie cutters.
You get everything you love about gingerbread cookies in easy bar form. The combination of ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves gives the bars their classic holiday flavor, while Greek yogurt and an extra egg yolk help keep the centers soft and tender.
If you're planning your Christmas baking, add our Christmas M&M Cookie Bars or Peppermint Cookies to the list for two more festive treats to fill your holiday cookie trays.
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Ingredients
The bars start with plenty of warm spices and molasses, then get topped with a simple cream cheese frosting.
See the recipe card below for the exact quantities of each ingredient.
- All-Purpose Flour: Measure carefully so you don't add too much flour and lose that soft, chewy texture.
- Ground Ginger, Cinnamon, Allspice & Cloves: This blend of warm spices gives the bars their classic gingerbread flavor.
- Brown & Granulated Sugar: The combination adds sweetness while helping create a soft, chewy bar.
- Butter: We use unsalted butter in the cookies and salted butter in the cream cheese frosting, which adds richness to both.
- Fancy Molasses (Light Molasses) Adds the deep color and signature molasses flavor. I use fancy molasses rather than blackstrap, which has a stronger, more bitter flavor.
- Plain Greek Yogurt: Adds moisture to help keep the bars soft.
- Egg & Egg Yolk: The extra yolk adds richness and contributes to the chewy texture.
- Vanilla Extract: Rounds out the molasses and warm spices.
- Cream Cheese: Use full-fat brick-style cream cheese at room temperature for the frosting.
- Icing Sugar: I prefer 4 cups for a firmer finish, but it does take more patience to ice them fully.
- Sprinkles: Nonpareils, gingerbread men or other festive sprinkles are optional, but fun for Christmas.
All you need is a 9x13 metal baking pan and a stand mixer, which makes quick work of the frosting.
Variations
- Skip the Frosting: Leave the gingerbread bars plain for a simpler treat with plenty of molasses and spice.
- Add White Chocolate: Mix white chocolate chips into the cookie dough for little pockets of sweetness.
- Add More Spice: Increase the cinnamon or ginger slightly if you prefer a stronger gingerbread flavor.
How to Make Gingerbread Cookie Bars
These gingerbread bars come together in one pan, then get finished with a thick layer of spiced cream cheese frosting.
Preheat oven to 325F and line a 9x13 metal baking pan with parchment paper leaving the sides high to pull out easier once baked.
In a medium bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, allspice, cloves, and sea salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add sugars, melted butter, and molasses. Mix well using a spatula until most of the butter is absorbed. (You can use a stand mixer if preferred).
Add Greek yogurt, egg, additional egg yolk, and pure vanilla extract, then mix again until well combined (about 30 seconds on low if using a stand mixer).
Transfer dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, and mix until there are no dry streaks, then transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan.
With an offset spatula (or metal spoon) flatten the cookie dough as evenly as you can, then bake for about 22 minutes, or until a toothpick come out of the center with moist crumbs.
Cool on a wire rack fully then start your frosting.
To the bowl of a stand mixer add half of the icing sugar, cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, ground allspice and cinnamon. With the paddle attachment, start on low and move the speed up to medium and run until most of the icing sugar is mixed in.
Add the remaining icing sugar to your preference and mix until smooth. If you feel you've gone too far, add small amounts of milk until you reach your desired consistency. (4 cups/520 grams is my preference, it is a stiffer frosting, so I put it on while the cookies are still in the pan, and I have to lightly press the sprinkles in to stick).
Slice and serve as desired.
Hint: Be sure to use the right type of molasses. Fancy molasses gives you rich gingerbread flavor without the bitterness of blackstrap molasses.
Recipe Tips
- Line the Pan Well: Leave enough parchment paper extending over the sides of the pan so you can lift the bars out after they cool.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Softened cream cheese and butter blend much more smoothly for the frosting.
- Don't Overbake: Look for moist crumbs on a toothpick rather than waiting for it to come out completely clean.
- Adjust the Frosting: For a softer, easier to spread icing use closer to 3 cups of icing sugar. Add more as desired for a firmer finish.
For another easy holiday bar recipe, our Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars have a soft, chewy center with plenty of cinnamon-sugar flavor.
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Storage Instructions
- Refrigerator: These should be stored in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting. Place them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let them sit at room temperature briefly before serving if you prefer a softer texture.
- Freezer: Place between parchment or wax paper in an airtight container for up to 3 months, then thaw in the fridge overnight.
Serving Suggestions
- Holiday Treats: Christmas Crack Recipe, Christmas Puppy Chow, Peppermint Brownies, and Checkerboard Cookies.
- Drinks: Crockpot Hot Chocolate, Starbucks Peppermint Mocha, Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate, and Baileys Hot Chocolate.
Gingerbread Cookie Bars Recipe FAQs
I use fancy molasses for a rich, sweet molasses flavor. I wouldn't recommend blackstrap molasses for this recipe, because its flavor is much stronger and more bitter.
Insert a toothpick into the center around the end of the bake time. You want it to come out with moist crumbs rather than wet batter. Avoid waiting until it's completely clean, which can lead to overbaked bars.
Too much flour or overbaking can make cookie bars dry. Measure the flour carefully and remove the bars from the oven while the center is still soft and a toothpick has moist crumbs attached.
Yes. These are a great make-ahead option for the holiday season. Once frosted, keep them covered in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve them.
Once frosted, keep them covered in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve. They keep for up to 5 days, so they work well for holiday baking.
Unfrosted bars are a little easier to stack and store, but once completely cooled, they can be frozen in an airtight container, with or without.
The biggest ones are adding too much flour, overbaking and using blackstrap molasses. Measure the flour carefully, take the bars out while a toothpick still has moist crumbs, and use fancy molasses for a rich flavor without the bitterness.
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Gingerbread Cookie Bars
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- Parchment Paper
- Mixing Bowl
- Offset Spatula
- 9x13 Metal Baking Pan
Ingredients
COOKIE BARS:
- 281.25 grams all-purpose flour about 2 ¼ cup
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 100 grams brown sugar about 1 cup, packed
- 100 grams granulated sugar about 1 cup
- 1 stick butter unsalted, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup fancy molasses light or regular
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
- 4- ounce cream cheese ½ brick full fat, room temperature
- ½ stick butter salted room temperature (unsalted is fine but I would bump the salt up to ½ tsp)
- 390-520 grams icing sugar about 3-4 cups
- ½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
GARNISH:
- nonpareil sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a 9x13 metal baking pan with parchment paper leaving the sides high to pull out easier once baked.
- In a medium bowl whisk together all-purpose flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, allspice, cloves, and sea salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add sugars, melted butter, and molasses. Mix well using a spatula until most of the butter is absorbed. (You can use a stand mixer if preferred).
- Add Greek yogurt, egg, additional egg yolk, and pure vanilla extract, then mix again until well combined (about 30 seconds on low if using a stand mixer).
- Transfer dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, and mix until there are no dry streaks, then transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan.
- With an offset spatula (or metal spoon) flatten the cookie dough as evenly as you can, then bake for about 22 minutes, or until a toothpick come out of the center with moist crumbs.
- Cool on a wire rack fully then start your frosting.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer add half of the icing sugar, cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, ground allspice and cinnamon. With the paddle attachment, start on low and move the speed up to medium and run until most of the icing sugar is mixed in.
- Add the remaining icing sugar to your preference and mix until smooth. If you feel you've gone too far, add small amounts of milk until you reach your desired consistency. (4 cups/520 grams is my preference, it is a stiffer frosting, so I put it on while the cookies are still in the pan, and I have to lightly press the sprinkles in to stick).
- Slice and serve as desired.
Notes
- Line the Pan Well: Leave enough parchment paper extending over the sides of the pan so you can lift the bars out after they cool.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Softened cream cheese and butter blend much more smoothly for the frosting.
- Don't Overbake: Look for moist crumbs on a toothpick rather than waiting for it to come out completely clean.
- Adjust the Frosting: For a softer, easier to spread icing use closer to 3 cups of icing sugar. Add more as desired for a firmer finish.
- Molasses Tip: Be sure to use the right type of molasses. Fancy molasses (also known as light) gives you rich gingerbread flavor without the bitterness of blackstrap molasses.
- Refrigerator: These should be stored in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting. Place them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let them sit at room temperature briefly before serving if you prefer a softer texture.
- Freezer: Place between parchment or wax paper in an airtight container for up to 3 months, then thaw in the fridge overnight.
Nutrition
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These are one of my newest holiday favorites! Whenever I make them I have to immediately put some in the freezer or they are gone faster than they were to bake.