Description
Festive gingerbread cookie bars deliver classic holiday cheer with rich molasses and warm spices. Guests will savor each sweet, comforting bite that connects you to cherished seasonal memories.
Ingredients
Scale
- ¾ cup (170 g / 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (300 g / 10.5 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (227 g / 8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2–3 tbsps milk or heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Holiday sprinkles
- Crushed gingerbread cookies
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare: Heat oven to 350F (175C). Line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper, allowing slight overhang for easy extraction.
- Dry Ingredient Fusion: Whisk flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Wet Ingredient Transformation: Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Blend in egg, molasses, and vanilla extract, creating a silky, uniform mixture.
- Dough Assembly: Gently fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Avoid excessive stirring to maintain tender texture.
- Baking Process: Spread dough evenly in prepared pan, smoothing the surface. Bake for 18-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Cooling and Frosting Preparation: Allow bars to cool completely in the pan. Meanwhile, whip butter until creamy, gradually adding powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and a pinch of salt until frosting becomes light and spreadable.
- Finishing Touches: Once cooled, lavishly spread frosting over the gingerbread surface. Optionally garnish with festive sprinkles or crumbled gingerbread cookies.
- Serving: Lift bars from pan using parchment edges. Slice into uniform squares or rectangles, ready to delight and serve.
Notes
- Measure Ingredients Precisely: Use exact measurements for spices and flour to maintain the authentic gingerbread flavor and prevent dry or crumbly bars.
- Control Mixing Technique: Mix wet and dry ingredients gently to avoid developing gluten, which could make the bars tough instead of tender and soft.
- Monitor Baking Time Carefully: Check bars at 18 minutes to prevent overcooking, ensuring a moist and chewy texture rather than dry and hard result.
- Temperature Matters: Allow butter and eggs to reach room temperature before mixing to create smoother batter and more consistent baking performance.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 15
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg