Gingerbread Bars
Coooking Temperature: 350°F/ 177°C / Gas Mark 4
Calories: 200kcal
Adjust Servings Here: 16 Bars
Description
Gingerbread is a holiday classic but can be complicated. That's why these simple gingerbread bars with cream cheese frosting are the perfect gingerbread recipe for beginner bakers.
Ingredients
Cookie dough
- ¾ cup (170 g) Butter
- ½ cup (100 g) White sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) Brown sugar
- 1 Egg
- ½ cup (120 ml) Molasses
- 2 ¼ cups (280 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Cream cheese frosting
- 1 cup (227 g) Cream cheese 38% fat
- ½ cup (60 g) Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 375°F / 190°C / Gas Mark 5. Prepare a 9 x 9-inch square pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Dry ingredients - In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, spices, and ground ginger - and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract. Followed by the flour mixture. Combine well over low speed but do not overmix. Pro tip - We do not want to activate the gluten in our dough. So do not overmix. Otherwise, the cookies will spread too much.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and spread with an offset spatula. Sprinkle some more dried cranberries and white chocolate on top.
- Bake for 18 to 20 mins until a skewer or toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Pro tip - When baked, the top should feel set with a few moist crumbs.
- Cream cheese frosting - Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Spread it over the cooled gingerbread. Pro tip - Make sure the gingerbread is completely cold before you frost it. Otherwise, it will melt.
- Use a sharp bread knife cut into 16 squares (as shown in the video).
Recipe Notes
- Always have all the ingredients at room temperature so the butter and sugar can cream until light and fluffy.
- Preheat the oven for a good 15 minutes making sure the oven is at the right temperature. A cold oven will melt and make very flat bars.
- When baked leave the bars in the baking pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. This will prevent them from sweating on the bottom.
Bake Ahead and Freezing Instructions
- Dough - You can freeze the dough for a month wrapped well in a ziplock bag. Then, thaw in the fridge overnight when ready to use.
- Baked bars - Alternatively, freeze the baked bars between parchment papers for up to 3 months and thaw in the fridge overnight when ready to use.
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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