Easy Gingerbread Cookie Bars Recipe With Cream Cheese Frosting

These Gingerbread Cookie Bars are the perfect Christmas dessert idea if you are looking to include gingerbread men in your seasonal mix. Add a little powdered sugar or homemade whipped cream for an extra dollop of holiday cheer.

How do you make gingerbread cookie bars? You combine ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger with melted butter and flour and bake for 20 minutes until the center is set.

These cream cheese sugar cookies are something that my children ask for every year. It feels like this chewy spice bars recipe has almost every holiday flavor wrapped into one bite. Have a cookie exchange party coming up? These will set you apart for sure! These will set you apart for sure! They contain all of the classic holiday flavors that you know and love and are perfect to make this time of year.

If we aren’t working on these gingerbread bars, we love to whip up our Gingerbread Poke Cake. Be sure to check out that recipe as well if you are hosting a family gathering. Don’t you just love when new recipes become your favorite holiday cookies?

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup, 1 stick, butter, melted
• 1-1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• cream cheese frosting, about half a tub
• gingerbread icing decorations, optional

How To Make Chewy Gingerbread Cookie Bars

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. 

To make your flour mixture, you must add your dry ingredients into a small bowl and mix well: flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and nutmeg. All of your favorite holiday flavors. Set aside. 

In a separate bowl, cream butter, brown and white sugar together in a mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, rich molasses, and vanilla and beat well. Now, add in your dry ingredients and beat just until combined. The gingerbread dough will be stiff. That is what you want for these Christmas cookies. Molasses cookies always start out this way.

Press dough into prepared pan evenly with fingers. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the center is set. Cool completely. 

Now it is time to cut the cooled bars into the shapes we want. Cut into 48 triangles using a knife or Christmas cookie cutters and start molding out these tasty treats. First, cut into 24 squares and cut each square into a triangle. Place half a tub of frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe a dollop of frosting onto each triangle and top with a gingerbread decoration if using. 

Serve immediately or store covered, until ready to serve. 

Makes 48 triangle bars. 

Holiday recipes that look like they take more effort than they really were are my absolute favorite and always become part of my holiday traditions! These almost feel like a gingerbread brownie, right?! They are a great alternative to traditional gingerbread cookies and I know you will add them to your Christmas cookie recipes index roll after trying them.

Do I Need To Add The Cream Cheese Frosting To This Gingerbread Dessert?

There is a bit of a debate when it comes to the amount of delicious cream cheese frosting that is needed on gingerbread cookies. Some people like to completely fill their ginger bars from edge to edge. I am in that group.

However, my husband doesn’t like a lot of frosting. He only likes a dollop. Sometimes, he opts for a bit of homemade whipped cream instead. You could even just sprinkle some powdered sugar. Are you a gingerbread purist?! Time will tell. It’s a great recipe – make it your own!

How To Store Gingerbread Cookie Bars

If you have any leftovers, simply store your gingerbread bars in an airtight container so the next time you want to eat them they will still be as fresh as the first time. They will last for about one week at room temperature.

You could freeze these holiday dessert bars but you must wrap your bars in plastic wrap first and then foil before placing them in your freezer bag. If you do this, you will able to successfully store your bars for about a month.

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