Name: Gingerbread Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 1 h 33 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups flour; ½ teaspoon baking powder; ¼ teaspoon salt; ¾ teaspoon ground ginger; ¾ teaspoon cinnamon; ⅛ teaspoon cloves; ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg; ½ cup softened butter; ¼ cut dark brown sugar; ¼ cup blackstrap molasses; 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature; ½ cup butter, softened; 2 cups powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla; *optional* milk to loosen the frosting

Jump to Recipe

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate if you purchase through those links I earn a small commission. Thank you!

These sweet and simple chewy gingerbread cookie bars are going to be your new favorite holiday treat!! I haven’t met anyone yet who doesn’t love these bars! Next time you want to make cookies why not try this easy recipe for chewy gingerbread bars?

Gingerbread cookie bar with cream cheese frosting.

Gingerbread cookie bars are dense and chewy and full of that classic gingerbread flavor. After baking they’re topped with a thick layer of luscious cream cheese frosting to top them off. And if that wasn’t enough they are also the absolute easiest cookies to make because they’re bars!

Frosted bar cookies on parchment paper with a plate and a fork.

We Love bar cookies!!

In my head, you can’t go wrong with bar cookies! They’re such an easy alternative to cut-out cookies! You just make the dough, pat it out in the pan and bake it up.

Easy right?? No messy cookie cutters, fussing with sprinkles, or rotating one baking sheet up and another down.

Gingerbread bar cookie on a plate with another plate in the background and forks.

We love these sugar cookie bars, snickerdoodle bars, and now these tasty gingerbread bars! I’m always on the hunt for new bar cookies, what’s your favorite? Yes, I do really want to know!!

And we love Gingerbread!!

Ok and ALSO they’re gingerbread treats! You know how I feel about gingerbread recipes right?? I’ve got Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls, REAL Gingerbread, Air Fryer Gingerbread Cookies, Gingerbread Cake, and now these bar cookies. Gingerbread is one of my favorite flavors of the holiday season!

Christmas cookie gingerbread bars with colored sprinkles on top.

Perfect for Swapping or gifting!

If you want to make these bars for your Christmas Cookie Trays or a Cookie exchange feel free to cut them a little smaller. I have found that smaller cookies work better on trays or in exchanges.

OR bake them in a beautiful 8×8 baking pan and give the pan and the cookies as a gift! Perfect for those families starting out in a new house!

Make them more festive!

And if you need them to be “more holiday” add your favorite holiday sprinkles on top of the frosting. Or try these little gingerbread men sprinkles to top off these chewy cookies, aren’t those cute?!? I love this time of year!!

What do you need to make these Gingerbread cookies??

All-Purpose Flour
Baking soda
Salt
Ground ginger
Ground cinnamon
Ground cloves
Ground nutmeg or use freshly grated nutmeg
Softened butter
Brown sugar
Blackstrap molasses
Cream cheese
Vanilla extract
Powdered sugar

Egg Free Cookies!

What no eggs?? THAT’S RIGHT these are another egg-free cookie! Just like White Chocolate No-Bakes, Russian Teacakes, and this Florentine recipe.

Gingerbread cookie bars on a cutting board.

You need softened butter

The butter in this recipe should all be softened butter. If you want to make cookies and you don’t have soft butter you can easily soften them up quickly using a jar of boiling water.

Bring the water to a boil. Fill a jar with the boiling water and let it set for about a minute or so. Carefully pour out the water. Then turn the jar upside down over the butter you need to soften and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

You should have soft butter when the time is up.

If it’s not soft then repeat the procedure with fresh boiling water. Be sure to use hot pads or mitts when handling the jar filled with boiling water.

How to store these Gingerbread bars

To store these cookies let them cool completely in the pan before frosting them. OR use the parchment to lift the whole cookie out of the pan to cool on a rack. Be careful though and don’t let it bend or break.

Finished cookie bar cooling on a wire rack.

Only frost them once they’re completely cool. Let the frosting rest to set up a little bit afterward.

Store the cut cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. If layering place waxed paper or parchment paper between the layers to avoid getting frosting on the bottoms of the bars as well as the top!

Yield: 12 Bars

Gingerbread Bars

Chewy Gingerbread Bars are baked up and then frosted with a luscious cream cheese frosting for the ultimate gingerbread cookie taste!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 33 minutes

Ingredients

Gingerbread Bars

1 ½ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon cloves
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup softened butter
¼ cut dark brown sugar
¼ cup blackstrap molasses

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
*optional* milk to loosen the frosting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º
grease an 8x8 baking pan and line with parchment paper, set aside
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a mixing bowl and set aside
In a separate bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and molasses together until well blended
Stir in dry ingredients until all is incorporated
Press into prepared 8x8 baking pan, and bake for about 18 minutes, until bars are set and appear dry on top
Remove from oven, use parchment to life out of the pan and place on a wire rack, and let cool completely
make the frosting by beating together the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until smooth
drizzle in enough vanilla to make a spreadable frosting, and add a little milk if needed to make the frosting spreadable
spread on completely cooled bars, add sprinkles if desired
cut into bars

Notes

This recipe doesn't have eggs
You can use a handheld OR stand mixer for this recipe

Easy Gingerbread Cookie Bars