These soft and chewy gingerbread cookie bars are so easy to make—no dough chilling, no dough rolling, no cookie cutters required! They’re delicious plain, or topped with spiced cream cheese frosting. Skip the fuss and make gingerbread bars instead!
This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find it in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
One reader, Christi, commented: “These gingerbread cookie bars are so good, I found myself returning to ‘taste test’ them again and again—and that was before adding the spiced cream cheese frosting! The flavor and texture are irresistible! ★★★★★”
One reader, Rebecca, commented: “My husband and I made these yesterday, and they are so good! They taste just like a delicious cookie! Soft, slightly chewy, with creamy warm icing… I can see myself making these whenever I need a little Christmas in my day throughout the year. So easy and comforting. ★★★★★“
When you need a big batch of cookies but are pressed for time, cookie bars are the way to go. This dessert recipe makes a generously sized 9×13-inch pan of soft, chewy gingerbread cookie bars, perfect for sharing, especially at the holidays.
If you love the holiday-favorite flavors of warm spice and molasses, like you enjoy in gingerbread cookies and crisp molasses cookies, you’ll find those same cozy flavors here; but the texture is oh-so soft and chewy—like a gingerbread version of a brownie!
Why You’ll Love These Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Cookie bars are super soft and chewy, not cakey
- Packed with that nostalgic molasses and spice flavor associated with the holidays
- Makes a large pan to serve a crowd
- No dough chilling, no dough rolling—no fuss!
- Quicker and easier to make than many cookie recipes
- Can add white chocolate chips or butterscotch morsels for texture variety
- Top with a layer of cinnamon-spiced cream cheese frosting
Unlike these soft molasses cookies, gingerbread latte cookies, or traditional gingerbread cookies, there’s no dough chilling like these gingerbread blossoms, no rolling dough into individual balls or rolling out dough to cut into shapes (and then re-rolling), and no baking in batches. The only waiting you’ll have to suffer through is for the pan to cool for 1 hour before you cut them into bars. (I’m sorry!)
Simple Ingredients
Like with these favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies, using melted butter makes for the softest, chewiest bar cookies. I usually like to use melted butter in bar recipes like homemade brownies and blondies because the bars taste chewy, not cakey. I tested this recipe with creamed softened butter, and the baked result ended up looking more like a puffy sheet cake.
Here’s everything else you need for these gingerbread cookie bars:
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of this recipe.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps these bars rise as they bake, and we use a good amount of it to stand up to the heavy melted butter and molasses.
- A Generous Amount of Spices: Ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg; plus, a pinch of black pepper—the same secret ingredient I always add to pumpkin pie!
- Salt: Salt adds flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Sugar: Use a mix of brown sugar and white granulated sugar.
- Molasses: Use unsulphured; blackstrap is too bitter for these.
- Egg: An egg binds everything together.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavor.
White Chocolate Chips (Optional): If you love white chocolate chip molasses cookies, feel free to add some white chocolate chips to these bars, too. Fold them in as the last step in making the dough, just like we do with chocolate chip cookie bars.
Have I Mentioned No Dough Chilling?
Just melt, mix, press, and bake!
The dough will be slick from the melted butter, but should be easy enough to spread/press into the pan. Pat it down as best you can. It may seem like it isn’t enough dough, and the layer will be thin. But the bars rise as they bake.
Success Tip: Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang. Once the bars are cooled and frosted, simply lift the whole thing out using the parchment overhang. Set it onto a cutting board and slice. Easy!
Bake just until the top is set, and avoid over-baking. Cool the bars for at least 1 hour inside the pan before frosting and/or slicing.
Top With Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
These gingerbread cookie bars are fabulous on their own, but then again, a little frosting is always a good idea. My favorite cream cheese frosting is far from basic; it’s incredibly creamy, silky smooth, and has that subtle tang to it. We’re scaling it down, and also kicking the flavor up a notch by adding pinches of some of the spices used in the cookie bars. The result is similar to the spiced cream cheese frosting on these pumpkin bars.
And, of course, some sprinkles are the perfect festive accessory on top. I used gingerbread cookie-shaped sprinkles, something like these, and some Christmas-colored nonpareils. Here’s a 4-pack of Christmas sprinkles, and I really love these snowflake sprinkles, too. Lots of options!
If you’re not planning to frost these gingerbread cookie bars, I recommend sprinkling the top with coarse sugar or festive colored sugar sprinkles before baking. Because a little sparkle is always welcome at the holidays!
You could even top with a sprinkling of chopped crystallized ginger, like we do for these chocolate ginger sparkle cookies.
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes (includes cooling & chilling)
- Yield: 18-24 bars
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft and chewy gingerbread cookie bars are so easy to make—no dough chilling, no dough rolling, and no cookie cutters required! They’re delicious plain, or topped with spiced cream cheese frosting. Careful not to over-bake these; they’ll still feel and look quite soft on top, but the bars set as they cool. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- small pinch of ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar (I recommend dark)
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (113g/80ml) unsulphured molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 ounces (170g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- small pinch each of ground ginger, cinnamon, & allspice
- optional for garnish: sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Adjust oven rack to the center rack position. Line a 9×13-inch metal or glass baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to easily lift the bars out of the pan. Set aside.
- Make the cookie bars: Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and molasses together until no lumps remain. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and mix with a large spoon or silicone spatula until no traces of flour remain. The dough will be thick and shiny. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and press it into a smooth, even layer. It may not seem like enough dough, and it will be a thin layer—that’s OK.
- Bake for 23–26 minutes or until the top is set but still looks quite soft and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with only a few moist crumbs. Err on the side of under-baking. Bars puff up in the oven, but settle and firm up as they cool. Allow the bars to cool in the pan set on a cooling rack for at least 1 hour.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the confectioners’ sugar, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until completely combined and creamy. Taste and beat in a pinch of salt if the frosting is too sweet. Spread the frosting on the cooled bars. Top with sprinkles, if desired. To help set the frosting, refrigerate for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Lift the bars out of the pan by gripping the parchment paper overhang; transfer to a cutting board and cut into squares. Cover leftover bars tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you skipped the frosting, cover and store plain gingerbread cookie bars at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 4. Baked and cooled cookie bars, with or without frosting, freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw bars overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Glass Baking Pan or Metal Baking Pan | Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Gingerbread Cookie-Shaped Sprinkles | Christmas 4-pack Sprinkles | Snowflake Sprinkles
- Can I Halve the Recipe? Yes, you can halve the recipe for an 8-inch or thinner 9-inch batch of bars. The bake time is about the same, but begin checking for doneness at 22 minutes. It can be difficult to halve an egg accurately, so I do recommend making the original 9×13-inch batch, and you can freeze extras.
- Butter: Avoid letting the melted butter cool for too long, otherwise your dough will be crumbly instead of soft (and your cookie bars can end up cakey). As soon as it’s melted, stir in the sugars and molasses as instructed in step 3.
- Molasses: I use and recommend unsulphured or dark molasses. (I like Grandma’s brand. The kind I use is labeled “original” molasses.) Blackstrap molasses is extremely bitter and not ideal in this recipe.
- Cream Cheese in Frosting: Use brick cream cheese, not the spreadable kind that comes in a tub.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Big hit with the family! Saw it on your insta and my family enjoyed them before I got them iced. No mixer required is a plus!
Hi, Sally and team! Would these bars taste OK with buttercream frosting? The bars sound SO yummy but I am not a cream cheese icing kinda girl. 🙂
Hi Tricia, absolutely! These are fantastic with vanilla buttercream.
Absolutely the best gingerbread cookie recipe you have put out!! And I have tried all of them. I love gingerbread cookies and these are so easy!
I really love this recipe. I made two changes. I used melted plant butter, and replaced some of the white sugar with Truvia. It came out moist and tasty!!! I added white chocolate chips. I will make this again.
Could you use dark muscavardo sugar instead of the brown sugar?
We haven’t tested it, but that flavor should go well here!
Great I will give it a go and let you know
These gingerbread cookie bars were absolutely amazing. Made these in a jelly roll pan using 1.5 times the recipe ingredients. Baked for 22 minutes. They turned out incredible. This is going to be a repeat recipe for sure. Thank you Sally!
Wow these are sooooo good! Gingerbread is a favourite of mine. I love how simple these are to make. Perfect to satisfy my holiday gingerbread craving, with far less work. And spiced cream cheese frosting, DELICIOUS! Thank you Sally for another great recipe!
A+++ and Husband Approved! Simple to stir up and bake. The hardest part is waiting for them to cool! We’re not big icing fans so I used a drizzle glaze and it just right for us.
Will the frosting have the same consistency if it’s frozen on the bars and then thawed or should I wait to frost the day of?
Hi Alli, the frosting does freeze wonderfully on the bars, so it’s really up to you!
These are so delicious, simple, and perfect for Christmas time. Thank you for all the details and notes that answered all my questions while baking this! Next time I would double the icing, it is so good.
We’re so glad you enjoyed the cookie bars, Claire!
These look really good. I love the ease of bar cookies but I struggle with uneven baking (the middle of my cookies are underbaked while the edges get crispy). I’ve tested my oven temp and it seems fine. Do you have any suggestions? Maybe using convection or a lower temp for longer? Thanks in advance for any suggestions, fellow bakers!
Hi Edie, cookie bars/blondies and bar desserts of the sort will do that. It’s because the centers are likely soft, yet dense and chewy. The edges have something to grab onto, and hold them up. It’s common, and most of the time unavoidable. You’re not doing anything wrong! If you do find the edges getting excessively crispy, you can tent the pan with aluminum foil part way through bake time. This will prevent the edges from burning while allowing the middle to continue baking through. Hope this helps!
These turned out delicious!! Love the flavours and so easy to make.
Looking for some help/advice – when I make cookie bars, the edges around the bars puff up nicely and stay domed, while the middle of the pan is often flat and deflated. I’m weighing my flour and measuring leavenings precisely, using room temp eggs and melting butter right before using, letting it cool slightly. Any idea why this is happening? This seems to happen for all cookie bars, not just these.
Hi Nora, cookie bars/blondies and bar desserts of the sort will do that. It’s because the centers are likely soft, yet dense and chewy. The edges have something to grab onto, and hold them up. It’s common, and most of the time unavoidable. You’re not doing anything wrong!
We don’t have molasses readily available in New Zealand. Is treacle the best substitute? Dying to make these!
Hi Amanda! Molasses is a key ingredient in gingerbread recipes and, unfortunately, there isn’t a perfect substitute. Some readers have reported success using treacle in our other gingerbread recipes, but note that the flavor profile will be different. Let us know if you give it a try.
It’s the same here in the UK. I use black treacle for recipes that call for molasses and it works fine!
I’ve used Golden syrup as a substitute in a few of Sally’s recipes, works well and is still delicious.
I’m in NZ too I use treacle and it works fine you could maybe do half golden syrup and half treacle too.
Just made these as a double batch and they were so good!!!!
This recipe is perfect!!! Made it today— the flavor of the bar is wonderful— so easy to make!!!
Hi Sally,
Would the icing for the iced gingerbread oatmeal cookies be a good substitute for the cream cheese frosting? I’d like to include these in my trays, but I need them to be stackable.
Absolutely. That icing will set after some time. It will taste fantastic on these!
Love these. I only had blackstrap molasses so used it. I can definitely tastes the bitterness from that, but I don’t mind it. My bars didn’t rise as much as yours did in the pictures- maybe that’s from the different molasses? The frosting is really good, but I might try making it a little thicker next time just to see if we like it better standing up more. These are a great addition to holiday baking. Different and creative!
I made these with the icing, and they were amazing. One of the best, and easiest, things I’ve ever made.
They are very easy to make and quite flavorful. I personally do not need the cream cheese frosting. I have it available for each person to add as much as they want, if they want any at all.
Can’t wait to try this! Can the frosted bars be stacked after the frosting has set, or should they be placed in a single layer on a platter?
Hi Laura! The frosting sets a but, but will still squish down. We don’t store them stacked.
Hi Laura, the frosting slightly sets, but not enough to neatly stack them without messing it up. Single layer is best.
These are so so so good! I couldn’t wait to taste so I ate it without the frosting. I thought they were perfect as is. It’s like a gingerbread brownie. Amazing!
This sounds delicious!! Any chance I could substitute the flour for a 1:1 gluten-free flour?
Hi Heidi, I’m sure you could. I have not tested it.
If you read Gluten Free Baking Books, they will tell you the pitfalls of trying to substitute 1:1 ratio Gluten Free flour in baking. It doesn’t work! I tried this in 2 of my favorite Bar recipes & they were awful!!! Read up on how to substitute and found additional ingredients are needed.
I am always looking for bar recipes in the holiday season because I am pressed for time.
Last year it was a cookie bar with M&M and this year this!
I am grateful.
Will be making this.
AMAAAAZING! After checking my email this morning and finding this recipe, I had a bit of free time and decided to make them for my family first thing. So easy, yet so delicious! Definitely a new go-to holiday favorite! Thank you, Sally, for your fantastic recipes! ❤️
Hi,
I am not a fan of molasses, can I omit that from the recipe?
Hi Nadine, molasses is a key ingredient in these bars and all gingerbread cookie recipes. If you’re looking for a festive cookie bar option, you might enjoy these M&M Cookie Bars instead.
I am so excited to make these for our family xmas this weekend! I have a 4yo niece who has an egg allergy, so try to substitute when I can, so she doesn’t feel left out. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. Any chance this is a recipe where a substitution could work? And, if so, do you have a recommendation? Thanks!
Hi Kari! We haven’t tested this recipe with any egg substitutes, so we’re unsure what might work best. Please do let us know if you try anything. And if you’re interested, here are all of our naturally egg-free recipes. These shortbread cookies are a festive favorite!
While I haven’t tried this recipe, I have sustituted flax egg for eggs in a gingerbread cake recipe because someone who would be eating it had an egg allergy and it came out fantastic. It actually had a moister and fluffier texture than the original recipe with eggs. So I think you could do the same with these bars.
Flax Eggs:
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
3 tablespoons of warm or room temperature liquid like water or cider
Directions:
Empty ground flax into a small bowl or dish.
Add liquid and stir to combine well.
Let mixture sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes. Longer is fine. Mixture will thicken.
Stir mixture and add to your favorite recipe. This recipe substitutes for 1 regular egg.
My family is not fond of cream cheese frosting. What would be a good substitute?
Hi Caroline, traditional vanilla buttercream would be delicious here as well. Hope the cookie bars are a hit!
This sounds yummy! Will make tonight after work. My work crew will gobble them up I have no doubt! Merry Christmas Sally!
These bars look delicious! I would like to know if I can make them ahead of time and if so, how to proceed.
Hi Magalie, see recipe Notes for make ahead and freezing instructions. Hope you enjoy the cookie bars!
I made your lemon drop cookies yesterday Sally. They were amazing.
Merry Christmas
I’m so glad to read this, thank you for reporting back!
If I halve the recipe should I use an egg yolk or measure the egg and use half of it?
I would crack the egg, beat it, and then use half of that mixture. (Usually a couple Tbsp.)