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
This is the best gingerbread recipe I have ever made!
Whoa! These are SOOOO good! Love the intense gingerbread-y flavor and the texture is perfect. I am still obsessing over the eggnog buttercream from your eggnog sandwich cookies, so I used that buttercream recipe on these bars. The amount and taste was perfect!
What a great recipe! Without the frosting this is perfect for the kids’ lunchboxes (and they called it “scrumptious” and “fabulous”). I did have to use blackstrap molasses as I couldn’t find any other kind, but didn’t notice any unpleasant flavour from it. Definitely one to make again – the flavour of our favourite Christmas cookies without the time sink!
Hi, Sarah! I also can only find blackstrap molasses where I am (South Africa), and what I normally do for recipes like this is do half molasses and half golden syrup. I have noticed a bitter taste with the blackstrap before, and combining it with golden syrup has worked really well for me in the past! I always go by weight, too.
An excellent cake. I doubled the orange zest, and it didn’t overwhelm the rum in the cake. It just added more flavor to the cake. I also doubled the icing, because “Why not!”. The rum really shined through! Yummy! My “expert” baker friend said everything was perfect, including the crumb. Thank you so much, Sally!
Do I have to use the parchment paper or can I just cut these from the pan? I don’t plan on frosting mine.
Hi Pat, if you don’t use parchment, then be sure to grease your pan.
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!
These turned out amazing! I ran out of molasses and had to make some of my own and I didn’t make the frosting and they were STILL amazing! I can’t wait to make them again and properly. They’re thick, chewy, and full of flavor.
Big hit over the holidays! These are fabulous! Made the dough in advance. Kept well in the fridge. Used a smaller pan to make them a bit higher. Like brownies! Skipped cloves. Added cardamom to the bars and the frosting. Plan to make them on the regular!
If using cream cheese frosting, do the bars need to stay in the refrigerator?
Hi Laura, yes, bars topped with cream cheese frosting should be stored in the refrigerator.
This has become one of my favorite recipes, getting ready to make another batch! A must have for the holiday season!!
Rather disappointed. Followed the recipe exactly and whilst the flavour was lovely the texture was more like stale cake.
These bars disappeared very quickly! Thanks for another great recipe Sally!!
So simple and yummy. I was a little concerned I underbaked them because they are so dense but it didn’t seem to matter. They are really good. Another cookie in my holiday baking rotation. Not too many cookies are “do again-ers” but this one definitely is.
My sister said this was the best thing I have ever made!! Definitely a keeper.
So glad to have found this recipe! I made them with a 1:1 gluten free flour (Better Better) and they turned out perfect! I usually let my gf batters sit for 15-30 minutes, to hydrate the flour. My spouse was excited to finally be able to share in our gingerbread tradition this Christmas.
This recipe turned out great … everyone loved them
So yummy. The flavor and spices of these gingerbread bars are perfection. They are so soft and chewy and they really do taste like gingerbread brownies!!!
These are really good and easier than the cookies! I’m a huge gingerbread fan and will be making again. I’m not sure what I did wrong with the frosting but it never hardened. They still tasted great but would have liked the topping to be harder. Thank you
Definitely a 5 star recipe! They are outrageously good! Since they have such a WOW factor, I will save this recipe and will be making them again!
These are so freakin’ delicious and easy! I sprinkled a little decorative sugar on before baking since I opted not to frost with the cream cheese frosting. Perfection! Thanks Sally!
Made this and it was delicious. The only cookies that I made this year, that all my family liked. Will make it again.
After seeing the rave reviews I had to make a batch. They are definitely a home run! And I’m not even a big fan of gingerbread. Thanks, Sally!
These bars are so good! Pretty spicy and sweet, with great texture.
I am very torn on what to frost them with though – I so wish I could do the cream cheese frosting as suggested (sounds delicious!), but these are going to sit out at room temp so I don’t feel comfortable with the option…
Have you tried these bars with gluten free flour or plant based butter?
We haven’t but let us know if you do, Martha!
Is there an alternative to the frosting that will be more stable being outside the fridge? Would like to bring to a party and not worry about it sitting out for a while due to the cream cheese!
Hi Monica, you could use regular vanilla buttercream or even an icing like the one on these cookies instead. Hope they’re a hit!
So good! A nice amount of spice and so chewy. I made a cinnamon glaze instead of frosting and it was delicious!
Words fail me – these are amazing! I love the flavor, the texture & they are so easy to make! These are going to be made more often than just at Christmas!
Hi! I can’t find molasses in my grocery store. Do you have any suggestions for substitutes and the ratio I would use for them? Thank you!!
Hi Dana, Molasses is a key ingredient in gingerbread recipes and, unfortunately, there isn’t a perfect substitute. Some readers have reported success using treacle or honey in our other gingerbread recipes, but note that the flavor profile will be different. Let us know if you give it a try.
Was looking for something different and these hit the spot. Faster than cookies. Delicious!
Another great recipe! I added some chopped up candied ginger to the batter. I used vanilla spiced frosting since they need to sit out at a potluck. Absolutely delicious!