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These Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Bars will definitely fill you with the spirit of the holiday season. They are slightly spicy, tender, sweet, and just delicious!

Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Bar on a white place with a Santa mug in the background.

I absolutely love, love, love gingerbread. Gingerbread cookies, gingerbread loaf (bless you Starbucks), and now these Gingerbread Cookie Bars have come into my life and completely taken the top prize for favorite gingerbread treat. Did you know they even have Gingerbread Oreos now?? I’ll still take these bars over those silly Oreos any day. They are right up there with my favorite Christmas treats, like Peppermint Patty BrowniesMagic Layer Brownie Bars, and Peanut Butter Blossoms.

These Gingerbread Cookie Bars have the most wonderful texture – they are soft and chewy and just melt in your mouth. You can top them with a basic white icing, or with a delicious cream cheese frosting or don’t top them at all. I promise they are delicious any way you serve them.

A pan of Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Bars
  1. Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees and greasing a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish with a nonstick cooking spray. You could also line the pan with parchment paper if you like.
  2. In a large bowl, preferably with a stand mixer, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and molasses and beat until the batter is creamy and fluffy. The batter does get thick, so a stand mixer works best if you have one.
  3. Mix in eggs and then flour, baking soda, and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice).
  4. The batter will be quite thick, like cookie dough, so you will need to spread it into the pan using your fingers or a silicone spatula to avoid sticking.
  5. Bake your Gingerbread Bars for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, with just a few crumbs.
  6. Allow the bars to cool completely before frosting, if you desire. You can use a prepared frosting or make one from scratch if you have the time. Of course some Christmas sprinkles are a must!
Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Bars batter in a bowl with beaters.

Freezer Storage

These Gingerbread Bars will freeze beautifully! Frosted bars will need to be frozen in a slab; you can cut into large slabs the size of your container or bag. Layer frozen slabs of cookie bars with parchment or wax paper in between and store in an airtight container or ziploc bag. Thaw, then cut into squares when ready to eat.

Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Bar on a white plate with a bit taken out of it.

More Gingerbread Treats

Recipe
A close up of gingerbread bars with frosting and sprinkles

Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Bars

4.81 from 31 votes
These Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Bars will definitely fill you with the spirit of the holiday season. They are slightly spicy, tender and sweet and just delicious.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 15 squares

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup butter melted
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
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Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Spray a 9″×13″ baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and molasses and beat until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. *The batter does get thick, so a stand mixer works best if you have one.
  • Add the egg and stir until incorporated.
  • Add the dry ingredients and mix until dough is well combined. It will be thick, like cookie dough.
  • Spread the dough with a silicone spatula (or your fingers) evenly into the prepared baking pan.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes and let cool. *Note – ovens vary, so you may need to bake these longer in your own. The edges should be crispy and the center a little gooey.
  • Cool completely before frosting (optional) and cutting into squares. Add some Christmas sprinkles if you desire.

Notes

If you’d like to frost your Gingerbread Bars, I recommend cream cheese or vanilla frosting.
Keyword gingerbread bars

Nutrition

Calories: 252kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 2gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 291mgPotassium: 161mgFiber: 1gSugar: 34gVitamin A: 205IUCalcium: 41mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.

This recipe was adapted from Six Sisters.

 

Kristin Maxwell

Kristin Maxwell is the creator and main recipe developer, writer, and photographer of Yellow Bliss Road. A self-taught cook and self-appointed foodie, she specializes in easy, flavorful and approachable recipes for any home cook.

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4.81 from 31 votes (19 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. Melissa says:

    Thank you for this wonderful recipe! 😁 I love these bars so much!! And I don’t like gingerbread cookies that much but these are amazing, especially with the icing!! Yes, it’s sweet but it helps balance out the spice of the bars! I make cream cheese icing! So good on top!
    Experiment and try different amounts of the different spices, find what you prefer! But the base recipe is the same and amazing! I entered these into a fun contest at work and I won!! So I highly recommend them! 💕 Thank you!!

    1. Kristin says:

      You are so welcome Melissa! Fantastic feedback! Thanks for stopping by.

  2. Merry Roope says:

    My family loves these gingerbread bars. My first time making gingerbread and they came out great thank you so much.

    1. Kristin says:

      You are so welcome Merry! Thanks for stopping by.

  3. Rebecca says:

    They are Awesome!

    1. Kristin says:

      Thank you Rebecca!

  4. Deanna says:

    Can you freeze these frosted?? Do you have a frosting recipe you like?

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Yes, you can freeze them with frosting. Either cut them into bars and flash freeze on a tray, or freeze the whole pan. I link to a frosting recipe in the post; I use it for my carrot cake bars. Cream Cheese Frosting

      1. Deanna says:

        You’re the best, thank you. These are the evening baking project for today. So excited!

  5. Carly Merluzzi says:

    I halved this recipe and used an 8 inch round cake pan, baking for 15 mins although it probably wouldv’e been done at aorund 12-13 mins. The bar was dense, chewy, and delicious! As yummy as the cream cheese icing was, next time I may just make a glaze so I can really appreciate that gingerbread flavor. Thanks for the recipe!

    1. Kristin says:

      Awesome feedback Carly! Thanks for stopping by.

  6. Jamie says:

    hi! would it be possible to freeze these or would they not be so good afterwards?

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      You could freeze them and they should defrost just fine. When you freeze them, make sure to wrap them tightly.

  7. Pat says:

    Easy to make and very delicious 😋

    1. Kristin says:

      Love the feedback Pat! Thanks for stopping by.

  8. Nicole says:

    I’m sure this is a foolish question but… when you say melted butter, do you mean room temperature or melted to liquid?

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Don’t ever feel foolish asking something you’re unsure of. 🙂 It’s melted, like to a liquid. Room temperature would say “softened”.

  9. Andrea Anderson says:

    Soooo good! I made these last year and couldn’t wait to make them again this year (although I’d love these and time of year). They are just as good as I remember. I used Bob’s 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour instead of regular flour and I iced them with cream cheese buttercream frosting. Thanks for a great recipe!

    1. Kristin says:

      Love the feedback Andrea! Thank you so much for stopping by.

  10. Patricia says:

    I didn’t have any allspice so googled what was in allspice and it was everything I was already putting in the bars except for cloves so I added 1/4 teaspoon. I found the bars too spicy for me but I loved the texture.

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Allspice is actually made from dried berries; it isn’t a combination of spices, although it does bring to mind cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper. Using more of a certain spice could create a different flavor profile than intended. I hope you’ll give it another try with the correct ingredients.

  11. Michelle Spencer says:

    This was so easy and delicious! My family loved it. Keep ‘em coming

    1. Kristin says:

      That’s awesome Michelle! Thanks for stopping by.

  12. Brittany says:

    Such a good simple recipe!!! I made these today, used the cream cheese frosting you linked in the recipe and added a little cinnamon to the frosting! Delicious! I love the crunch on the outside edges and soft inside!

    1. Kristin says:

      Love the feedback Brittany! Thanks for stopping by.
      K.

  13. Mallory says:

    So good! I subbed gluten free flour in as well as some xantham gum and they turned out wonderfully!

    1. Kristin says:

      Nice! Thank you so much for stopping by Mallory.

  14. Debbie Fisher says:

    If you double to recipe will that change the baking time?

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Hi Debbie, if you divide the batter into two 13×9-inch pans you can bake them at the same time.

  15. Stephanie says:

    Hello! I’m going to make this tomorrow can you confirm the sugar amounts? 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar? I saw in previous reviews that wrong sugar amount was listed

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Yes those are the correct amounts. There had been a typo in the originally posted recipe.

  16. Jenn K says:

    So good! I made these bars as written and I love them so much. Gingerbread cookies are my favorite, but this Christmas I’m just not feeling the work that goes into them. These cookie bars saved Christmas. ☺ Thanks for another home run recipe.

    1. Kristin says:

      You are so welcome Jenn! Thanks for stopping by.

  17. Shay says:

    I haven’t baked these yet but I’m planning to. I was just wondering if the molasses were necessary. Thank you.

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Hi Shay, the molasses is really the main ingredient for gingerbread, so it’s definitely needed.

  18. Molly says:

    How long will these stay good for? Will they hold up to being frozen for a few days?

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Yes you can freeze these.

      1. Kalie says:

        SOOO yummy! I made a double batch and baked it on a 12″x17″ pan with plans to share, but my kids are so into them, I don’t know if they’ll make it out of my kitchen! I used my own whipped cream cheese frosting and it just turned out great. Very easy and fast to whip up – I measured out my ingredients and my two year old plopped them into the kitchen aid one at a time and it was ready to pan within 3 minutes. I did lay parchment paper down to aid in clean up, and I needed to put another layer of parchment paper over top so I could use my rolling pin to get everything even, but that may have just been the size of my pan. 10/10 absolutely recommend.

        1. Kristin says:

          Thank you so much Kalie! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by.

  19. AF says:

    I believe you listed the sugar amount incorrectly… the flavors were wonderful, but with all the sugar it didn’t ever cook through.

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Yes there was an typo with the sugar. I’m so sorry. It’s been corrected.

  20. Melissa Smuda says:

    I had the same issue. Very runny!

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Hi, there was an error in the recipe when it was updated last month. It has since been fixed and should work great in a 13×9 pan. So sorry for the issue!

  21. Lori says:

    Great flavor, but your recipe has the wrong size baking dish, it should be baked in a jelly roll pan. I used the size you suggested and it was runny in the middle and burnt on the sides! The batter spreads and raises as it bakes, so it resembles more of a cake not a bar cookie!

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Hi, there was an error in the recipe when it was updated last month. It has since been fixed and should work great in a 13×9 pan. So sorry for the issue!

  22. Amber says:

    What type of frosting did you use? Looks amazing! I would love to use the exact frosting :)!

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      I used a cream cheese frosting.

  23. Christianna says:

    I had the worst luck with these. My top burnt while the inside was still runny. But had an awesome flavor I’m super disappointed it didn’t work out I love gingerbread.

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      I’m so sorry to hear that! The inside is a little gooey but shouldn’t be runny.

  24. Claire says:

    Lovely recipe. Very sweet if you add cream cheese frosting but good with a coffee. Trust the 15-20 min bake time as very hard to judge when you take it out. I would make again but increase the amount of ginger a bit .

    1. Kristin says:

      Awesome feedback Claire! Thanks for stopping by.

  25. Becky says:

    Would you frost this with a cream cheese frosting?

    1. Kristin Maxwell says:

      Yes cream cheese frosting would be delicious.

  26. Katherines Corner says:

    oh my goodness my taste buds just did a little dance. Please tell me you shared this at the Thursday hop ( you can link up until Sat midnight) hugs!