Soft and chewy spiced gingerbread cookie bars topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting.
This post may contain affiliate links, please read the privacy policy for details.
gingerbread cookie bars
If you love gingerbread cookies but don’t want to deal with rolling and cutting out cookie dough, you’ve come to the right place! These frosted gingerbread cookie bars give you all the delicious warm spices and flavor of gingerbread cookies, but are made super easily in bar form. We’re topping them off with a tangy cream cheese frosting which perfectly compliments the sweet and spicy cookies.
why you’ll love these gingerbread cookie bars:
- They’re easy to make: no mixer required for the bars or for the frosting.
- Gingerbread spices: all the warm gingerbread spices make these bars the perfect holiday comfort cookie bars.
- Cream cheese frosting: sweet & creamy & slightly tangy – what’s not to love about cream cheese frosting.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before starting the recipe to give them time to come to room temperature.
Mix the dough carefully
When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Over mixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies thicker and more tough in texture.
Under bake for perfect cookies
Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven, so it’s better to err on the side of under-baking rather than over-baking.
A note on oven temperature
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for gingerbread cookie bars
gingerbread Cookie bars:
- All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
- Baking powder & baking soda: for helping the cookies bars rise.
- Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookie bars
- Ground cinnamon, ground ginger & ground cloves: for flavor. Feel free to use a pre-made gingerbread spice in these bars, or your favorite blend of gingerbread spices.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the dough.
- Dark brown sugar: for moisture, flavor, and sweetness. I recommend dark brown sugar for the best flavor and results.
- Molasses: for sweetness and that classic, deep gingerbread flavor. Make sure you are using unsulphured molasses, such as Grandma’s brand.
- Egg: for binding and for moisture.
cheesecake frosting:
- Cream cheese: the base of the cheesecake frosting! The tanginess from the cream cheese compliments the sweetness of the frosting and cookies so well.
- Unsalted butter: a little bit of butter helps thicken up the frosting.
- Salt: a little bit of salt helps balance the sweetness and bring out the flavor of the frosting.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Powdered sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the frosting.
how to make frosted gingerbread cookie bars
Here are a few pictures of the process for making these frosted gingerbread bars. The full recipe can be found at the end of this blog post!
- Melt the butter and whisk in the dark brown sugar, followed by the egg and molasses.
- Add in all of the dry ingredients and fold the mixture together just until no flour streaks remain.
- Beat the frosting ingredients together.
- Once the cookie bars have cooled to room temperature, spread the frosting over them. Top with sprinkles, then slice, serve and enjoy!
gingerbread cookie bars recipe q&a
can I double this recipe?
Of course! I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results. You can double the recipe and bake it in a 9×13″ pan, or in two 8″ square pans.
can I make these gingerbread cheesecake cookies ahead of time?
Definitely! You can bake off the cookie bars and keep them stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days before frosting and serving them.
how to store gingerbread cheesecake bars
Because the frosting is made with cream cheese, these cookie bars do need to be stored in the fridge once they are frosted. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you’re not a fan of cold desserts, you can let them sit out for 30 minutes before eating them!
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Gingerbread Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- 141 g unsalted butter (10 tbsp.)
- 225 g dark brown sugar (1 c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 30 g molasses (2 tbsp.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 240 g all purpose flour (2 c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp. ground ginger
- ½ tsp. ground cloves
- ¾ tsp. salt
Cheesecake Frosting
- 150 g cream cheese room temperature (⅔ c.)
- 56 g unsalted butter room temperature (4 tbsp.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 240 g powdered sugar (2 c.)
- 2 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Grease and line an 8" square pan with butter and parchment paper.
- Add the butter to a medium sized microwave safe mixing bowl. Melt the butter, then whisk in the dark brown sugar.
- Add in the molasses and egg and beat until well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together just until no flour streaks remain.
- Pat the cookie dough into an even layer in the prepared square pan. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cookie comes out with only a few moist crumbs.*
Cheesecake Frosting
- In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and salt until the mixture is smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar in two additions and beat until combined, followed by the vanilla.
- Once the cookies bars have completely cooled to room temperature, generously frost them with the cream cheese frosting. Top with sprinkles and mini gingerbread men, then slice, serve, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
I made these for a potluck at work and everyone absolutely raved about them!
Thank you so much, Courtney! I’m so happy everyone liked them! 🙂
Please give the amount of cream required in the frosting. Thank you.
Please list the required amount of cream for
Oops that was a typo, there is no heavy cream in the frosting! 🙂
Do you leave the bars to cool completely in the pan or do you attempt to remove with the parchment paper sling after 5 minutes to continue cooling on a cooling rack as you would with regular cookies?
Hi Mary! I usually remove the bars from the pan about 10-15 minutes after baking, but it’s not too big of a difference if you leave them in the pan to cool 🙂