These Gingerbread Cookie Bars are the perfect soft and chewy holiday time dessert. So much easier (and tastier) than individual gingerbread cookies!
To be perfectly honest, I haven’t always been the biggest fan of anything gingerbread. So when I took a poll on my Instagram of what holiday treats people wanted to see most….. and the flavor that came up the most frequently was (overwhelmingly): anything gingerbread… you might say I wasn’t exactly enthused.
But in my quest of pleasing the people with all the gingerbread flavor one can handle, want to know what I discovered along the way? I in fact actually like gingerbread! Like a lot! Turns out I’m just not here specifically for the gingerbread cookies. I’m sorry but those things are always dry and way too crispy and I just can’t do it. Sorry not sorry. But a gingerbread cookie bar? A soft and chewy gingerbread cookie bar? a soft and chewy gingerbread cookie bar full of holiday spices? A soft and chewy gingerbread cookie bar full of holiday spices and topped with the most luscious cream cheese icing??? Now that is something I am most definitely here for!
Let’s take a look at the ingredients:
- Almond Butter – Any nut butter will work, but I think almond or cashew butter make the most sense for these bars.
- Molasses – can’t have gingerbread flavor without it!
- Coconut oil – I have not tried using melted butter but it should work just as well.
- Coconut Sugar – Personally, I love the lighter taste of coconut sugar plus I’m a fan of it being a little on the “healthier” side as far as granulated sugars go. However, this could easily be swapped for white sugar or a lighter brown sugar.
- Eggs – I haven’t tried replacing the eggs with flax or chia eggs so if you do let me know in the comments!
- Vanilla extract
- Almond Flour: I have not tested other flours with this so I can’t guarantee any results. However, all purpose, oat flour, or all purpose gf flour should all be good substitutes.
- A mix of Spices or Pumpkin Pie Spice (see notes)
- Greek Yogurt – can use dairy free
- Cream cheese – can use vegan
- Powdered sugar – I just used regular powdered sugar but if you’re looking for sugar free this is a good one.
If you love this recipe, you may also like:
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- White Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies
- Peanut Butter Granola Cups
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars
If you make this recipe I would love it if you comment below and let me know how it was! Also tag @servingupsimplicity on Instagram and use the hashtag #servingupsimplicity. XOXO
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Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 9 bars 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Gingerbread Cookie Bars are the perfect soft and chewy holiday time dessert. So much easier (and tastier) than individual gingerbread cookies!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup plain green yogurt
- 4 oz cream cheese, well softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl whisk together the almond butter, molasses, coconut sugar, coconut oil, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
- Stir in the almond flour, ginger, cinnamon , allspice, salt, and baking soda.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth with a spatula then bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before icing.
- For the icing: in a stand mixer or or with a hand mixer, beat the yogurt and cream cheese until smooth and silky. Slowly add in the powdered sugar until well combined. Frost once the cake is completely cool. Enjoy!
Notes
- For the spices you can also substitute 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice in place of all of the spices for a similar result.
- The icing is optional and the bars will still be super yummy without it (but who doesn’t love cream cheese icing?!?)
- Category: dessert
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: gingerbread, cookie bar, gingerbread bar, molasses
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Super easy to make and fiancé approved! I screwed up with the icing part and added the powdered sugar too soon, but I was able to fix it and it turned out great. Would definitely make again. Thank you for using nearly all everyday ingredients so I didn’t have to make a trip to the grocery store,
★★★★★
I’m so glad it turned out for you, thank you so much for the review 🙂