Spread the holiday cheer with these festive gingerbread sugar cookie bars. These soft and chewy spiced cookie bars are topped with smooth cream cheese frosting and festive sprinkles! The perfect dessert to feed a crowd at your next holiday party.
Christmas desserts are where it’s at! Once I year, I get so excited to bring our favorite sweet treats back. Some of our favorites are these Italian cookies, Christmas crack, and my darling Grinch cookies!
Gingerbread Sugar Cookie Bars
These gingerbread sugar cookie bars are perfectly spiced and slathered with the most delicious cream cheese frosting. Forget the gingerbread men. This recipe is easier, faster, and incredibly delicious! They’re so moist and heavenly! The tangy flavor of the cream cheese frosting perfectly complements the sweetness of the gingerbread base, making every bite a burst of flavor in your mouth.
Bringing cookie bars to parties is a no-brainer for me! They’re easy, always everyone’s favorite, and they make a lot! For more cookie bar recipes, try my Neiman Marcus bars, cherry pie bars, or these delicious salted caramel bars. You can’t go wrong with any of them!
What You’ll Need to Make Them
These gingerbread sugar cookie bars use all of your standard baking ingredients, so you may not need to make a trip to the grocery store! Time to raid your pantry to make sure you have the molasses and all of the yummy spices. Check out the recipe card below for exact measurements.
Gingerbread Bars
- All-Purpose Flour: This is the backbone of the recipe – the flour gives the congo bars structure.
- Baking Soda: Helps create soft and airy baked goods.
- Baking Powder: Helps with the leavening so the bars rise just the right amount.
- Salt: Just a pinch so the cookie bars turn out nice and flavorful!
- Ground Ginger, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves: The perfect spices to create the gingerbread flavors in these bars.
- Unsalted Butter: Use melted and cooled butter here.
- Granulated Sugar: I love the combination of both granulated and brown sugar for sweetness.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar gives the bars a caramel-like sweetness and a chewy texture.
- Molasses: Make sure to use unsulphered molasses for best results.
- Egg: Just 1 egg at room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract: Helps to boost the overall flavor of the bars. It adds a touch of warmth and sweetness as well!
Frosting
- Butter: Softened butter whips perfectly.
- Cream Cheese: Use room temperature and softened cream cheese.
- Powdered Sugar: I like to sift my powdered sugar before adding it because it helps to achieve a smooth consistency with no bumps.
- Vanilla Extract: Flavors and sweetens the frosting.
- Purple Food Coloring: A little bit makes the icing appear whiter. Just a small drop or two.
- Sprinkles: Use festive sprinkles if desired to make them cute and colorful.
Gingerbread Sugar Cookie Bars Recipe
These easy gingerbread sugar cookie bars are a tasty Christmas treat! Prepare to meet your new Christmas party staple! Bars are simple to throw together and bake for a crowd. They are always a hit wherever they go!
Gingerbread Bars
- Preheat Oven/ Prepare Pan: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with pan spray. Line with parchment paper, if desired, but I highly recommend it! Leave a 1-inch overhang so that you can remove the bars easily.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together then set aside.
- Cream the Wet Ingredients: Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the butter, both sugars, and molasses together until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
- Combine the Dry and Wet Ingredients: Add in the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix until combined. Spread the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan using a spatula or your fingers. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- Cream the Butter and Cream Cheese: Beat butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer until smooth and combined.
- Add the Powdered Sugar, Vanilla, and Food Coloring: Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Mix in the vanilla and then a very tiny bit of purple food coloring to make it more white.
- Spread the Frosting on the Bars: Spread the frosting over the cooled bars then add the sprinkles.
Tips for Making the Best Sugar Cookie Bars
These tips will help ensure that your gingerbread sugar cookie bars are thick, sweet, and fluffy! Every bite will be soft and chewy!
- Baking Powder: Make sure it’s fresh and replace it every 6 months.
- Flour: Fluff your flour before you measure. This will avoid having dense or dry cookies. Use a whisk or spoon it in the measuring cup.
- Powdered Sugar: Sift if you want the frosting to be smooth.
- Do Not Overbake: Take the pan out of the oven as soon as the edges are slightly golden and the toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool Completely Before Frosting: This is the hardest part in my opinion, but you don’t want the frosting to melt and slide off of the bars.
- Line the Pan With Parchment Paper: You can line your pan with parchment paper or just grease it with cooking spray. Spread the dough out evenly to the edges using a rubber spatula.
- Make it Pretty on Top: Feel free to top the frosting with sprinkles, chopped nuts, a sprinkle of cinnamon, or nothing at all.
How to Store Leftovers
These should be stored in an airtight container. Due to the cream cheese in the frosting, these need to be stored in the fridge for food safety.
- In the Fridge: Whether you’re making these ahead of time or storing leftovers, keep them in the refrigerator. Your gingerbread sugar cookie bars will last for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
More Christmas Treats To Enjoy
Here are a few more of my favorite Christmas treat recipes! They make any Christmas party come together. Whether you want a show-stopping cake or some sweet finger food, I’ve got you covered. To be honest, I have too many favorites to count, so you’ll want to head over to my full list of Christmas recipes here for more inspiration!
Gingerbread Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookie Bars
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup molasses unsulphered
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- ½ cup butter softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- purple food coloring to make the icing whiter
- sprinkles if desired
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookie Bars
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with pan spray. Line with parchment paper, if desired, leaving a 1 inch overhang.
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In a medium mixing bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together. Set aside.
-
Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the butter, both sugars and molasses together until well combined. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
-
Add in the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix until combined. Spread the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan using a spatula or your fingers. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
-
Beat butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer until smooth and combined.
-
Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Mix in the vanilla and then a very tiny bit of purple food coloring to make it more white.
-
Spread the frosting over the cooled bars and add the sprinkles.
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