These spicy/sweet Gingerbread Bars are an easy way to enjoy your favorite winter flavors!
I’ve been on a ginger kick lately. Maybe it’s the hair?
Ginger has never been my favorite flavor. I recently got hooked when I visited a restaurant with my family and bribed my children with the promise of dessert. The cookies were enormous so I told them they would have to split one. They chose what appeared to them to be the clear winner of the group – the only cookie with icing. It was a spicy ginger molasses cookie. After a few bites of really trying to like it, they declared it too spicy and it was left for me to consume.
The chewy molasses crumb paired with the spicy ginger and sweet frosting had me hooked. Now I’m looking for any excuse to recreate this blend of flavors.
The texture of these gingerbread bars reminds me of the brown sugar goodness in my butterscotch bars. They are really quite spicy and pair nicely with the sweet icing. I probably don’t need to tell you how perfect these are for Christmas, do I?
Gingerbread Bars
Ingredients
Bars
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, , firmly packed
- 1/2 cup unsulphered light or medium molasses
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Icing
- 1 teaspoon butter, , melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together butter, egg, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg until smooth.
- Add the flour and stir until just combined, don't over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 32-34 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging. Allow the bars to cool while you prepare the icing.
- In a small bowl, combine melted butter and powdered sugar. Add vanilla extract, then whisk in milk a little at a time until it reaches a smooth, pourable consistency. Pour evenly over cooled bars. Cut and serve.
Tina @ Tina's Chic Corner says
I love gingerbread! Why don’t we eat it all year long? 😉 Your bars look a-maz-ing!!! I wish I had one now for an afternoon snack. 🙂