Description
Delicious gingerbread cookie bars topped with a sweet icing and festive decorations.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 1/2 cups (195g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed brown sugar, light or dark
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60mL) unsulphered molasses
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (95g) powdered sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons milk (water or heavy cream also work)
- festive sprinkles and gingerbread men (optional – for decorating)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease an 8×8 inch pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Leave a bit of extra parchment paper hanging over the sides of the pan to make it easier to lift the cookie out later.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, baking soda, and salt to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Whisk in the egg followed by the molasses and vanilla to combine.
- Finally, mix in the dry ingredients until streak free. The cookie dough will be sticky.
- Drop the cookie dough into your prepared baking pan and spread into an even layer.
- Bake the cookie in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed, no longer shiny on top and the edges are slightly browned. Take the baked cookie out of the oven and set aside to cool completely in the pan before decorating.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk. If needed, gradually whisk in more milk until you reach your desired icing consistency.
- Pull the cool cookie out of the pan using the parchment overhang and place on your serving platter.
- Pour the icing on top and spread to evenly cover the surface of the cookie.
- Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes or until a light crust forms on the surface of the icing before decorating with sprinkles and/or gingerbread cutout cookies. Decorating the cookies when the icing is fresh will cause the toppings to slip, slide and sink. But be careful not to wait too long or the icing will set and your decorations won’t stick.
- After decorating, let the cookie sit until the icing is fully set for cleaner slices. You could slice it right away but it’ll be messy!
Notes
- Make sure to let the cookie cool completely before decorating to avoid melting the icing.
- You can use different decorations for various occasions.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 100mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 25mg