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All the flavor of your favorite gingerbread cookie, in bar form! These soft gingerbread cookie bars are quick to make—no refrigeration or rolling necessary! This post contains affiliate links.
You might also like our no-chill sugar classic cookie dough! Perfect for rolling out for Halloween or Christmas cookies.
Soft Gingerbread Cookie Bars
Last year I turned my all time favorite sugar cookies into sugar cookie bars and never looked back. Oh my goodness—what a time saving hack. All the flavor, very little mess, and NO rolling. I decided to do the same with one of my favorite Christmas cookies this holiday season—- gingerbread cookies! All you need to know is that they taste amazing, are full of ginger, cinnamon, molasses and nutmeg, and make your entire home smell divine as they bake.
If you’re baking up dozens of cookies this year, cookie bars are a great hack!
Unlike the gingerbread cookies that I make using this recipe, these do not need to chill before cooking. They also do not need to be rolled out or cut with cookie cutters!
Simply dump your dough onto a cookie sheet and sprinkle with flour. This keeps your hands from sticking to the super soft dough.
Pat into the pan, adding more flour if necessary, and bake cookie bars for 15 minutes. When you pull the pan out of the oven the dough may not seem quite set, but don’t worry, it will continue to cook and set up as it rests.
I use the same frosting for my soft gingerbread cookie bars that I use on my sugar cookie bars. It’s very basic; butter, vanilla, milk and powdered sugar. Beat together until smooth and pour over bars.
Spread the frosting over the bars and add your favorite holiday sprinkles. I LOVE cinnamon candies on my gingerbread cookies so I added a handful on my cookie bars, but nuts or mini chocolate chips would be yummy too.
Tip: when you cut the bars, use a sharp knife and clean the frosting off with a paper towel after each line of cutting. This makes for clean edges and beautiful sugar cookie bars when they come out of the pan.
Tip: Use an angled frosting spatula for perfect spreading!
Tip: I like using sheet pans instead of a casserole dish. These are my FAVORITE sheet pans to use when I bake cookies and cake.
How many soft gingerbread cookie bars does this recipe make?
You can easily get 40 bars from one batch. Perfect for a crowd.
How many days will the sugar cookie bars stay fresh?
They are best eaten the day they are made, but will stay delicious and fresh for 2-3 days.
More Recipes Cookies You’ll Love
Triple Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
The BEST Lemon Sugar Cookies
Chewy Gingerbread Cookies: I heard Santa loves these cookies!
Butter Spritz Cookies (fun to make for gifts if you have a cookie press)
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookie Bars
Soft Gingerbread Cookie Bars
(printable recipe)
Soft Gingerbread Cookie Bars
All the flavor of your favorite gingerbread cookie, in bar form! These soft gingerbread cookie bars are quick to make---no refrigeration or rolling necessary!
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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
cooling: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 40 bars
Calories: 145kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Tbsp. ginger
- 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cup powdered sugar sifted
Instructions
Beat butter and sugar until creamed. Mix in egg and vanilla.
Mix in baking soda and spices.
Add flour, 1 cup at a time, until completely mixed.
Dump dough out onto an ungreased baking sheet. 13" x 18")
Sprinkle dough with a handful of flour to keep your hands from sticking as you press the dough into the pan. Continue to press until entire pan is evenly covered.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Allow to cool completely.
While cookie bars cool, make frosting.
Mix butter, vanilla, milk and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Spread over cooled cookie bars. Add sprinkles.
Notes
Note: you may need to add more flour as you press the dough into the pan. Just add a couple of tablespoons as needed.
Note: if you use salted butter, no additional salt is necessary in this recipe. If you use unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the recipe. I always use salted butter and only use unsalted butter when I buy it on accident.
Nutrition
Calories: 145kcal
Merry Christmas baking!
Brandy
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Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!
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About Brandy
Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!
Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com without any additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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