Soft and chewy gingerbread cookie bars topped with a sweet and tangy Bailey’s Irish Cream cream cheese frosting!
If there’s one Christmas tradition that I’ll NEVER grow out of it would definitely have to be decorating gingerbread houses. It’s one of the few occasions when it’s totally acceptable to play with your food, and you’re free to let your creativity soar!
However, as much as I enjoy decorating gingerbread houses, I never actually eat them. For one thing, they usually sit out for several days as decoration, making them rather stale. And another thing, the cookies and icings that come in the store-bought kits are never that good. Of course, I’ve also never been a fan of gingerbread because of its strong molasses flavor.
So you might be wondering, why are you posting a gingerbread recipe if you don’t like gingerbread? Well, THIS recipe is different…
These Gingerbread Cookie Bars are soft, chewy, and slathered with the most to-die-for Bailey’s Irish Cream cream cheese frosting. They’re likely to transform any gingerbread hater into a gingerbread lover!
What makes these gingerbread cookie bars different from the rest is their more subtle molasses flavor. As someone who finds molasses to be a bit pungent in most gingerbread desserts, I kept that flavor to a minimum in these cookie bars. Just 3 tablespoons is needed to achieve just the right amount of gingerbready flavor in these bars, and it’s not overpowering at all. I also added a tablespoon of maple syrup since it has a similar texture and flavor to molasses, yet it’s much sweeter and milder.
Along with molasses and maple syrup, granulated sugar and brown sugar are added to sweeten these cookie bars. I used more granulated sugar than brown sugar since brown sugar contains molasses, and my goal was to minimize that flavor. I didn’t want to leave the brown sugar out entirely since it adds a nice chewiness to cookies.
To pack these cookie bars with even more flavor, a mix of fall spices are added to the batter–cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and of course, ginger! The rest of the ingredients in this recipe are pretty standard–flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, vanilla, eggs, butter, and cornstarch. The cornstarch is added to ensure that the cookie bars bake up soft and chewy.
The Bailey’s Irish Cream cream cheese frosting, in my opinion, is what makes these cookie bars as heavenly as they are. Sure, this statement is also coming from a frosting fanatic (to put it lightly), but believe me, the cookie bars wouldn’t be half as amazing without it. Not only does this frosting complement the gingerbread flavor so well, but it’s CREAM CHEESE FROSTING flavored with BAILEY’S IRISH CREAM! What’s not to love about that??
Now, although Bailey’s Irish Cream is my favorite alcoholic beverage, I didn’t add too much to the frosting for a couple of reasons. One, I’m not the biggest fan of alcohol. And two, the flavor of the Bailey’s gets stronger as it sits in the frosting. So even though the flavor might seem really subtle as you’re adding the Baileys to the frosting, it’ll definitely taste stronger a few hours later. For this recipe, 2 tablespoons was just perfect for me! And if you want to make these cookie bars more kid-friendly, you can also simply leave out the Bailey’s Irish Cream entirely.
However, the alcohol does provide a great excuse if you don’t feel like sharing with the kiddos…
Gingerbread Cookie Bars with Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cookie Bars:
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup dark or light brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 Tablespoons molasses
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 5 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4 Tablespoons butter softened
- 2 Tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Make the Cookie Bars:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF, and line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars for 2 to 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg, followed by the molasses, maple syrup, and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Bake in the oven for 14-16 minutes, or until center looks dry and edges are slightly browned. Allow to cool completely.
Make the Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high until smooth and creamy. Add the Irish Cream and vanilla and continue beating until combined. Add the powdered sugar, a half cup at a time, beating until fluffy.
- Spread frosting onto completely cooled blondies. Cut into squares. Serve and enjoy!