Gingerbread Cookie Bars with Lemon White Chocolate Ganache
These gingerbread cookie bars take everything you love about classic gingerbread: molasses, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves, and bake it into soft, chewy squares. The lemon white chocolate ganache adds a pop of brightness that cuts through the richness. No rolling pins, cookie cutters, or piping requires. Just mix, bake, and spread!
Why You’ll Love These Bars
Let’s embrace the simplicity of bars over fussy cookies over the busy holiday period! These gingerbread cookie bars pack all the warm flavors of molasses, cinnamon, and ginger into a soft-baked base, topped with a creamy, zesty lemon white chocolate ganache. They’re perfect for holiday parties, cookie swaps, or cozy nights in.
Ingredients and why
- All-purpose flour: Provides the structure for the bars, balancing the wet ingredients and ensuring a sturdy, chewy texture.
- Baking soda: Acts as the leavening agent, helping the bars rise and creating a soft, tender crumb.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar: Adds sweetness.
- Butter: Gives the bars richness and a soft, tender texture.
- Molasses: A key ingredient in gingerbread, it provides the deep flavor and chewiness. For baking, unsulfured molasses is the best choice—it’s sweeter and milder than blackstrap molasses.
- Eggs: Bind the dough together and add moisture.
- Vanilla paste or extract: Enhances the overall flavor and complements the warm spices.
- Ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves: These spices bring the signature festive flavor to the gingerbread.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors of the spices and molasses.
- White chocolate: Creates the creamy ganache topping, providing a rich, sweet contrast to the spiced base.
- Heavy cream: Combines with the white chocolate to make the ganache smooth and spreadable.
- Lemon zest and juice: Add brightness and a tangy pop that cuts through the sweetness of the ganache, perfectly complementing the spiced gingerbread.
How to Make Gingerbread Cookie Bars
The gingerbread base
- Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the molasses, eggs, and vanilla until well combined.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, spices, and salt) and add to the wet mixture.
- Spread the thick dough evenly into parchment-lined 8×8-inch pan.
- Bake until the edges are set and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.
The lemon white chocolate ganache
- Heat heavy cream, lemon zest and lemon juice in a small saucepan until it just begins to simmer. Add chopped white chocolate to a heat-proof bowl
- Pour over chopped white chocolate and let sit for 2–3 minutes, then stir until smooth. If it’s not melting completely, place the bowl over a hot water bath or in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to melt it further.
Assemble the Bars
- Once the gingerbread bars are completely cool, spread the lemon white chocolate ganache evenly over the top. Add on Christmas sprinkles to make them look a bit festive.
- Allow the ganache to set at room temperature, or chill in the fridge for faster setting
- Slice into squares or rectangles and serve.
Tips
- Room temperature ingredients: Ensure your butter and eggs are at room temperature for easy mixing.
- Don’t overbake: Keep an eye on the bars to ensure they stay soft and chewy.
- Ganache consistency: If the ganache is too thin, let it cool a bit longer before spreading.
Serving and Storing
- Serving: These bars are best served at room temperature, though they’re yummy cold from the fridge as well,
- Storing: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. For longer storage, freeze the bars for up to 3 months.
More holiday recipes
Gingerbread Cookie Bars with Lemon White Chocolate Ganache
These gingerbread cookie bars take everything you love about classic gingerbread: molasses, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and bake it into soft, chewy squares. The lemon white chocolate ganache adds a pop of brightness that cuts through the richness.
Ingredients
- 140 g unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup soft brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 60 g unsulfured molasses
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
- 220 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Ganache
- 200 g white chocolate chopped
- 2 tsp lemon zest finely grated
- 15 g fresh lemon juice
- 60 g heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line an 8×8 inch pan with parchment paper. leave an overhang so you can easily lift the baked cookies out.
- Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the molasses, eggs, and vanilla until well combined.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients and add to the wet mixture and combine it into a thick dough.
- Spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for around 25 minutes, until the edges are set. Let cool completely.
Ganache
- Add chopped white chocolate to a heatproof bowl.
- Heat heavy cream, lemon zest and lemon juice in a small saucepan until it just begins to simmer. The lemon juice will thicken the cream a bit, that's normal.
- Pour this over chopped white chocolate and let sit for 2–3 minutes, then stir until smooth.
- If the white chocolate doesn’t fully melt, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water (double boiler) and gently stir until smooth. Alternatively, microwave the mixture in 5-10 second intervals on low power, stirring in between, until fully melted.
- Once the ganache is made, let it cool and thicken a bit before using.
Assembling
- Spread the ganache evenly over the cooled gingerbread bars.
- Allow it to set at room temperature or chill in the fridge to cool it faster.
- Slice into squares or rectangles and enjoy!
Notes
Serving and Storing
- Serving: These bars are best served at room temperature, though they’re yummy cold from the fridge as well,
- Storing: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. For longer storage, freeze the bars for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 249kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 126mgPotassium: 129mgFiber: 1gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 295IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
I’m excited to try making these gingerbread cookie bars for an upcoming event. I was wondering if it’s possible to prepare the dough in advance and refrigerate it overnight before baking. Would this affect the texture or baking time? Additionally, if I wanted to add some chopped nuts or dried fruit to the batter, at what stage would you recommend incorporating them? Looking forward to your advice!
Hey Annie you can make the dough in advance 🙂 and the additions can be added with the dry ingredients