Chewy Gingerbread Lemon Bars
These chewy gingerbread lemon bars have a gingerbread flavor, soft texture, and are topped with fluffy lemon cream cheese frosting!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 60
- Yield: 16
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
For the bars:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1–1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
For the frosting:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
To make the bars:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fareheit. Line a 9” square pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease with baking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar, sugar, and molasses until lighted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the dry ingredients. Stir just until combined. Dump the dough into the prepared pan and use lightly wet fingers or a piece of wax paper to press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake in the preheated oven until the bars are puffed and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 27-28 minutes. Allow to cool completely. You can expedite this process in the fridge or freezer.
To make the frosting:
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the powdered sugar, juice, and zest and stir to combine. Spread the frosting out on the bars, or, to frost like I did, cut out the 16 squares and use a large round piping tip to pipe the frosting on. You can barely chill the bars to have the frosting set up a little more firm. Store the bars covered at room temperature for up to 2 days.