What’s better than a fresh-baked, soft ginger cookie around this time of year? Frosted ginger cookie bars! They have all the great flavors of a traditional soft ginger molasses cookie, but they’re easier and quicker to bake! Plus they’re topped with a dreamy vanilla buttercream frosting made with vegan butter. And you don’t miss out on any chewiness, because these bars have it all – soft and chewy!

The recipe for these cookie bars involves a simple dough. No refrigeration is required as the dough gets immediately pressed into a baking dish – like I said, easy. Once the bars have totally cooled, you’ll whip up my favorite vegan buttercream with just a handful of ingredients – an easy, no-fail, can’t-tell-it’s-vegan frosting. If you love molasses, spicy ginger, and the sweetness of a sugary frosting, then these bars are for you! Top them with your favorite sprinkles for an extra festive feel!

Some of the ingredients I like for this recipe:

Coconut sugar is my favorite low GI, unrefined sugar. It makes for a great replacement for granulated sugar and tastes nothing like coconut. It tastes less sweet than regular sugar, which balances out the sweetness of the frosting on these bars.

Solid coconut oil beats together with the coconut sugar like in a traditional cookie dough. Feel free to use softened vegan butter instead. I don’t recommend melted (or liquid) coconut oil as I don’t know how the bars would turn out.

Egg yolk adds an extra bit of chewiness to these bars!

Vegan butter acts as the perfect dairy-free alternative to regular butter in this frosting. It’s delicious and creates the perfect frosting texture! Plus, nobody can tell the frosting is vegan!

Vegetable shortening stabilizes the vegan butter, giving it the perfect texture to swirl your frosting on top of the cookie bars!

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Yield: 16 Bars

Ginger Molasses Cookie Bars with Frosting

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Soft cookie bars flavored with spicy ginger and sweet molasses - all topped with a simple, dairy-free buttercream frosting. A festive and delicious holiday treat!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 3 hours

Ingredients

Bars

• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 2/3 cup coconut oil, solid
• 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temp
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups + 2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Frosting

• 1/3 cup vegan butter stick, softened
• 3 Tbsp vegetable shortening (or more vegan butter)
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3-5 tsp plant-based milk

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x8" baking dish with non-stick spray + parchment paper. I like to cut one long strip of paper, folding the excess over two of the edges and trimming. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the coconut sugar and solid coconut oil. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and molasses; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add dry ingredients to wet and use a large wooden spoon or spatula to combine. The dough may seem dry, but it will come together with enough mixing (and may even seem greasy).
4. Press the dough into your prepared baking dish, using your fingers or the back of a spoon to smooth out the top. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes, being careful not to over bake the bars - you want them nice and chewy!
5. Allow bars to cool in the dish for at least an hour. Gently remove the whole cookie bar by running a butter knife along the edges without parchment paper, and then using the excess parchment paper to lift the bar up and out of the dish. Allow cookie bar to cool completely on a cooling rack.
6. Once the bar is cool, you can make the frosting. Beat together the vegan butter and shortening until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract and then the powdered sugar. Add plant-based milk 1 tsp at a time until the frosting reaches a spread-able, but still-thick-enough-to-create-swirls, consistency.
7. Scrape all of the frosting onto the cookie bar and use an offset spatula to evenly spread over the surface, making swirls as you go along. Top with sprinkles or other topping of your choice.
8. Slice into 16 bars, wiping your knife clean between each slice. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recommended Products

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• 
  Wooden Spoon Set
• 
  8-Inch Square Glass Baking Dish
• 
  Icing Spatula Set

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 254Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 157mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 0gSugar: 25gProtein: 1g

calculated nutrition information may not always be accurate

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