Gingerbread bars

I love chewy, spicy gingerbread cookies. I am also impatient and lazy. If I can turn a beloved roll outcookie into a bar, I will. No flour all over my counter, no need to cut out the cookie, no waiting to chill the dough…. Less mess and I get to eat my cookie sooner. Plus, this bars are much chewier and almost brownie-like in their texture.

I added white chocolate chips to these; it ups the ooey-gooey factor (this is a real cookie bar metric) and I had a million left over from another baking project. Doesn’t white chocolate scream Christmas to you?

I fully confess to having these for breakfast with hot cocoa. Tis the season. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter, softened

1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar

1/4 cup molasses

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup white chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with baking spray.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and molasses using an electric mixer.

Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

Stir in the flour, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. The batter will be very thick.

Use a rubber spatula to spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely before sprinkling with powdered sugar and serving.

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