Gingerbread Brownies

Spicy, Dense, and Chewy these Gingerbread brownies are chock a block full of flavor then topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting. These Gingerbread Brownies with a Cream Cheese Frosting are the perfect addition to your Christmas Cookie plate! Step-by-step photos help you bake this Christmas treat!

Starbucks has a gingerbread cake over the Thanksgiving/ Christmas time. It's my mom's favorite. She loves it, sometimes she even buys the whole loaf. If you're looking for a loaf try my Gingerbread Loaf Recipe. Or why not a Gingerbread Bundt Cake.

I wanted to make something reminiscent of the flavors. So here we are with these bars.

These are so tasty. Dense, moist and chewy these bars are great on their own but the smooth, creamy, cream cheese frosting is spectacular on top of the bars.

You will love this recipe.

What are the ingredients for Gingerbread Brownies?

• Unsalted Butter
• Light Brown Sugar. Since the brownies have a thick layer of sweet frosting you'll notice that the sugar amount is smaller than in other recipes.
• Large Egg, at room temperature
• Molasses
• Pure Vanilla Extract
• All-Purpose/ Plain Flour
• Ground Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Ground Nutmeg, and Ground Cloves
• Baking Soda and Baking Powder

Now you could leave the brownies but Cream Cheese Frosting makes everything better. For the frosting you'll need:

• Full- Fat Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
• Unsalted Butter or softened Browned Butter softened to room temperature
• Heavy Cream
• Pure Vanilla Extract
• Confectioners/ Powdered Sugar

How do you make Gingerbread Brownies?

Preheat oven to 350F/180C and spray a 9-inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter every nook and cranny, set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder and baking soda.

In a small saucepan over low-medium heat cook the butter. We are browning the butter* here, which creates depth. Cook slowly, mixing constantly, the butter will begin to brown after about a couple of minutes, it will smell nutty. Do not leave it alone as it will burn easily.

When the butter has browned and is golden and smells nutty take it off the heat. Set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.

After 10 minutes or so, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with handheld electrical mixer combine the sugar, egg, molasses, and vanilla.

Whisk in the browned butter.

Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet batter until just combined.

Do not over mix! You don't want overwork the gluten.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 23-25 minutes.

Allow the bars to cool completely then start making the frosting.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or large bowl with a handheld electrical whisk combine cream cheese and butter, mixing until evenly combined.

Add in the heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Mix for 3-4 minutes.

Spread on cooled bars and enjoy.

I like to top the bars with chopped candied ginger, and since its Christmas time, I like to add some red and green sprinkles!

Store leftovers in the fridge in an air-tight container.

Try not to eat just one! If you love gingerbread then try my Gingerbread Bundt Cake Recipe or my Gingerbread Cheesecake.

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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Recipe adapted from Baking Bites . This post was first published January 5, 2013, as of December 1st, 2019 this post has been updated with an updated recipe and new photos.