These Gingerbread Blondies are soft, chewy and perfectly spiced and topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting! A fun and easier alternative to cut-out gingerbread men!
I am SO weird with ginger. I’m usually not a picky eater, but I am SO picky about this darned spice.
For starters, I loathe fresh ginger. It gives me the heebie-jeebies and it tastes like soap to me. It’s unbearable, and I simply cannot order anything with fresh ginger or candied ginger or crystallized ginger in it. NOPE.
But: I love ginger ale. It’s my go-to when my tummy’s upset, and it makes a great mixer! Maybe because the ginger flavor is far more subtle? Probably.
And during the holiday season, my fave drink at Starbucks is a gingerbread iced chai. Basically, an iced chai tea with one pump of gingerbread syrup. The combination between the aromatic chai spices + gingerbread syrup makes the drink taste like a liquefied cookie! It’s amazing.
I thought since my track record with ginger is spotty at best that I wouldn’t care too much for these Gingerbread Blondies, but I was seriously wrong! They have just the right amount of ginger that it reads as gingerbread without being overwhelming or too spicy (or soapy to me!). Of course, you can always add in more ground ginger if you prefer things super gingery spiced, but I’m a more tame ginger lover and thus, these were perfect.
The best part about these blondies, though, HAS to be the cream cheese icing! It’s so light and fluffy and is the perfect tangy complement to the spicy, chewy bars. To make them extra festive and sweet, I topped the blondies with holiday non-pareils sprinkles and the cutest little sugary gingerbread men! (I found the men on the seasonal baking aisle at Walmart!). Not only do the gingerbread men help identify what the bars are, they’re just a sweet touch.
I totally plan on making a big batch of these and cutting them into tinier squares to gift to my neighbors this holiday season, and you should too!
I mean…
Gingerbread Blondies with Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
- FOR THE BLONDIES:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp ground ginger
- 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 4 Tbsp butter softened
- 8 ounces (One 8-ounce package) cream cheese softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2½-3 cups confectioners' sugar
- Holiday sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a 9x13" rectangular baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the brown sugar; let cool 5 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition, followed by the vanilla, molasses, baking soda, spices, and flour until a soft batter comes together.
- Spread the batter evenly in the baking pan and bake for approximately 22-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Cool completely.
- To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the confectioners' sugar one cup at a time until frosting is light and fluffy. Spread the frosting evenly over the blondies and top with sprinkles, if using. To make a clean-cut square, cover and refrigerate the blondies about 1 hour.
Perfectly spiced, soft and chewy blondies topped with a luxuriously creamy cream cheese icing. What’s not to love?!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
Andreya says
Wow!!! It looks so beautiful and delicious.
Emily says
Do these need to be stored in the refrigerator?
thedomesticrebel says
You certainly can to keep them longer (airtight in fridge) but they can also stay out on the counter for about a day or two covered.
Cami says
Do you think a white chocolate drizzle would be good on these too instead of the frosting?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Cami, that would be delicious!
Robin says
If I wanted to make a 9×9 pan instead of a 9×13 would halfing the recipe be too much?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Robin, no, it would be perfect in a 9×9 pan if you halved the recipe!
Laura says
Would I be able to use allspice in this recipe? Thanks 🙂
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Laura, you can! Definitely experiment with how much you add though. Start maybe 1/2 tsp and work your way up since it can be strong.
MB says
So it seems ground ginger is out of stock everywhere near me. I had planned to bake these tomorrow. Pointless to make without the ginger, I suppose? What If I have fresh ginger (I do)….can it be substituted somehow? Thank you!
thedomesticrebel says
Hi MB, sorry for the delay but I am not positive as I have not worked with fresh ginger in baking before.
Kaci says
Soooooo good and so easy! One of my favorite local bakeries closed down last year and had the best gingerbread. This is a really great substitute and will definitely be making these a mainstay every holiday! There’s nothing better than cream cheese frosting!
Becky says
Can you freeze them without the icing, thaw later, and then ice?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Becky, yes you can!
Alisa says
I baked at 15 minutes and the toothpick came out clean. The flavor is perfect but the blondie itself was off texture. It was on the dry side like a really dry cake but the cream cheese frosting helps. I don’t think I would call this a blondie since the texture is no where near a moist blondie. Kind of bummed.
Laura says
Made this today for Christmas and they are really good! It wasn’t too difficult either. I will be saving this recipe for future use. I had to bake a bit longer, but that may just depend on what your 9×13 dish is made out of. I even had the same sprinkles on hand. Thanks for the great recipe!
Emily says
Delicious dessert!!! It was a hit with everyone at our Christmas gathering. The cream cheese frosting with the ginger flavor was a perfect combination. *Note: I did not have molasses, so I substituted an equal amount of maple syrup, and added an additional 1/8 tsp of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg to make up for the missing molasses flavor. Thanks for a great recipe!
Jennifer says
Just made these and they are SO yummy!! I didn’t have molasses so I used maple syrup, worked fine. Definitely will make again, and try not to eat the entire pan. 🙂
Annie McBride says
I plan to make these soon and I will be using a brown butter frosting glaze (similar to a lemon glaze on lemon brownies). I may add nutmeg to the glaze as this makes the brown butter frosting even better.I use this frosting often and it is delicious on many baked goods.
Where did you get the little gingerbread boys on the top?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Annie, I found those sprinkles at Michael’s a few years back (this recipe is an older one from the archives) but I believe you can still find them at Amazon!