Erin’s Recipe Rundown
Texture: Crackly top with a slightly gooey, chewy center.
Taste: Classic gingerbread flavor — molasses, brown sugar, and warm spices perfect for the holidays.
Ease: SO easy to make! This is a 1 bowl recipe that comes together in minutes!
Top Tips: Measure the ingredients and follow the instructions closely for the best results.
Recommended GF Flour: Works great with many gluten-free flour blends. Use a high-quality flour that contains xanthan gum. I like King Arthur Flour and Bob’s Red Mill.
Would I make these again? Yes! These unassuming gingerbread bars are unbelievably good. They will disappear quickly!
xoxo erin
These chewy gluten-free gingerbread bars are everything I love in a recipe: simple, easy, delicious, and crowd-pleasing! They come together quickly, are made with pantry staples, and have the best chewy texture!
This is the perfect dessert for a crowd, whether you’re headed to a holiday dinner, cookie exchange, or party.
Featured Comment
From Katie: “I made these twice this Christmas season, they were soooo good!! I have to eat GF and my son usually doesn’t like my GF food but he devoured these!”
Table of Contents
- Erin’s Recipe Rundown
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Chewy Gluten-Free Gingerbread Bars
- Storage/Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions
- Can these gingerbread bars be made dairy-free?
- What type of pan should I use?
- What kind of molasses should I use?
- More Gluten-Free Holiday Recipes
- Chewy Gluten-Free Gingerbread Bars Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make these chewy gluten-free gingerbread bars. See the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Gluten-Free Flour: These bars turn out best when you use a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. Look for a gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum so the bars have the structure they need. This is my favorite brand.
- Butter: I like to use salted butter for more depth of flavor in all of my baked goods. Melted butter is important for creating a rich, chewy flavor rather than a fluffy, cakey texture.
- Molasses: Molasses gives these bars a classic gingerbread taste and a chewy center with crispy edges. Any brand will work here!
How to Make Chewy Gluten-Free Gingerbread Bars
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
- Whisk sugar and melted butter: Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar and molasses to a mixing bowl. Pour the butter over the sugars and whisk to combine.
- Add the rest of the ingredients: Whisk in the egg, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Then add the flour and spice and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Spread dough in baking pan: Evenly spread dough in the baking pan using a rubber spatula.
- Bake: Bake bars for 22-24 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.
Storage/Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions
- To store: Store these gingerbread bars at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three days.
- To make ahead: These gingerbread bars can be made up to three days in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to serve. This is a great option to save time before a holiday party or cookie exchange!
- To freeze: Let bars cool completely before placing them in a freezer-safe bag. Bars will keep up to three months in the freezer. Let thaw at room temperature before serving.
Can these gingerbread bars be made dairy-free?
Yes! For dairy-free gingerbread bars, substitute the melted butter with a dairy-free butter substitute. Make sure the dairy-free butter is melted for consistent mixing and chewy texture.
What type of pan should I use?
I recommend using a glass baking dish to make these gingerbread bars. I’ve tested this recipe in a metal and it doesn’t turn out the same. A Pyrex glass 9×13 pan is the best choice!
What kind of molasses should I use?
For these gingerbread bars, use unsulfured molasses, like Grandma’s molasses. Unsulfured molasses is made from mature sugarcane and has a clean, natural sweetness, making it ideal for baking. Avoid blackstrap molasses, as it’s much darker and more bitter, which can overpower the flavors in your recipe.
More Gluten-Free Holiday Recipes
Chewy Gluten-Free Gingerbread Bars
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (160g) brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 cup (226g) butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups (375g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, add the granulated sugar, brown sugar and molasses. Pour the butter over top of the sugars and whisk to combine.
- Add the egg, vanilla, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the dry ingredients until fully combined. The dough will be stiff and thick.
- Spread the dough into the baking pan. Bake for 22-24 minutes. The bars will puff up as they bake, then deflate.
- Let cool before slicing. I like to slice small squares with 4 rows lengthwise and 6 rows widthwise. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Enjoy!
Notes
- For dairy-free bars: Use a dairy-free butter substitute in place of regular butter. Be sure to melt the dairy-free butter for easy mixing and chewy texture.
- To store: Store bars at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three days.
- To make ahead: These gingerbread bars can be made up to three days in advance. Store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to serve. This is a great option to save time before a holiday party or cookie exchange!
- To freeze: Let bars cool completely before placing them in a freezer-safe bag. Bars will keep up to three months in the freezer. Let thaw at room temperature before serving.
This recipe was delicious!!! Mine did come out all greasy and flat. I’m going to make them again tonight to gift to a friend tomorrow, but what do you think went wrong? I followed the recipe with no substitutions.
Hi Melissa, we’re so glad you enjoyed the flavor despite the texture issue. What kind of gf flour did you use? The different gf blends can make a difference. Beyond that, next time you could try letting the melted butter cool a bit so it doesn’t go in too hot to see if that also helps the structure. We hope these ideas help!
Hi could you tell me please if I should use plain or self raising gluten free flour?
Hi Nichola, we recommend using a gf flour blend that contains xanthan gum. We love King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour and it works really well in these bars. Thank you for your question!
Hello I was wondering if both sugars could be replaced by coconut sugar? Thank you for your delicious recipe
Hi Gina, we don’t typically bake with sugar substitutes. The granulated and brown sugars are important for both the flavor and structure so swapping them both out would most likely change the taste and texture of the bars. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
O.M.G these are dangerously delicious! I used regular unbleached flour because we don’t really have a problem with gluten and didn’t feel like buying another type of flour but regardless, so good! The crispy edges and chewy center are just perfection!
So much better than hard dry traditional gingerbread cookies.
Yay! We’re so glad you loved them, Mandara! Thanks for sharing your kind feedback with us. It’s good to know it worked with regular flour too. Happy baking!
This recipe has 1.5 cups of sugar, plus molasses ? That’s a huge amount of processed sugar.
Not judging just asking ?
Hi Anita, yes those measurements are correct! The combination provides the best flavor and texture/structure for these bars. Thank you for your question!
Can you substitute almond flour for gluten free flour in this recipe?
Hmmm I don’t know what went wrong but mine are not chewy. They crumble and fall apart. I used bobs 1:1 flour. ♀️
Hi Ashley, that’s a tough one. Everyone’s ovens can be different and calibrations can be off. You could try baking these for a little less time (or even reducing the temperature by 25°F) to see if they are just baking too hot/too long. We hope this helps!
Think of the texture of the best blondie or brownie. Now add a little spice with ginger. Perfection! I followed the weight measurements, used Alton Brown’s GF flour mix recipe for the flour (also by weight), and used fresh ginger because I was out of ground. So, so good!
Thank you for such kind and thorough feedback, Dixie! We’re so happy to hear you loved the bars! It’s good to know that flour mix worked well too. Happy baking!
Delicious. I used a 11×8 & they came out perfect!!
Yay! We’re so glad you loved them, Michele! Thank you for your positive feedback.
Works well with regular flour too
That’s good to know, Katie! We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing with us.
Can the sugar be replaced with monk fruit sweetener
Hi Vicky, we don’t typically bake with sugar substitutes so we haven’t tested it out with this recipe. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Due to anaphylactic allergy to eggs, do you think an egg substitute (No Egg or flax egg) would work out ok in this recipe? It looks delicious.
Hi Donna, we haven’t tested it out, but since the recipe only uses 1 egg, it’s worth a try! We’d recommend trying Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer or something similar. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Loved these! Took to christmas party. Each bar eaten in a flash! Made double batch.
Yay! Thank you for your kind review, Susan. We’re so happy to hear they were a hit at the party!
Do you ever make an icing glaze for these?
Hi Stephanie, we haven’t tried a glaze or any icing with this one. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Is black strap molasses ok to use?