Gingerbread Cookie Bars

These gingerbread cookie bars are an easy way to enjoy delicious gingerbread cookies without all the faff of rolling and cutting. Decorate with royal icing to finish. 

When my girls were younger, seasonal Christmas baking always included sugar cookies of various colors and designs and gingerbread men with royal icing features and M&M baking bit buttons. 

We loved baking and decorating them almost as much as eating our creations. Also, fancy cookies make great gifts for friends and neighbors. Who doesn’t like to get a small plate of festive Christmas cookies?

I must confess that I’ve gotten lazy now though. I rarely make any cookies that require rolling out and cutting, then re-rolling the scraps and cutting again. Even when I make sugar cookies, I make a sausage out of the dough so I can just slice and bake. 

The dough for these gingerbread cookie bars isn’t stiff enough to do that though, so I just bake them and cut them apart. Still so easy! 

Gingerbread Cookie Bars

For the molasses, use unsulphured, as in the ingredient list, NOT black strap which is very strongly flavored and will overwhelm the spices. I use Grandma’s brand. This recipe was adapted from one on Sally’s Baking Addiction. The royal icing ingredients make way more than you need to decorate these cookie bars but the balance can be kept indefinitely in the freezer.

Ingredients for 24 cookie bars

For the cookie bars:

2 1/4 cups or 281g flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup or 170g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup, packed, or 100g dark brown sugar

1/2 cup or 100g sugar

1/3 cup or 80ml (113g) unsulphured molasses

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the royal icing:

1 1/4 cups or 156g powdered sugar 

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

pinch fine sea salt

1 large egg white (about 40g)

Important: Uncooked egg whites should not be served to anyone with a compromised immune system, unless those whites are from pasteurized eggs. Substitute an equivalent combination of powdered egg whites and water, according to the package instructions.

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 9x13 in or 23x33cm pan by lining it with baking parchment. I dab a little butter or oil in each corner and in the middle to help anchor the paper to the pan. This keeps it from sliding around as much. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg and salt. 

In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, sugar, egg, molasses and vanilla together until no lumps remain. 

Sift the flour mixture into the butter mixture folding as you go. 

Spoon the dough to the prepared baking pan. 

Use a spatula to spread and press it into a smooth, even layer. 

Bake for 23–26 minutes or until the top is set but still looks quite soft. There shouldn’t be any jiggle but do err on the side of under-baking. The bars puff up in the oven, but will deflate and firm up as they cool. 

Leave to cool on a wire rack in the pan for about 10 minutes then using side of the baking parchment, slide the baking parchment with bars on top from the baking pan to the wire rack.

Leave to cool for another 10-15 minutes, then slide the baking parchment with bars to a cutting board and cut into squares.

Gently separate the squares and leave to cool. 

Meanwhile, make the royal icing. Sift the powdered sugar, cream of tartar and pinch of salt into a mixing bowl. Add in the egg white.

 Whisk it in a little at a time from the middle, until all is incorporated.

When the cookie bars are completely cool, spoon some of the icing into your piping bag fitted with a #3 tip. 

Decorate as desired, letting some drip off the sides of the gingerbread bars. I like to do diagonal lines across the top. If you don’t have a piping bag and tip, use a Ziploc bag with a tiny corner cut off. 

Leave to set. 

The royal icing will harden up then the bars can be stored in an airtight container or packaged up to share with friends and family. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes on our holiday cookie platters in celebration of National Cookie Exchange Day which falls next Monday, 22 December. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the links below. 

• A Panoply of Pistachio Cookies by Culinary Cam
• Bakery-Style Holiday Sprinkle Cookies by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Citrusy Ginger Shortbread Cookies by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Egg Free Peanut Butter M&M Cookies by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Eggless Piped Chocolate Cookie by Sneha's Recipe
• Fruitcake Cookies by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Gingerbread Cookie Bars by Food Lust People Love
• Vegan Ginger Cookies by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Boursin Zucchini Tart

This Boursin Zucchini Tart, baked in flakey puff pastry and scattered with toasted pine nuts, is a tasty dish that is not only delicious, it's pretty!

We first discovered the magic of Boursin when we lived in France back in the early 1990s, when it was still available in only the original garlic and herb version. Now that soft, creamy cheese comes in several flavors, including the original, Cracked Black Pepper, Shallot & Chive, Basil & Chive, and Caramelized Onion and Herbs, Fig & Balsamic and Lemon & Dill. I think there’s even one with truffles, but don’t quote me. 

If you have a box of Boursin, you have the start of a good recipe! And, no, I’m not being paid to say that. In fact, I’d like to tell you that, at least in France, there are store brands of copycat cheese that I often buy instead of the real thing when I’m there, but I’ve never seen that option elsewhere. In addition to the 150g rounds, both the Boursin and store brands also come in little foil-wrapped pats, like butter, perfect for spreading on a slice of warm toast. 

We do have Alouette in the US, which comes close, but no store brands that I’m aware of. Please correct me if I’m wrong! Flavored cream cheese is NOT the same consistency.

Boursin Zucchini Tart

Do not skip the salting, draining and drying steps for the zucchini. They do release a lot of extra liquid which will make your tart crust soggy otherwise. I give the weight of my zucchini below to use as a guide. A little more or less will not make a difference. 

Ingredients

5.3 oz or 150g Boursin, at room temperature

1 egg, at room temperature

freshly ground black pepper

3 zucchini, approx. weight 14 1/2 ox or 411g

Fine sea salt

2 tablespoons finely minced onion

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil

Ready rolled, all butter puff pastry circle, 8 oz or 227g

For garnish:

1/4 cup or 37g pine nuts, optional

Method

Whisk together the Boursin and egg then add a few generous grinds of black pepper. Chill until ready to use. 

Trim the ends off then slice the zucchini thinly. 

Put a single layer in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Add another layer and salt again. Continue until all of the zucchini is salted in the colander. Leave to drain for an hour or even two if you have the time. 

When draining time is up, give the colander a good shake then dry the zucchini off with paper towels. Tip the slices out onto a clean cloth and spread them out. Roll up the cloth and set aside for a few minutes to dry off completely.  

Add the minced garlic and onion into a large mixing bowl with the olive oil. Mix well. 

Add the zucchini to the bowl and toss to coat thoroughly. 

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Unroll the puff pastry with its baking parchment on a baking pan then roll/fold the edges up to create a raised edge. 

Prick it all over with the tines of a fork.

Spread about two-thirds of the Boursin mixture inside the raised edge. 

Starting on the outside, line the tart with the zucchini, overlapping as you go. 

When you’ve used up all of the zucchini, sprinkle any garlic and onions left behind in the bowl on top. 

Drizzle the remainder of the Boursin mixture over the top. 

Bake for 10 minutes in your preheated oven then rotate the pan to ensure even baking and bake for a further 10 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over a medium fire, if using. 

Shake the skillet frequently so they don’t scorch. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. 

When the tart is baked, remove from the oven and cool slightly on a wire rack. 

Slide it to a serving plate then sprinkle on the toasted pine nuts. 

Cut in big wedges to serve. 

Enjoy!

I can hardly believe it but Alphabet Challenge 2025 is coming to an end with this 26th post, brought to you by the letter Z! Stay tuned in the New Year for the 2026 edition. Yes, we all enjoyed this so much that we are going to start over again for the third time on January 7th. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the Z recipes below:

• A Holiday Zaza or Two or Three - Cheers! from Culinary Cam
• Baked Ziti from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Boursin Zucchini Tart from Food Lust People Love: 
•  Grilled Zucchini Bruschetta Bites from Sneha’s Recipe
• Lemon Eton Mess from A Messy Kitchen
• Simple Zero Cream Creamy Butternut Squash Soup from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Zacatecas Beef Stew from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Zeppole from Jolene’s Recipe Journal
• Zeytin Piyazi from Mayuri’s Jikoni

Here are all of my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 

R. Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter 

S. Fresh Scallop Sashimi 

T. Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing 

U. Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice

V. Mirabelle Plum Vodka 

W. Welsh Rarebit Potatoes with Cavolo Nero 

X. Homemade XO Sauce 

Y. Yamitsuki Addictive Cabbage 

Z. Boursin Zucchini Tart – this post! 

And to refresh our memories, since this is the last Alphabet Challenge post of the year, here's my list from 2024:

A: Anchovy Deviled Eggs
B: Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly
C: Cecilie's Favorite Coleslaw
D: Cajun Chicken Eggplant Dressing
E: Everything Pizza Tartin
F: Baked Chicken and Feta Meatballs
G: Grape Juice Jigglers
H: Crispy Bacon-wrapped Chicken Hearts
I: Raspberry Rhubarb Ice Cream
J: Java Dry Spice Mix Chops 

K. Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs 

L. Easy Lamb and Fresh Tomato Curry 

M. Fresh Mint Sauce 

N. Miso Butter Noodles 

O. Spicy Orange Braised Short Ribs 

P. Homemade Piri Piri Sauce 

Q, Cointreau Glazed Orange Quick Bread 

R. Leek and Lobster Mushroom Risotto 

S. Cheesy Sausage and Egg Casserole 

T. Stuffed Turkey Cutlets 

U. Spicy Urad Dal -

V. Spicy Vinegar Braised Chicken 

W. Honey Walnut Brittle 

X. Xmas Eggnog Fudge 

Y. Yemma Aouïcha – Eggplant with Chickpeas 

Z. Zucchini and Bacon Pangrattato

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Sweet Cranberry Soda Bread #BreadBakers

Baked with brown sugar and dried cranberries, this sweet cranberry soda bread is delightful as part of a dessert course cheese board. Or all on its own.

This last month of the year, our Bread Baker theme is dessert bread, thanks to our fellow Bread Baker and host, Swathi. 

Her challenge to the group was "Bake any sweet bread, whether yeast, sourdough, or quick version. It will be wonderful to see if you come up with a dessert bread for Christmas. Show your creativity."

Well, my favorite dessert course is actually a cheese platter so I’m always delighted when that is on a restaurant menu. Even better is when they wheel out a special cart and I can choose the few cheeses for my platter. Heaven!

With that in mind, I’ve created a loaf that is slightly sweet, with sweetened dried cranberries as a nod to the Christmas season, that would be perfect to enjoy either plain with butter or with a cheese board as your savory dessert option. 

Sweet Cranberry Soda Bread

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, an easy substitute is 2 teaspoons of white vinegar added to the measuring cup, then topped up with milk to the required 3/4 cup or 80ml line. Stir and let it rest while you get started with the recipe. 

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups or 312g flour, plus extra for dusting and kneading

1/3 cup, packed, or 66g light brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter (cut into pieces)

3/4 cup or 100g sweetened dried cranberries, plus a few more for topping

3/4 cup or 80ml buttermilk

1 large egg

Method

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat your oven to 400℉ or 200°C. Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the butter piece. Pulse until butter is incorporated and small crumbles are formed.

Pour the flour/butter mixture into a large bowl. Add in the cranberries and use your clean hands to separate the sticky cranberries from each other. 

Add the buttermilk and egg.

Mix until the flour is completely moistened. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. 

Knead gently 5 to 10 times, dusting flour lightly onto dough if it’s too sticky. Knead just until the dough comes together and is smooth.

Shape into a round then poke a few extra cranberries into the top of the loaf. 

Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. With a sharp knife, slash the top with a large X about ½ in or 1 cm deep. 

Dust the top lightly with a little flour.

Bake until the loaf is golden brown and crusty, 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the X comes out clean. 

Serve warm or at room temperature, preferably as part of a special holiday cheese board.

Enjoy!

It’s the second Tuesday of the month which means, as I mentioned above, it’s time for my Bread Baker friends to share their dessert bread recipes. Many thanks to our host, Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen. Check out the links below 

• Eggnog Babka Knots by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Coconut Pandan Babka by A Messy Kitchen
• Gingerbread by Palatable Pastime
• Sourdough Sweet Potato Loaf by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Sweet Cranberry Soda Bread by Food Lust people Love
• Eggless Oats Litchi Loaf by Sneha's Recipe
• Sourdough Zucchini Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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