Gingerbread Bars (Paleo!)
Soft and moist cake-like gingerbread bars with that classic gingerbread flavor and scent. Paleo, gluten free, dairy free, and delicious! Serve with a big scoop of Gingerbread Ice Cream for even more gingerbread goodness.
Sneha said: “This was delicious – we went through them way too quickly. Will definitely make them again in the future. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“
Who here associates gingerbread with Christmas? Go on, raise your hand. Let's see… one, two, twenty, everyone. Got it. I used to be the same way.
For the longest time, I believed that gingerbread was meant to be strictly in cookie form, in the shape of little men with no phalanges or neck, decorated with royal icing, and eaten only at Christmas.
You draw little worried faces on them, eat their legs and arms, and make quiet screaming noises until you bite off their heads when they can no longer feel pain.
… what, just me? If you haven't figured it out yet, I have a dark sense of humor, you guys.
What is gingerbread made of?
Classic gingerbread recipes typically call for a range of spices that includes: ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and some people include cardamom and anise.
As for sweeteners, it's typically a combination of brown sugar, molasses and/or dark corn syrup.
However, since I've made this recipe more paleo-friendly, we're going a little off the old fashioned path by using coconut sugar in lieu of the other sweeteners.
Gingerbread is different than gingerbread cookies
But anyway – one day I discovered gingerbread. Not gingerbread cookies, but gingerbread. I fully recognize that's totally backwards since it originally started as a moist loaf cake and not anatomically incorrect cookies.
Side note: I've also heard these called “ginger molasses bars”, which certainly helps clear up any confusion.
I never realized that it could be a perfectly fluffy cake with the same flavors, and could be topped with any number of frostings – cream cheese, brown butter, maple buttercream, etc.
Just look at that moist crumb – it's everything I never knew I needed in a gingerbread bar.
Is molasses paleo-friendly?
I will admit, some of you might not believe these are truly paleo because of the molasses, but like I've mentioned before I believe that moderation is key. Just make sure you're using pure blackstrap molasses and everything will be a-okay.
Molasses is the dark syrup left over after sugar cane crystals are removed during sugar cane production, molasses is the dark syrup left after sugar cane crystals are removed. Sugar cane is a natural plant, so technically it's Paleo-compliant – but if you disagree, I totally get it.
Can I add a frosting to the top of gingerbread bars?
You totally could! But I'll be honest – I haven't come up with a paleo frosting that I like yet, since everything I've tried has to be refrigerated or is just too runny for my taste.
Here are some of my favorite frostings that would be great on top of these bars:
- Cream cheese frosting
- Cookie butter frosting
- Mascarpone whipped cream frosting
- White chocolate frosting
But the great thing about these gingerbread bars is that they really don't need to be topped with anything. If you underbake them just slightly, they're so moist and flavorful that you'll be perfectly content without frosting.
Ingredients for paleo gingerbread bars
- ½ cup almond butter
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, solid
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
How to make gingerbread bars
Even though these are paleo, it's a pretty easy gingerbread recipe – so don't let that scare you off!
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together almond butter, coconut sugar, and coconut oil until smooth.
- Add eggs, molasses, and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed to combine.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to a bowl of wet ingredients and stir until completely combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only moist crumbs.
Boom! That's it, my friends.
How many calories in gingerbread bars?
If you slice these into 16 squares, it's about 169 calories per bar. See the nutritional information at the bottom of the recipe card below for more information.
Want more gingerbread flavor?
- Gingerbread Cake Roll with Eggnog Cream Cheese Filling
- Gingerbread Ice Cream
- The North Pole Cocktail from Half Baked Harvest
- Gingerbread Cake Roll with Eggnog Cream Cheese Filling
- Super Fluffy Gingerbread Donuts from Hunger Thirst Play
- Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Gingerbread Hot Cocoa from Kim’s Cravings
Serving Suggestions
- The spices in gingerbread go famously with a White Russian cocktail – add a little nutmeg on top of your drink to really bring it all together
- A big mug of homemade eggnog is always a winner
- Top your gingerbread bars with mascarpone whipped cream frosting
Leaving a comment and star rating is a great (and free) way to support Stress Baking. After you've enjoyed this recipe, click on the stars below and leave a comment to share your experience – thank you!
Paleo Gingerbread Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond butter
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, solid
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line an 8×8” square pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together almond butter, coconut sugar and coconut oil until smooth.1/2 cup (125 g) almond butter1/3 cup (53 ⅓ g) coconut sugar2 tablespoons coconut oil
- Add eggs, molasses, and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed to combine.2 eggs1/4 cup (84 ¼ g) molasses2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, clovers and salt.1 3/4 cup (196 g) almond flour1 tablespoon ground cinnamon1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon ginger1/4 teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) nutmeg1/4 teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) ground cloves1/2 teaspoon (½ teaspoon) salt
- Add dry ingredients to bowl of wet ingredients and stir until completely combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until center is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only moist crumbs.
- Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 9-16 squares and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.
I just made this and the batter was very dense and stiff. It didn’t rise much. Not sure why. The almond butter was a bit dry, so I added a little more coconut oil, but otherwise I followed the recipe. Any input?
I will also use less sugar or molasses next time, as it is extremely sweet to me.
Before baking I minced some preserved sugared ginger on top to add some sparkle before topping with applesauce. Thank you for this great paleo recipe!
And I thought I was the only one who stress baked! Can’t wait to try these this Fall!
Lol love the name of your site! And I thought I was the only one who “stress baked”! Can’t wait to try these this Fall. They sound so good I just might be tempted to make them now even though it’s the middle of summer!
You are definitely not the only one :) And I encourage you to make these now, even in the middle of summer! They’re delicious all year round, in my opinion.
I’m allergic to almonds. But not peanuts. (go figure!) Can I substitute peanut butter for the almond butter?
Gah! You certainly could, but just know that it will affect the flavor since peanut butter has a sweeter, more pronounced flavor than almond butter (which is generally more neutral).
This sounds delicious! Can you suggest a gluten free flour that would be a suitable substitute?? Thank you!
I’m a big fan of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour!
I loved the recipe but baked them about 5 minutes longer to get a good cake texture. Also thought that they could use more spice not sure which ones but reminded me of my mom’s back in the day. She always topped gingerbread cake with applesauce so that’s what I did too.
This was delicious – we went through them way too quickly. Will definitely make them again in the future.
That’s always the case for us, too! Thanks so much for coming back to share your experience.
I absolutely love these bars and have been making them over and over for breakfast and snacks. I can make them cake like or more dense in texture depending on my mood. I am not a great cook so this might be a weird question: do you have different flavors you can make this cake, if you were to swap out spices? For example, could you make a vanilla flavor or an apple cake or coffee cake flavor? I’d be into suggestions or recipes like that so I could change it up– now that we are moving into spring.
I’ve never to change any of the flavors with this cake since it was intended to be gingerbread flavored, so I haven’t messed around with that myself.
However, I do have a cranberry coffee cake and an apple cinnamon coffee cake recipe if you’re interested in either of those flavors:
https://stressbaking.com/paleo-cranberry-coffee-cake-2/
https://stressbaking.com/paleo-apple-cinnamon-coffee-cake-2/
@Leslie Kiszka, thank you! Going to make those coffee cakes right now lol..love ur recipes!
Thank you – I hope you enjoy them!
Can you use blackstrap molasses?
Yep, that’s what the recipe calls for!
I could not find my coconut sugar so I used a raw honey, 1/3 of the amount called for in the recipe. I had to bake it for 10 minutes longer than the recipe states too, maybe bc of the liquid honey. But I will make these again!
Glad you were able to make it work with a substitute!
Can this be made in a round 8 or 9 inch cake pan? I would love to decorate it like a cake.
I haven’t tried, but that should work just fine!
I used a 9 inch cake pan and it turned out great! I topped it with lemon curd and cream cheese frosting. It was so moist and flavorful. By far the best gingerbread cake I have ever had. Awesome recipe!!
That topping sounds amazing – I’m going to have to try that combo sometime! Thank you so much for coming back to leave such a kind comment (and a rating!) – it means so much to me. Happy Holidays!
These were really delicious and moist! I also added a bunch of grated orange and grated fresh ginger, which was a perfect touch. Thanks for helping satisfy a craving.
That sounds amazing – thank you for sharing!
Absolutely delicious. Such flavours that melt in the mouth good!
It is a bar not a cake…so perfect.
Even think of putting a coco cream & icing sugar frosting to it to make it more irresistible.
thanks for a so good, obviously tested recipe.
I’m so so glad you liked it! You could totally frost these with whatever you wanted!