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.
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 (aff link) 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.
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 (aff link), coconut sugar (aff link) 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 (aff link), cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, clovers and 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.
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 Linzer Cookies with Cranberry Filling
- 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
After you’ve made this recipe, please consider coming back to share your experience with others by leaving a comment below with a star rating!
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 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
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.
- Add eggs, molasses, and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed to combine.
- In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, clovers and 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!
Janine
I’m allergic to almonds. But not peanuts. (go figure!) Can I substitute peanut butter for the almond butter?
Leslie Kiszka
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).
Wendy
This sounds delicious! Can you suggest a gluten free flour that would be a suitable substitute?? Thank you!
Leslie Kiszka
I’m a big fan of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour!
Joanne Pinette
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.
Sneha
This was delicious – we went through them way too quickly. Will definitely make them again in the future.
Leslie Kiszka
That’s always the case for us, too! Thanks so much for coming back to share your experience.
CB
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.
Leslie Kiszka
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/
CB
@Leslie Kiszka, thank you! Going to make those coffee cakes right now lol..love ur recipes!
Leslie Kiszka
Thank you – I hope you enjoy them!
Deb
Can you use blackstrap molasses?
Leslie Kiszka
Yep, that’s what the recipe calls for!
Sabra
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!
Leslie Kiszka
Glad you were able to make it work with a substitute!
Joanna
Can this be made in a round 8 or 9 inch cake pan? I would love to decorate it like a cake.
Leslie Kiszka
I haven’t tried, but that should work just fine!
Joanna
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!!
Leslie Kiszka
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!
Jana
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.
Leslie Kiszka
That sounds amazing – thank you for sharing!
Suzanne Coulombe
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.
Leslie Haasch
I’m so so glad you liked it! You could totally frost these with whatever you wanted!
barb
Mine came out very dense, not fluffy like the picture above. IT’s very moist looking too…I just put it back in the oven hoping they would fluff up a bit. Maybe I didn’t blend the eggs well enough? Did anyone else have this issue?
D. D.
Yes, I had this same issue. I wanted it to be more cake-like than bar like. The finished mixture was more like a paste than a batter, so I added a cup of water, an extra teaspoon of baking powder, a teaspoon of baking soda, and a sprinkle more salt. That fixed the batter texture and eventual outcome. It was completely cake-like.
D. D.
I’m so sorry! I wish I could figure out how to edit my earlier reply! I added 1/2 cup of water, not a full cup.
Leslie Kiszka
That’s odd, as I’ve never had this experience myself – so unfortunately I’m not sure why you would have had the results that you did. The only thoughts I have is that maybe the eggs weren’t fully incorporated, and.or the almond butter was on the “stale” side and thicker than usual?
Craig
Gave these a spin last night. Put in 1/3 cup of molasses and cooked em a bit longer than the 20 minutes. They turned out awesome. Got the thumbs up from the wife! Really good with a cup of coffee, not to sweet just right.
Thanks for sharing.
Leslie Haasch
I can’t tell you how much I love to hear feedback like this – thank you so much for sharing, and I’m so glad you (AND your wife) like them!
Julie
I’m like you used to be – I only associate gingerbread with rolled cookies! I keep seeing gingerbread loafs, but I can’t picture them in my head… gingerbread is supposed to be thin and chewy and cookie form! These sure look beautiful, though!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
These bars have everything that I love! The almond butter and almond flour would make this so delicious!
Stacey
Oh my yum! These look amazing and so moist. I’ve had way too many dry gingerbreads and I love this recipe! Thank you.
karyld2016
Wow, these gingerbread bars look so nice and moist! I’m loving your topping ideas, and not sure that I could pick just one
Carol Borchardt
I’m not big into the spiced things this time of year, but love that these are so healthy! I’ve got a Paleo personal chef client that I think would love these!
Amy
I totally love gingerbread this way, especially with sliced bananas and fresh whipped cream! Looks delicious!
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health
i have a jar of molasses i need to use…this is a good recipe to give it a try! looks so yum.
Julia
These look so moist and delicious! I love anything made with almond flour! I’m definitely going to make these in the weeks to come.
gingeredwhisk
YES! This is how I like gingerbread! (Although pretending to mutilate little cookie men is fun, too!)
westviamidwest
I love gingerbread, but hate that its always so HARD. This bar fixes that and dang, I think Im going to have a problem. When Im already making sure I have enough of the ingredients to make them and know I’ll have to double the recipe to account for my nibbling…. … oh well. Its a nice problem to have to “have to eat gingerbread!”
Leslie Haasch
That sounds delicious!
Gloria Duggan
HAHAH…I LOVE gingerbread (but the hard gingerbread cookies). I would eat this all year long. This time of year gingerbread lattes work for me.
Corina
I am a big fan of spiced cakes and gingerbread is one of my favourites. This looks deliciously moist.