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.
But anyway – then 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. 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 crumb – it’s everything I never knew I needed in a gingerbread bar.
Now that I knew that, I had to come up with a paleo version so I could continue to enjoy it post-PCOS diagnosis. I will admit that 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.
I’ll be honest – I haven’t come up with a frosting that I like yet, since everything I’ve tried has to be refrigerated or is just too runny for my taste. 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.
However, I did come up with another use for these already – add in chunks of these gingerbread bars to my gingerbread ice cream.
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 leave a comment below with a rating – and if you came from Pinterest, add a photo of what you make to the pin to share your experience!
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Paleo Gingerbread Bars
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 9-16 bars 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
Soft and moist cake-like bars with that classic gingerbread flavor and scent. Paleo, gluten free, dairy free, and delicious!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond butter (aff link)
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (aff link)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, solid
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup almond flour (aff link)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 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 (aff link) to cool completely. Cut into 9-16 squares and enjoy!
Notes
Note: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: gingerbread bars
Joanna says
Can this be made in a round 8 or 9 inch cake pan? I would love to decorate it like a cake.
Leslie Kiszka says
I haven’t tried, but that should work just fine!
Joanna says
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 says
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 says
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 says
That sounds amazing – thank you for sharing!
Suzanne Coulombe says
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 says
I’m so so glad you liked it! You could totally frost these with whatever you wanted!
barb says
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. says
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. says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
These bars have everything that I love! The almond butter and almond flour would make this so delicious!
Stacey says
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 says
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 says
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 says
I totally love gingerbread this way, especially with sliced bananas and fresh whipped cream! Looks delicious!
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says
i have a jar of molasses i need to use…this is a good recipe to give it a try! looks so yum.
Julia says
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 says
YES! This is how I like gingerbread! (Although pretending to mutilate little cookie men is fun, too!)
westviamidwest says
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 says
That sounds delicious!
Gloria Duggan says
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 says
I am a big fan of spiced cakes and gingerbread is one of my favourites. This looks deliciously moist.