Paleo Gingerbread Bars

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, 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

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Paleo Gingerbread Bars

4.75 from 8 votes

Soft and moist cake-like bars with that classic gingerbread flavor and scent. Paleo, gluten free, dairy free, and delicious!

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Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 16 bars (or 9 large)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 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!

Notes

Note: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Nutrition

Calories: 169kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 116mg | Potassium: 147mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 31IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 1mg

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Leslie Kiszka

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