Gingerbread Brownie Bars

If you’ve been following my baking journey long enough you’ll know about my relationship with Gingerbread cookies. It’s  one of the things, along with macarons that just don’t bake well with me. I’m blaming it on the humidity and temperature of where I currently live.

Every year, I attempt to make them and I end up with my batch turns into one giant cookie. I freak out, delve into an episode of self doubt, and just bake something different. This year, I’m taking a smarter approach. I’m not even trying to make gingerbread cookies. Instead, I’m infusing the flavor in different forms. Like last post’s Gingerbread Latte, and today’s post, Gingerbread Brownie Bars. No chilling, no waiting, no rolling and cutting, no frustration, just make the batter, pop it in the oven, et voila! All the flavors of a gingerbread cookie in fraction of the time.

Soft, chewy, no rolling involved, and loaded with rich molasses and ginger flavor. One bowl,  no mixer needed and comes together in a matter of minutes.

These bars are anything but shy with the spices. There’s nothing worse than bland and the bars are robustly flavored without being overpowering. However, if you’re very sensitive to spices you may want to dial things back a bit. They’re dense to the point of being almost like molasses fudge, with an abundance of chocolate chips that melt, making them even closer to fudge.

Baking time for these might be a bit tricky, and the range I’m going to give is gonna be a bit large (26-35 minutes), and that’s because it’s gonna vary with ovens, humidity, and the fact that it’s impossible to insert a skewer to test it without bumping into a melted chocolate chip. This is why it’s also important to leave it to cool completely (a couple of  hours) so that the chocolate has time to set properly,  making it easier to cut.

These molasses fudge meets gingerbread brownie are one of those desserts that taste better overnight. The flavors just develop better.

2017 Christmas Bakes:

Day 1: Mocha Biscotti
Day 2: Homemade Spiced Chai 
Day 3: Hazelnut Praliné Paste
Day 4: Hazelnut Praline Financier
Day 5: Gingerbread Latte

One Year Ago: Chocolate Salami
Two Years Ago: No-Bake Tiramisu Bites
Three Years Ago: Chocolate Espresso Pot-de-crème

INGREDIENTS:

• 100 grams unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses (I used black treacle, but if you like lighter tastes, you can use light to medium)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• pinch salt
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips, divided

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line an baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside. Don’t use parchment paper because they will stick to the brownies.
2. In a large, microwave-safe bowl melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
3. Let the butter cool before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it. Add the egg, sugars, molasses, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, optional salt, and whisk until smooth.
4. Add the flour and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
5. Stir in 1 1/4 cups of the mixed chocolate chips.
6. Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
7. Evenly sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips over the top, pressing them down very lightly with a spatula.
8. Bake for about 26 to 35 minutes, or until done. I prefer them very moist, soft, and fudge-like, and baked for 28 minutes (shown in photos). If you prefer more well-done, dryer bars, bake for a few minutes longer.
9. Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 30 to 60 minutes before slicing and serving; I prefer to let these bars rest overnight.
10. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Bon Appetit 🙂