Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (2024)

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These recipes are for how to make Gingerbread Desserts Two Ways. One is Gingerbread Meringues with crisp outsides and soft chewy centers, and the other is spiced Gingerbread Cookie Bars with a sweet cream cheese icing!

If you love gingerbread desserts as much as I do, you’ve got to try this recipe for Gingerbread Cake and my Classic Gingerbread Recipe.

Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (1)

Table of Contents

  • These recipes are for how to make Gingerbread Desserts Two Ways. One is Gingerbread Meringues with crisp outsides and soft chewy centers, and the other is spiced Gingerbread Cookie Bars with a sweet cream cheese icing!
  • You’re Going To Love These Two Gingerbread Desserts
  • These Gingerbread Desserts Are Perfect For Christmas
  • What Is The Best Type Of Gingerbread Spice To Use For These Dessert Recipes?
  • How To Make Gingerbread Meringues
  • How To Make Gingerbread Cookie Bars
  • Get the Recipe
  • Get the Recipe

You’re Going To Love These Two Gingerbread Desserts

What’s better than one classic gingerbread dessert? Two amazing gingerbread desserts: Gingerbread Meringues and Gingerbread Cookie Bars!

This Christmas season,I’ve teamed up with McCormick to bring you these easy, fun gingerbread dessert recipes to show that two recipes are ‘Twice as Nice’ with double the flavor!

The Gingerbread Meringues are light and crisp cookies with a slightly chewy center and loaded with gingerbread flavor.

The Gingerbread Cookie Bars are perfectly moist and chewy with a generous, festive cream cheese frosting on top.

Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (2)Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (3)

These Gingerbread Desserts Are Perfect For Christmas

Everyone always has a favorite gingerbread cookie recipe — mine are Gingerdoodles, but it’s also nice to add something new to the dessert table each yearand these two recipes aregiving Gingerdoodles a run for their money.

These “twice as nice” gingerbread recipes pair perfectly to share a plate together and let their Gingerbread flavor shine.

Gingerbread is one of those quintessential flavors and aromas thatbring the holidays to life during the Christmas season.

It is a flavor that my family makes over and over again during the month of December and we miss desperately the rest of the year!

Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (4)Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (5)

What Is The Best Type Of Gingerbread Spice To Use For These Dessert Recipes?

In both theGingerbread Meringues and Gingerbread Cookie Bars, I used McCormicks Gingerbread Spice and
McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract to flavor them.

McCormick Gingerbread Spice is a non-GMO, aromatic blend of ginger, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.

It’s so much easier and cost-effective to only have to buy one little jar that is already perfectly mixed and ready to go!

Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (6)

How To Make Gingerbread Meringues

These Gingerbread Meringues are very easy to make and only use a handful of ingredients.

Whip your egg whites into stiff peaks, add your spices and then pipe them into kisses with a large closed star tip.

Sprinkle on some festive red and green sprinkles and into the oven they go!

We bake them for about 35 minutes at 275°F, just until the outsides are nice and crisp and the insides are still a little chewy.

Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (7)

How To Make Gingerbread Cookie Bars

The Gingerbread Cookie Bars require a little more work, but boy are they worth it!

The base for the cookie bars is loaded with brown sugar, molasses and McCormick Gingerbread Spice.

The bars are moist and chewy and have the perfect texture when combined with the fluffy cream cheese frosting on top.

You can dye the frosting any color with McCormick Assorted Food Colors or leave it white and just add festive Christmas sprinkles.

Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (8)Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (9)

It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite between these Gingerbread Meringues and Gingerbread Cookie Bars.

However, I am excited for you to try both and report back which one you think is the better gingerbread flavored treat!

Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (10)

4.6 from 7 votes

Print Pin Recipe

Yield: 42 meringue cookies

Gingerbread Meringues

Gingerbread Meringue Cookies with crisp outsides and soft chewy centers!

Prep Time10 minutes minutes

Cook Time35 minutes minutes

Total Time45 minutes minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 275°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside. Stir together the gingerbread spice and sugar, set aside.

  • Beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla and continue beating. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar mixture while continuing to whip into stiff peaks.

  • Spoon the mixture into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch closed star tip and pipe out “kisses,” leaving 1-inch spaces. Sprinkle with red/green sugar if desired.

  • Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn off oven and leave for 10 minutes, or until they peel off of the sheet without resistance.

  • Cool on wire racks, then store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 21kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Sodium: 9mg, Sugar: 5g

© Jessica- The Novice Chef

Cuisine: American

Category: Cookies

Categories:

  • Bars
  • Christmas
  • Cookies
  • Desserts
  • Diet
  • Gluten Free
  • Holidays
  • Recipes

Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (11)

4.6 from 7 votes

Print Pin Recipe

Yield: 15 large cookie bars

Gingerbread Cookie Bars

Chewy, spiced Gingerbread Cookie Bars with a sweet cream cheese icing!

Prep Time20 minutes minutes

Cook Time35 minutes minutes

Total Time55 minutes minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 ½ teaspoons gingerbread spice
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 ¾ cups brown sugar
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream cheese frosting:

  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • red or green food colors, optional
  • 5 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • Christmas sprinkles, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. Set aside.

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, gingerbread spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

  • In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar and molasses together until creamy. Mix in eggs and vanilla extract, until well combined.

  • Add flour mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Transfer dough into prepared baking pan and press into an even layer.

  • Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • In a large bowl cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in milk, vanilla extractand food coloringon low speed until combined.

  • Then whiskin powdered sugar - beating on high until frosting is smooth. Spreadfrosting on top of bars and cut into slices. Sprinkle with Christmas sprinkles, if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar, Calories: 459kcal, Carbohydrates: 80g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 63mg, Sodium: 267mg, Sugar: 65g

© Jessica- The Novice Chef

Cuisine: American

Category: Bars

Categories:

  • Bars
  • Christmas
  • Cookies
  • Desserts
  • Diet
  • Gluten Free
  • Holidays
  • Recipes

This post is sponsored by McCormick. All opinions are, as always, 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that I love!

    Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

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    Two Recipes For Making Gingerbread Desserts That Are So Easy & Festive (2024)

    FAQs

    What were some of the early ingredients in gingerbread? ›

    An early European gingerbread recipe involved making a paste of stale breadcrumbs, ground almonds, rosewater, sugar, and ginger. English recipes of the 16th century replaced the stale breadcrumbs with flour and added honey for a sweeter taste and lighter feel.

    What is the best gingerbread in the world? ›

    Victorian cook Sarah Nelson invented Grasmere Gingerbread® in 1854 in the English Lake District village from where it gets its name. A unique, spicy-sweet cross between a biscuit and cake, its reputation quickly spread and it is now enjoyed by food lovers all over the world.

    What pairs well with gingerbread? ›

    Needing to be foiled, gingerbread loves whipped cream. But it also takes to tart winter fruits like a shortcake to strawberries. Poached or broiled pineapple sings alongside gingerbread, as do a few spoonfuls of pomelo curd, garnished with candied pomelo peel.

    What is the dark history of gingerbread? ›

    ​Superstitions about gingerbread flourished in the 17th century. Witches supposedly made gingerbread figures, ate them, and thereby caused the death of their enemies. Dutch magistrates went so far as to declare baking or eating molded cookies illegal.

    Is gingerbread festive? ›

    A Very Merry Gingerbread. Given gingerbread's connection to festive occasions like fairs it is perhaps not surprising that it should eventually become associated with Christmas.

    Which country eats the most gingerbread? ›

    In 2018, the highest levels of gingerbread per capita consumption was registered in the Netherlands (2,361 kg per 1000 persons), followed by Germany (886 kg per 1000 persons), Belgium (799 kg per 1000 persons) and Spain (748 kg per 1000 persons), while the world average per capita consumption of gingerbread was ...

    What is the famous German gingerbread? ›

    In Germany, when you think of Christmas, you think of Nuremberg Lebkuchen, the city's famous gingerbread. These sweet and spicy treats have been baked for more than 600 years and are loved by young and old alike.

    What fruit goes with ginger? ›

    Ginger pairs with nearly any type of fruit, especially in jams, pies, and fruit salads. Apples, oranges, figs, melon, pineapple, grapes, blueberries, bananas, apricots, and peaches work very well with this spice. Don't forget about pumpkin or sweet potato pies either.

    What holds gingerbread together? ›

    Fit Everything Together with Melted Sugar or Royal Icing

    The second way is to use burnt sugar as your glue. Just melt C&H® Pure Granulated Cane Sugar in a pan on the stove, dip the gingerbread parts in and hold them together for a few seconds. Then, presto! You've created a solid house.

    What flavor ice cream goes with ginger snaps? ›

    The gingersnaps compliment the lemon flavor so well, and all in all it's a super refreshing treat. I love ice cream no matter what the weather is, and something about this lemon gingersnap ice cream is just perfect for spring!

    Can you use golden syrup instead of molasses? ›

    Golden syrup, also known as "light treacle," is made from the evaporation of sugarcane, which creates a light, golden syrup very reminiscent of honey. Lyle's is a popular brand of golden syrup. Try using 1 cup golden syrup for every 1 cup molasses in a recipe.

    Can dogs eat gingerbread? ›

    The answer is no. While you may not immediately see negative affects in your pet's health, gingerbread is high in oil and fats that can slow your pet down. Also, Rover reports that gingerbread can cause pancreatitis in dogs, which sounds like a big ol' NO from us.

    How was the first gingerbread house made? ›

    According to certain researchers, the first gingerbread houses were the result of the well-known Grimm's fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel” in which the two children abandoned in the forest found an edible house made of bread with sugar decorations.

    How were gingerbread cookies made back in the day? ›

    In the 16th century, the English replaced the breadcrumbs with flour, and added eggs and sweeteners, resulting in a lighter product. The first gingerbread man is credited to Queen Elizabeth I, who knocked the socks off visiting dignitaries by presenting them with one baked in their own likeness.

    What is Victorian gingerbread? ›

    gingerbread, in architecture and design, elaborately detailed embellishment, either lavish or superfluous. Although the term is occasionally applied to highly detailed and decorative styles, it is more often applied specifically to the work of American designers of the late 1860s and '70s.

    What is the original version of the gingerbread man? ›

    "The Gingerbread Man" (sometimes, "The Gingerbread Boy") is an American fairy tale. It is a variant of the European runaway pancake story. The American version first appeared in the May 1875 issue of St. Nicholas Magazine.

    References

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