Gluten Free Gingerbread Bars

These gluten free gingerbread bars are easy to make, and perfectly flavored with ginger, cinnamon, and molasses. Perfect for a chilly wintertime snack! 

My kids love these bars topped with whipped cream, as you can see in the photos. We also love them dusted iwth powdered sugar, or frosted with cream cheese frosting

When I was a kid, whenever we make gingerbread – be it cookies, or cake, bread, or bars – we used sorghum molasses, because we grew it as a cash crop, so it’s what we had.

And I never understood why my gingerbread was disappointingly light in color, when pictures showed a nice, rich, dark gingerbread.

Turns out the rest of the world was using blackstrap molasses.

I know that now, and it’s kind of funny to think about.

I definitely do prefer sorghum for shoofly pie, but for other recipes, I stick to blackstrap now.

But that said, sorghum totally works. It just looks different, and tastes a little lighter.

As a gluten-free recipe, this recipe is slightly different than traditional gingerbread. But honestly not that different. Just a few ingredient adjustments, and of course, gluten free flour instead of all purpose, made with wheat.

What kind of flour to use for gluten-free gingerbread Bars

If you’ve been making my recipes for a while, you probably know how much I love to mix my own flours. You can make your own inexpensive gluten free flour mix with this recipe.

But two of my favorites are quinoa flour, and ivory teff flour from Judee’s Ingredients. Other great flours to mix in are super fine brown rice flour and sweet white sorghum flour.

For starches, I tend to prefer cornstarch or arrowroot powder.

Mixing my own gluten-free flour blend, I like to use 2/3 flour, and 1/3 starch.

So for instance, 1/3 cup super fine rice flour, 1/3 cup quinoa flour, and 1/3 cup arrowroot starch.

If you want to make it easy with a premade flour mix, I recommend king Arthur gluten-free baking mix. I’ve also made it with Pillsbury’s gluten-free flour, and Great value, which is a good budget-friendly option.

Other ingredients for gluten free gingerbread Bars

This list is going to look long, but don’t let that intimidate you! You probably have the ingredients in your pantry. And most of them are spices. 😉

• Butter
• Brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Blackstrap molasses
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• Baking soda
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Ginger
• Cloves
• Nutmeg
• Salt
• Milk

I also add whipped cream for topping, and if it’s Christmas time, some sprinkles.

Swaps and Substitutions

While the ingredients for this gluten free gingerbread cake are common, and you probably have them, the reality is, you run out of things some times. That’s okay!

There is some risk in changing a baking recipe, but I can give you a few helpful tips for making a swap or substitute a success.

• Swap Sugars. You can use all white, or all brown if necessary. It will change the flavor slightly, but not a big deal.
• Use pumpkin pie spice. Add up the amount of spices in this recipe, and use the equivalent quantity of pumpkin pie spice instead.
• Use a butter substitute, or coconut oil in place of butter if needed.
• Chopped nuts. You can add 1/2-3/4 cup of chopped nuts to the batter if desired, as well as on top of the whipped cream (if you use it).
• As mentioned above, you can also use a different type of molasses if desired.

How to make these gingerbread bars dairy-free

Since this recipe uses both butter and milk, it’s not well-suited for those with dairy allergies.

As mentioned above, you can use a butter substitute such as I can’t Believe it’s Not butter, Smart Balance, or Country Crock.

For the milk, Cashew milk works really well, or you can use almond milk.

For whipped topping, you can pick up a non-dairy version (think Cool Whip) at your local grocery store.

How to make Gluten-Free Gingerbread Bars

To make these, all you need is a small mixing bowl, a large mixing bowl, an stand mixer or electric mixer, and a 9×9 inch baking pan.

First, mix your dry ingredients together in a small bowl, and set aside.

Then, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Beat in egg and molasses next

Then add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix in well

Beat in half the milk

Then another third of the flour

The remaining milk

Then the remaining flour

And finally, spread it all into a greased or parchment paper lined baking pan

Bake in your oven at 350º for 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in the pan fro 10 minutes, then loosen the cake from the sides with a butter knife or icing spatula, and remove to cool on a wire rack.

Top with whipped cream or sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired, and serve.

How to store gluten-free gingerbread bars

It’s best not to top your gingerbread bars with whipped cream until you’re ready to serve them since the bars are best kept at room temperature, and whipped cream needs to be refrigerated.

So, for storing, cover with plastic wrap, or place in an airtight container and store at room temperature for 1-2 days.

If you need to store them for longer, you can refrigerate them, but that can make them a little more dense and gummy, so I don’t recommend it.

Other recipes to try:

• Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
• Gluten-Free gingerbread men
• Gluten-Free Molasses Cookies
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bars

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