Sourdough Gingerbread Iced Oatmeal Cookie Bars
These sourdough gingerbread oatmeal cookie bars are soft, chewy, and warmly spiced. Topped with maple cinnamon icing, they're a festive holiday cookie bar easy to make for a crowd!
Ingredients
Sourdough Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookie Bars
- ½ cup salted butter 1 stick, melted
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons molasses
- 1 egg room temperature
- ½ cup sourdough discard
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 & ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups quick oats
Maple Cinnamon Icing
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 - 2 teaspoons milk
Instructions
Sourdough Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookie Bars
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (177℃). Line a 9x13 glass baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Add vanilla extract, molasses, egg, and sourdough discard. Mix to combine and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Stir together baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a separate bowl. Add spice mixture to batter and mix. Add flour and scrape down the sides of the bowl to combine. Add the oats and mix well.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and use a spatula to spread evenly to the edges and corners.
- Bake at 350℉ (177℃) for 22-24 minutes until browned all over and the middle is mostly set when you gently shake the pan. See note about baking time and testing doneness.
Key tip: Don't over bake! The secret to soft, chewy cookie bars is to slightly underbake them.
Maple Cinnamon Icing
- Once cookie bars are completely cooled, mix up the icing by combining the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Add the maple syrup and mix. Add the milk one teaspoon at a time until you reach the desired thickness of the icing.
- Spoon the icing onto cooled cookie bars and spread evenly. Cut the cookie bars before the icing cools and hardens to avoid cracks, see note. After slicing, allow the icing to cool and harden before serving.
Notes
Molasses - Do not use blackstrap molasses for this recipe or your cookie bars may be bitter. Use light or dark molasses for baking. Grandma's Original Unsulphered Molasses is a good brand to use.
Oats - Using quick oats for this recipe makes the bars softer. You can use old fashioned oats as well, but pulse them in a blender or food processor first to break them up.
Baking - The cookie bars will get very brown all over from the molasses. It's not burnt, it just needs to be browned and the center not jiggle when you gently shake the pan.
To Slice - To cut cookie bars so the icing stays smooth and doesn't crack, slice them before the icing dries. Spoon on the icing and spread evenly. Use a large sharp knife to slice the cookie bars into squares, running the knife under warm water and drying with a clean dish towel between slices.
To Make Ahead - If wanting to serve these cookie bars the next day, don't add the icing right away or it will start to soak into the bars overnight. Make the cookie bars and allow to fully cool and cover the pan with plastic wrap. The next day add the icing and slice the bars, allowing the icing to harden before serving. This makes sure you're serving fresh, beautiful cookie bars!