Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Molasses Chocolate Chip Bars
These bars aren’t at all like traditional, soft and fluffy ginger or molasses cake, or gingerbread decorating cookies. They’re extremely dense, rich, moist, and fudge-like. Molasses fudge meets gingerbread brownie. They’re made in own bowl, without needing a mixer, and the batter is whisked together in minutes. The thick molasses, the softening and tenderizing effects of the brown sugar, coupled with chocolate, and they’re like eating a piece of molasses fudge with bold spices. I used 7 teaspoons of spices and they’re very boldly spiced. If you’re more sensitive to spices, you may wish to dial them back, possibly even halving them. The semi-sweet chocolate stands up beautifully to the boldness of the molasses and spices and is a wonderful pairing. I recommend allowing these bars to cool overnight, allowing the chocolate to really set and for the flavors to marry. They taste better in the few days after baking them.
What you need
Instructions
-1 Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside. -1 In a large, microwave-safe bowl melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power. -1 Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it. Add the egg, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, optional salt, and whisk until smooth. -1 Add the flour and stir until just combined, don’t overmix. -1 Stir in 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips. -1 Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. -1 Evenly sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips over the top, pressing them down very lightly with a spatula. -1 Bake for about 32 to 34 minutes, or until done. I prefer them very moist, soft, and fudge-like, and baked for 32 minutes (shown in photos). If you prefer more well-done, dryer bars, bake for a few minutes longer; noting baking times may vary widely with this recipe based on personal preferences. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter; however, it will be hard to find a clean patch to test because you’ll likely hit chocolate. 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 so the flavors marry and the chocolate fully sets, at which point they’re fudge-like. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.View original recipe