White Chocolate Gingerbread Bars
Thank you to everyone who posted such nice comments about the wedding. It was just an absolute dream; every single minute of it. My mother did a fabulous job making everything look beautiful and our parents did all that they could to make it a great day for us. All of our friends and family were so generous and we're very excited to go on our honeymoon to Rome in a week! I'll post pictures as soon as I get them back from the photographer, which should be by the end of the week.
I made these bars before Christmas, but I didn't get a chance to post them. They were delicious and they were almost gone by the end of the night when there were just 4 of us eating them. There are a bunch of different, warm spices in the batter and the white chocolate is light and creamy and compliments in the gingerbread flavor perfectly. The texture is great, too; moist and chewy. I halved the recipe in and used an 8x8 pan, but I probably should have made a 9x13 pan because they were so good! Recipe on my blog at The Crepes of Wrath or after the cut.
Your ingredients.
Combine the flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, baking soda, and salt. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the flour, then set both aside.
Beat together the butter, 6 tablespoons of white sugar, and the brown sugar (I forgot to add the brown sugar when I took the picture, hah).
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and molasses. It will look strange and curdled - don't worry!
Beat in the flour gradually, then add in the white chocolate chips by hand.
Press the dough into a 9x13 pan, lined with foil and sprayed with Pam. Sprinkle with the combined reserved 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of sugar (I used 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar). Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, until set and golden. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover the pan with tinfoil and return to the oven.
When the bars have been removed from the oven and cooled for a bit, drizzle the melted white chocolate over the bars by placing it in a plastic bag and cutting off a small tip. My chocolate was pretty hot, so I had oven mitts on while I did this. You can also use a spoon to drizzle it.
Allow to cool completely, cut into bars, and serve!
White Chocolate Gingerbread Bars
adapted from Dunk Twice
2 cups all-purpose flour (reserve 2 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar (reserve 2 tablespoons)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup white chocolate chips (optional, but highly recommended)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted (for drizzling)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil, then spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Add the flour in a medium bowl. Reserve 2 TABLESPOONS OF FLOUR and place in separate bowl to reserve for then topping. In the non-reserved flour, add in the ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, baking soda, and salt, then set aside.
3. In large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and 6 TABLESPOONS of granulated sugar. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating just to combine after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and molasses (if it looks strange, it's okay, don't worry!). Add in the flour and spices mixture and gradually combine. Stir in white chocolate chips by hand, if you're using them.
4. Press the batter into your prepared pan. I used clean hands because the batter is pretty thick. Sprinkle the top with reserved flour, then sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar over that (I used 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of turbinado sugar).
5. Place into oven and bake until bars are golden brown and a toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs attached, about 20-25 minutes. Remove and place pan on wire wrack to cool completely before cutting. When the bars are mostly cooled, melt the 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips and drizzle over the bars either with a spoon or a plastic bag with the tip cut off. When the bars have cooled completely, cut into bars and enjoy!
from The Crepes of Wrath