These Gingerbread Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting are rich with holiday flavor and are everything you could ask for in a healthy Christmas treat!

Gingerbread is one of the quintessential flavors of Christmas! For many years, I have tried to create a THM S gingerbread cookie that tasted just like the real thing. Unfortunately, creating that sort of cookie without regular flours and sugar has proven to be more difficult than I originally thought. However, I had a new idea last year when my family hosted a Christmas tea for a few ladies from our church. One of our friends brought a pan of delicious gingerbread bars. They were amazing and gave me the idea to create a healthy version of gingerbread but in a different form. So, while I am still working on the cookies, I decided to create a gingerbread bar similar to a classic gingerbread cake which I enjoy just as much as cookies. Topping this bar with a delightful cream cheese frosting, quite literally, just puts the icing on the cake!

12 Days of Healthy Holiday Recipes Posts

This is the day 9 recipe from my 12 Days of Healthy Holiday Recipes Series which I feature on my Instagram page and post a short video of me making each of the 12 recipes.

Trim Healthy Mama S

This is a Trim Healthy Mama S recipe which means it is low glycemic, full of healthy fats, and low in carbohydrates. However, you can read below for my crossover (xo) variation.

In this recipe I use the Trim Healthy Mama Brand Xylitol-Free Gentle Sweet Blend and Baking Blend. I use their products on a daily basis and would highly recommend them. You can find those ingredients here.

Making Gingerbread Bars with Cream Cheese a Crossover

These Gingerbread Bars make a wonderful afternoon or teatime treat for everyone. However, if you are serving these to growing children or those who are wanting to maintain their weight you may want to make these into a “crossover”. This simply means adding a mix of healthy carbs to the fats in this recipe. You can do this by substituting sprouted whole wheat flour for the Baking Blend in this recipe. You could also substitute coconut sugar or another whole food sweetener for some or all of the Gentle Sweet. Depending on the sweetener you choose you may need to adjust the amounts. Just make sure that the sweetener you use in the frosting is powdered so it won’t be grainy.

Baking with Low Carb Ingredients

The original version of this recipe is made with the THM Baking Blend and Gentle Sweet. These ingredients allow this recipe to be both low carb and sugar free, however they take a little bit of getting used to when you start baking with them. In my experience, if you allow your THM baked goods to chill or rest overnight before eating them the flavors are able to meld and the “cooling effect” from erythritol tends to mellow out. That said, I have enjoyed many THM baked goods minutes after being baked and they were just fine. However, for many who are using Baking Blend or Gentle for the first time this tip helps to adjust to them.

Yield: 24 bars

Gingerbread Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

These Gingerbread Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting are rich with holiday flavor and are everything you could ask for in a healthy Christmas treat!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups THM Baking Blend
2 teaspoons ginger powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon mineral salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
12 tablespoons softened butter
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup THM Gentle Sweet
1 egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup softened butter
8 ounces softened cream cheese (1/3% works well too)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups powdered erythritol or 1 cup THM Gentle Sweet
2-4 Tablespoons cream or almond milk

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the Baking Blend, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, oil, sweetener, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Spread the batter out evenly in the prepared baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.
In a mixing bowl, whip together the frosting ingredients until they are smooth and creamy. Spread the frosting over the cooled gingerbread bars and garnish with cinnamon if desired. For best results, allow the bars to chill for several hours or overnight before enjoying.