I came across this recipe quite some time ago and decided to give it a try to use up a little bit of molasses left over from the holidays. I will post the ORIGNAL recipe first, and then I will post MY VERSION that I ended up making.

Original Recipe:

Beat until Creamy:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4th cup molasses

Stir in:

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/8 tsp. cloves

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups of flour

Bake at 325 degrees for 20-22 minutes, in a greased 9×13 pan.

Frost when cool with frosting:

4 oz. cream cheese

1/4 cup softened butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Now I came across several versions of this recipe and most were similar, but some had more baking soda, some had more or different spices, some said it could be made in a 9×13 pan, some recipes said for a thicker bar it could be made using an 8×8 pan.

So…I basically doubled the recipe and made it in a 9×13 inch pan. I baked at 350 degrees and added more spice.

My Recipe Version:

Beat until Creamy:

1 cup butter softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup molasses

Stir In:

3 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

3 tsp. baking soda

4 cups flour

Bake in a greased 9×13 pan for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Frosting:

1 8oz block cream cheese

1 stick of softened butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

This cookie bar tastes a lot like a blondie with spice. I prefer my recipe for molasses cake bars as this cookie seemed to be lacking a bit. I think when making it again I would punch up the spice level more with the ginger, cinnamon and cloves. I think it is because there isn’t much molasses in this recipe that is what I find lacking in the flavor department. I want a bit more depth, but it is a solid cookie. And let’s face it, anything with cream cheese frosting can’t be all that bad. The cookie’s flavor does improve the next day as the spices have melded more together.

Overall I give it a B, B+ (with the frosting).