3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 Tablespoons unsulfured molasses
1/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 8 by 8 inch baking pan.
Sift together the flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, kosher salt, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon and allspice. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl with a paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer works fine) combine the 4 Tablespoons unsulfured molasses, 5 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter, 1/4 cup of sour cream, 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar and 1 large egg. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until almost combined. Be careful not to overmix. Add the 1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips and fold them into the batter.
Bake for 20 minutes, be sure not to overbake the bars. Cool the bars completely on a cooling rack. Once cooled completely, frost the bars with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting.
To make the cream cheese frosting - combine the cream cheese and unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment. (a handheld mixer works fine) Once the two ingredients are mixed together, add the vanilla extract and combine. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Once all of the powdered sugar is added, slowly increase the speed and then mix mix mix! Be careful not to overbeat the cream cheese frosting.
Feel free to get creative with the toppings! I used milk chocolate shavings and drizzled milk chocolate!
