Weekends are usually my time to bake treats for the family. Recently, an out-of-state friend shared one of her favorite recipes for spice bars with me. I never tasted these until baking a batch this morning, but had assumed I was making cookies. However, I was wrong. These delectable coffee spice bars have more of a snack cake like texture than flat, harder bar cookies that I expected when sampling them for the first time.
Unlike other recipes for spice bars that use a variety of spices to enhance flavor, this one uses cinnamon along with brown sugar, raisins, butter, and freshly brewed coffee. You can top these bars with a simple confectioner’s sugar frosting or serve plain.
This recipe produced more bars than I expected once I scored them. Instead of frosting them all, I only iced a small plate of what we planned to eat. The remaining bars were placed in storage containers in the freezer to partially freeze. Afterwards, these bars are easier to store.
Once partially frozen, I just individually wrap in wax paper before sticking in a zip-lock freezer bag for instantly grabbing for lunch bags or individual servings for handy access.
As soon as you feel that urge to bake something, I hope you decide to give my friend’s coffee bars recipe a try. The taste is very good whether you frost with a thin confectioner’s sugar and vanilla frosting or eating unfrosted. You can’t lose.
If you also appreciate the way the right combination of spices can liven up baking, then I have a few other recipes that offer a delicious change of pace. The first recipe is for my Chocolate Coconut Spice Bars that have a different exotic twist with how the flavor merges with chocolate chips, spices and coconut flakes that is sensational. Another fantastic one is my Applesauce Molasses Bars that I bake that uses applesauce and molasses that are rich and can satisfy spice bar lovers with this recipe’s full flavor once those spices bloom. I have plenty of others that you can find if you search on my website.
Coffee Spice Bars Recipe
½ cups of butter
2 cups of firmly packed brown sugar (light or dark)
2 large eggs
1 cup of freshly brewed hot coffee
3 cups of sifted flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder, leveled
1 teaspoon of baking soda, leveled
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 cup of raisins
your favorite confectioners’ sugar frosting (optional)
Leave the butter out at room temperature to soften. Otherwise, cut into small piece and try mashing with a fork before preparing to take out your electric mixer to cream it with your brown sugar until well blended.
Add the eggs next to your ingredients in the mixing bowl and beat thoroughly.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon next.
Alternate the dry sifted ingredients with hot coffee to beat into the creamed mixture until you incorporate those ingredients.
Spread in a well-greased 15-1/2″ x 10-1/2″ x 1″ inch pan.
Bake at a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes. Test with a toothpick, cake tester or slender knife to see if anything sticks for determining if your coffee spice bars are finished baking.
Wait about five minutes, but score them in the pan while still warm.
Cool and then frost with your favorite confectioners’ sugar frosting recipe or just plain.
ENJOY!

These delectable coffee spice bars have more of a snack cake like texture than flat, harder bar cookies that I expected when sampling them for the first time.
- ½ cups butter
- 2 cups firmly packed brown sugar (light or dark)
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups sifted flour
- 1 cup hot brewed coffee
- 1 teaspoon baking powder, leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda, leveled
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup raisins
-
Leave the butter out at room temperature to soften. Otherwise, cut into small piece and try mashing with a fork before preparing to take out your electric mixer to cream it with your brown sugar until well blended.
2. Add the eggs next to your ingredients in the mixing bowl and beat thoroughly.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon next.
4. Alternate the dry sifted ingredients with the hot coffee to beat into the creamed mixture until you incorporate those ingredients.
5. Spread in a well-greased 15-1/2" x 10-1/2" x 1" inch pan.
6. Bake at a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes. Test with a toothpick, cake tester or slender knife to see if anything sticks for determining if your coffee spice bars are finished baking.
7. Wait about five minutes, but score them in the pan while still warm.
8.Cool and then frost with your favorite confectioners’ sugar frosting recipe or just plain.
ENJOY!
These sound really good. I think they would be good for brunch or a snack!
This is a nice twist on spice bars. I bet you could use flavored coffees too and add some variation. Thee would be nice frosted or unfrosted.
Author
Good thinking! It would change up the flavor.
These look so yummy!
These sound absolutely wonderful! I like desserts with a little twist to them–spices, coffee flavor, etc. Something a bit different!
Author
If you like a rich, big and easy spice cake with raisins, I make a delicious Spanish Bar cake. https://www.beautycookskisses.com/2017/01/recipe-my-spanish-bar-cake-is-wonderful.html Also, type in spice in the search and you see so many more of my other spice cakes.
i just love these so much
love this stuff
This sounds delicious. And I also love your Blue Onion plate. I have the same dinnerware.
Author
How great! Food always tastes better to me on blue plates.
These look absolutely delicious. I will have to try the recipe 🙂
I have had spice cake before but never bars with coffee spices. These bars look so good and I think I will be trying to make them
I lovve Spice Cake but without the coffee.
Yum! I’d probably making them thinner and double the frosting!