by Amanda Coers

Created on: March 03, 2010

We simply can’t wait for the Christmas season in our home. It’s a family tradition to bake a pan of gingerbread and listen to Christmas music while we decorate for the season. This bread fills the house with the most wonderful smell!  As soon as we finish stringing the lights, we like to snuggle on the couch with mugs of warm cider and a slice of this wonderful gingerbread. This cake-like bread is very soft and full of flavor.

This particular recipe is different from the standard gingerbread used for building houses or making cookies. This gingerbread is the ultimate seasonal comfort food.

I first found a version of this recipe online and made some changes for our family’s taste preferences. We love to bake this for friends on cold days. It definitely gets us in the mood for Christmas and warms up the house on the coldest days.

Homemade Gingerbread

Ingredients:

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup margarine, softened

1 egg

1 cup dark molasses

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup hot water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray or grease and flour your pan.

In a large bowl, cream together sugar and margarine until fluffy. Beat in one egg and mix in the molasses. Set aside.

In another large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir into the creamed margarine, sugar, egg, and molasses mixture until well blended. Next, slowly stir in the hot water. Blend until well mixed.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for one hour. To check if the bread is fully cooked, insert a knife into the center – it should come out clean.

This bread is best served warm, with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of peppermint ice cream, a dash of cinnamon and a hot cup of cider or cocoa.

Variations:

Healthier:

For a lower-fat version, use ¼ cup margarine and ¼ cup applesauce. You could also substitute Splenda for half the sugar required.

Cupcakes:

Instead of using a 9 x 13 inch pan, prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners.  Prepare the recipe as directed and pour batter into the cupcake liners. Top with raisins and bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

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