Our favorite Gingerbread recipes (Plus a new one!)

Holiday baking is something that brings me a lot of joy. I love being cozy in the kitchen with twinkle lights and Vince Guaraldi Trio on while I bake up something for the holidays. I particularly love baking anything gingerbread flavored. A few years ago I made grain-free gingersnap cookies that are crunchy and delicious.

I’ve made a Gingerbread Bundt Cake in the past that was lovely.

I made tasty Gingerbread Friends with our Magic Cookie Dough.

I’ve also made Gingerbread Loaf and Gingerbread Muffins.

This year I wanted to make classic gingerbread. I made a gluten-free gingerbread to take to Christmas dinner two years ago, and it was delicious. I just found the recipe online somewhere, and subbed out the flour for gluten-free flour. It was a hit – everyone loved it! This year I wanted to make a completely grain-free gingerbread. Gingerbread isn’t actually bread, but it’s cake that you bake in a square tin and cut into individual square portions. You can eat it on it’s own, or served with whipped cream, powdered sugar, or a scoop of ice cream. Mmmmm.

I looked through about a dozen “old fashioned gingerbread” recipes online, and most of them included hot water in the recipe. This was something I incorporated into my recipe, but I’m not sure I needed to. Apparently the hot water loosens the gluten strands in flour to yield a lighter cake. That’s not necessary when baking with almond flour and arrowroot starch, but I do think the added water was beneficial to the texture of this cake.

I did end up having to add more of my flour mixture because of the water in this recipe, but I think this recipe is just a starting point for me, anyway. Now that I have a grain-free gingerbread recipe that I’m really happy with, I can play with it a bit to see how I can improve it. It was pretty amazing as is, but maybe next year I will have something else to share!

This recipe has really great texture, and flavor. It’s light, yet has a little spring to it because of the molasses. I used our Gingersnap spice blend for the spice mixture, and it was perfect. I created that blend because I love baking gingerbread recipes in the winter, and it might be my favorite of our “sweet” blends. I also used our organic maple sugar and vanilla in this recipe.

I let the cake bake for about 40 minutes at 350. It still seemed pretty moist when it came out of the oven, so I covered the tin with foil, and let it cool on it’s own overnight. I made this recipe around 9:30 at night. I cut into it in the morning, and the texture was perfect! After its initial rest on the counter overnight, I transferred it to the fridge, and that’s where it’s staying.

Do you love gingerbread as much as I do? Give this recipe a try. It’s easy, and delicious, and will make a great dessert option for your Christmas dinner!

xo,

Hayley

Grain-Free Gingerbread

This gingerbread isn't bread, it's more of a cake. Its a grain-free spin on classic gingerbread that uses molasses and our Gingersnap spice blend for the classic flavors and textures of gingerbread. It is delicious on it's own, but wonderful with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.

Serves: 12

Ingredients

1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup Water, boiling
1 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup Molasses
1 whole 1 whole 1 whole Pastured Eggs
1.5 cups 1.5 cups 1.5 cups Blanched Almond Flour
1 cup 1 cup 1 cup Arrowroot Flour
1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt
1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp Primal Palate Gingersnap Spice
1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup Maple Sugar
1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup Organic Heavy Whipping Cream, (optional topping)

Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

Preheat your oven to bake at 350 degrees.
Grease a 9x9 baking tin with butter, and line with parchment paper for easy removal.
In a small mixing bowl, place one stick (1/2 cup) of butter softened to room temperature.
Pour the boiling water over the butter, and allow the butter to melt.
In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, salt, Gingersnap Spice blend, and maple sugar.
Whisk the butter and water together. Pour in the vanilla and molasses, and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed.
Add the egg, and beat again until combined evenly.
Add the dry mix to the wet, and beat again with the hand mixer until you have a smooth batter.
Pour the batter into your prepared baking tin, and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
Remove the gingerbread from the oven, and cover with foil until it cools completely. I allowed mine to cool overnight.
Slice and enjoy, or refrigerate until eating. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if desired.