Homemade Gingerbread Loaf

Happy Holidays, readers!  Being that Christmas was a few days ago, I was very busy in the kitchen baking homemade goods for everyone in my family.  Altogether on Christmas Eve, I made three gingerbread loaves, a chocolate cake, and a coconut cake.  Not to mention that I put together two buffalo chicken dips for appetizers as well!  I enjoyed making the homemade gingerbread because it was a new recipe that I tried, and it is seasonally appropriate, which is why I am sharing it today.  This recipe makes an old fashioned gingerbread loaf that can be enjoyed for breakfast or as a dessert.

Ingredients:

2 tsp. ground ginger
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups flour 
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup molasses 
1 tsp. confectionary sugar (optional)

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and the melted butter, and then add in the eggs, vanilla, milk, syrup, and molasses.  Thoroughly combine these ingredients, and then add these into the dry ingredients.  Mix everything together, being careful not to mix it too much or the batter will be stiff.  Pour the batter into a non-stick loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes.  When it's done, you can sprinkle a bit of confectionary sugar on top of the loaf before serving. 

Enjoy!

This is a photo of the coconut cake that I baked - it came out great!