Gingerbread Mini Loaves

Spicy, sweet, soft and quintessentially Christmas.  These mini loaves would make great gifts for teachers, neighbors, or friends.  I love how mini loaves are a perfect little package of tasty goodness, wrapped up as an extra bit of holiday cheer.  And it doesn't get much more cheerful than gingerbread, with it's soft, cakey goodness and lots of spicy flavor.  Gingerbread loaves and cakes don't always get a chance to shine during these days of decadent houses or crisp, men shaped cut-out cookies, frosted and adorned.  But I loved this delicious bread with all it's spice and molasses, plus the fun additional of maple syrup for a little twist.  Plus, I made 6 of these little loaves without breaking out my stand mixer--just two bowls, a whisk and a spatula. Holiday flavor was never so easy.

Christina from Sweet Pea's Kitchen shared this recipe and I love how she incorporated so many different flavors, each playing a role to support one another in creating this soft and flavorful bread.  Rather than make one big loaf like Christina, I opted to divide the batter among mini loaf pans.  I doubled the recipe to get my six loaves, but I probably could have filled the loaf pans a bit less and maybe supplemented with a few muffins (since I didn't have a 7th mini loaf pan).  I also realized to late I didn't have any cardamom, so I added more cinnamon and nutmeg.  I also dropped the walnuts, not because I didn't think they'd be delicious but because I knew some people with nut sensitivities would be the recipients of these loaves.  But this recipe is still on my list to try with nuts! Try this recipe yourself this holiday and see how well your tasty little gifts are received. Or make up a big one for your holiday brunch.

Gingerbread Mini Loaves

Ingredients

4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons ginger
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and baking soda.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, molasses, maple syrup, and oil until combined.

Stir the molasses mixture into the flour mixture until combined and the flour mixture is just moistened.

Lightly grease 6 mini loaf pans and evenly distribute the batter among them. Note: I like to use a 5 ounce ice cream scoop to divide my batter.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-40 minutes until a tester inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean.

Cool in pans for 10 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 6 mini loaves.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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