Gingerbread

Gingerbread

 Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (I used salted)
1 egg
1 cup unsulphured molasses
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup apple sauce (optional for moistness)
1/4 cup diced crystallized ginger (optional - for a Starbucks copycat recipe)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*F.

Prepare a bread pan by lining with parchment paper and spraying with cooking spray. This will ensure bread slips right out of your pan with zero sticking.

Blend sugar and butter together until fluffy.

Add egg and molasses and beat well, scraping sides as needed.

Add baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Mix well.

Add flour in 1/2 cup at at time and mixing between each addition.

While mixing, SLOWLY add water to thin batter out. Now is the time to add the apple sauce if you wish, though I didn't need it.

If adding the crystallized ginger, add now.

Pour mixture into prepared bread pan and bake for 55 minutes. Remove from oven and add create a tent over bread to prevent from edges getting to dark.

Place bread back in oven and bake for 15 - 20 more minutes.

Remove from oven when a toothpick inserted into the middle of bread comes out clean.

Notes
This can also be made into a 9x9 cake or 4 mini loaf pans. Total cooking time will be approximately 45 - 55 minutes for cake pan or mini loaf pans.