Cook and Save | December 2016
Oatmeal Stout Gingerbread
Gingerbread has been baked in Europe for centuries, often consumed as a festival or holiday treat. The addition of ginger to breads and pastries became popular with the discovery that ginger helped with preservation which led to variations from crisp, flat cookie shapes to dark squares of thick bread. Gingerbread cookies of certain shapes came to be associated with different times of year. You might eat a gingerbread flower at the Easter fair and a bird or leaf shape to celebrate autumn. In this recipe, we have taken a page from the Old World to create a dense, rich loaf of gingerbread. The stout beer adds notes of earth and malt to create a wonderfully unique flavor profile. Traditionally served with whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar, consider a drizzle of salted caramel or rich fig jam. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
½ Cup brown sugar
¼ Cup apple sauce
¼ Cup butter, softened
½ Cup dark molasses
1 egg
2 ½ Cups unbleached flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 Cup room temperature stout
1 pat of butter to line baking pan
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
1. Grease baking dish generously. Do not dust with flour!
2. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg together in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl mix brown sugar, apple sauce, molasses, egg and butter until smooth.
4. Pour oatmeal stout and wet ingredients into flour mixture and fold until blended. Do not over mix.
5. Pour into pre-greased 8 x 4 x 2 ½ loaf pan.
5. Bake for 30 minutes and then check for doneness by inserting a knife or toothpick into the center of the pan. If knife or toothpick comes out wet, return to oven for additional 15 minute increments until done.
6. Allow to cool completely before removing loaf from pan.
Serve with Strauss Family Farms Heavy Whipping Cream and dust lightly with powdered sugar
