Nothing shouts Christmas quite like the smell and taste of fresh baked gingerbread. I made this gingerbread recipe healthier by swapping out several common baking ingredients for those that provide more nutrition.
What you Will Love About this Recipe
If you are ready to make your kitchen smell like Christmas try this gingerbread recipe! The warm scents of molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger will bring images of gingerbread men to mind. For me, it is a nostalgic smell, bringing me back to kindergarten when our teacher baked fresh gingerbread men and we decorated them in class.
Ingredients That Make this Gingerbread Healthier
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While the same warm spices and molasses are used to give this recipe the tell tale flavor of gingerbread, there are several ingredients I changed to make this bread healthier than the average gingerbread:
- By using whole wheat pastry flour along with white flour, there is more fiber in each serving of this quick bread. The whole wheat pastry flour still imparts a tender and moist texture. This recipe calls for 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour and 1 cup of white flour. If you do not have whole wheat pastry flour you can always use all white unbleached flour.
- I replaced butter with canola oil to reduce the saturated fat from >6 gm to just 1 gm per serving. I also reduced the total amount of added sugars by 5gm per serving, something you will never miss in this recipe.
- Lastly, I sprinkled powdered sugar on top of the gingerbread after it cooled off to add some festivity to the quick bread. Using a sprinkling of powdered sugar instead of frosting adds some additional sweetness without adding a significant amount of sugar. I used a mesh strainer to do this but you can also use a sifter.
Baking Equipment
I used a glass 9″x5″ bread baking dish when I made this gingerbread, but you can use any pan that you have available. Just note that the type of pan you use may affect your total baking time. For example, if you use an aluminum pan you may need to adjust the baking time down.
Also, I recommend putting foil over the top of the bread during the last 10 minutes of baking so that the bread does not become overly brown on the top or at the edges.
Enjoy!
Sharing this gingerbread with neighbors, coworkers or friends would be a great way to bring some festive holiday cheer to others. Or you can keep it all to yourself and enjoy it as a snack. It pairs well with a hot cup of coffee, tea or cocoa.
Eating this bread may bring back sweet memories of past Christmases. It may also inspire you to bake and decorate gingerbread men!
Gingerbread Recipe
Gingerbread Made Healthier
This gingerbread will make you think of Christmas every time you taste and smell it!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup 1% milk
- 1/2 cup full fat, Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour,* spooned and leveled
- 1 cup unbleached white flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp grounder ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- About 1 tsp powdered sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Oil a 9" x 5" baking dish**
- In a medium bowl mix the milk, Greek yogurt, canola oil, molasses, brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract.
- In a separate, large bowl mix the whole wheat pastry flour, white flour, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, cloves, salt and nutmeg.
- Pour the mixed wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix just until combined, avoid over mixing.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. You may want to cover the bread for the last 10 minutes of baking to avoid an over browned top and edges.
- Cool completely. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top using colander or sifter.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
*If you do not have whole wheat pastry flour you can substitute it with white flour.
**The type of pan you use may affect your total baking time. I used a glass dish. If you use metal you may need to adjust the baking time.
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