Gingerbread

It seems the older I get the more I look to those childhood memories to get me into the "Spirit of the Holidays". The one thing that never fails to give me that nudge is the spicy warmth, rich and deep flavor of gingerbread. This year for some reason I started to get slight cravings in like July that I had to put down with Ginger Snaps and lemon icing.( Some day I will go there with you but this is Gingerbread today.) 
  For me the aroma of Gingerbread fresh from the oven brings to life in my mind a Norman Rockwell winter scene from the bank calender that used to hang by the telephone near my Mom's kitchen. She would always give me a piece, still warm  from the oven with a spoon of whipped cream paired with a mug a of Hot Chocolate into which she would place a peppermint stick. Life was good !!
Not being able to contain my cravings and not quite in the holiday spirit it was time to make this favorite treat to get me fired up. I hope that you will create some memories too. Enjoy!

Pep time: 30 min                    cook time: 30 min


Tools: 8x8" pan, mixer


Ingredients:
1 cup of  *butter milk
1cup molasses
1stick unsalted butter
2 1/13 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 salt
* If you do not have buttermilk you can add 2 tsp of lemon juice to a cup of milk and wait for 10 min, or you can substitute 1 cup of either sour cream  or plain yogurt.

Directions:
Grease and lightly flour  the 8x8" pan, line the bottom with parchment . Preheat your oven to 350 º F

In a small sauce pan over med heat warm the molasses and add the butter to the warm molasses. Whisk together the molasses and the melted butter and pour into the bowl of your mixer and mix for 3 min on low. Slowly add the butter milk. Continue to mix on low 1 min..


Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Slowly introduce the dry ingredients to the to wet in the mixer bowl until it is all incorporated. As soon as everything is blended stop mixing and transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 30 - 35 min until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.