Ok, time to fess up. On which of Santa’s lists do you belong? The naughty or the nice?

I’ll keep this short and sweet, because let’s be honest: we’re all busy and have “better” things to be doing this time of year than perusing the interwebs. After all, it is nearing the big day. The count down is on. Craziness is setting in (or just more apparent given the season of “joy”). Tempers are flaring and heaven forbid you wake up one morning to find your painstakingly decorated Christmas tree fell over in the night…..

However, if you claim to be featured in the Nice column this recipe is for you (and your tree has definitely not succumbed to gravity. Then you would be no where near the Nice list. At all). It’s easy-peasy, relatively healthy (you are “nice” afterall), uses ingredients stocked in your pantry, and will be your best friend if you’re house is overflowing with well, and sometimes not-so-well, intentioned relatives (the Naughty list people do not invite over relatives hence, have no need for an easy breakfast bread recipe).

Gingerbread Breakfast Loaf

source: me

• 1 3/4 C all purpose flour
• 3/4 C whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 heaping tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp (or a generous pinch) of cardamom, nutmeg and cloves
• 1 C milk at room temperature
• 1/2 C molasses
• 1/4 C oil
• 1/4 C applesauce
• 2 large eggs or 1/2 C Egg Beaters, beaten
• 3/4 C brown sugar
• optional: 1 tbsp. grated, fresh ginger
• topping: chopped walnuts or candied ginger

• Preheat your oven to 350 degree.
• Sift together flour through cloves.
• Whisk together milk through eggs. Stir in brown sugar. Fold together with flour mixture.
• Do NOT over mix.
• Bake in a 9″x5″, greased loaf pan for about 1 hour.

Notes:

• Omit the cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg if you’re not a fan of those spices but who doesn’t love cardamom?
• Omit the fresh ginger if you want a milder tasting bread.
• If you cut the bread into 16 pieces, each piece has about 187 calories, 4 g fat, and  38 g carbs. Pretty nice, huh?
• Naughty people… stay tuned. Your recipe is up next.