Gingerbread

Gingerbread is one of those things that can taste so amazingly different depending on the recipe. I can't even count how many different kinds I have tried over the years. I signed up for a Healthy Starts newsletter my sister told me about and one day this recipe showed up in my inbox. I tweaked a few things from the original (halving the canola oil and adding apple sauce, I also upped the whole wheat flour a little, I'll try upping it more next time) One suggestion I have though is make sure you mince the ginger as small as you can... I missed a few and the big chunks were a bit too much for my taste. Otherwise this stuff came out super fluffy, moist, and delicious.

Chow!

Gingerbread

Ingredients
* Nonstick cooking spray
* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
* 3/4 cup turbinado sugar ( I used 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs splenda baking blend)
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup light molasses
* 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 1/4 cup canola oil
* 1/4 cup apple sauce
* 1/2 cup buttermilk
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 cup boiling water
* 1/2 cup firmly packed minced fresh ginger
* Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the lower third of oven. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, turbinado sugar, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together molasses, eggs, oil, apple sauce and buttermilk.
4. Dissolve baking soda in the cup of boiling water. Fold the baking soda and molasses mixtures into dry ingredients until combined. (Do not overmix.) Fold in the minced ginger.
5. Scrape batter into the prepared baking pan; bake until cake is set around edges and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioner's sugar.