Bread Recipes

Gingerbread with Sweetly Coated Walnuts

Sweetly coated walnuts provide great crunch and balance for this tasty dessert from Mollie Katzen. Fresh ginger makes this a deeper-flavored version!

Gingerbread with Sweetly Coated Walnuts

Cook: 1 hr 50 min | Serves: 10

Ingredients

Gingerbread

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, + a little extra for the pan
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 3 tablespoons ginger (3 to 4 ounces), fresh, grated
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar, light or dark, packed
  • 2 eggs, large
  • 3/4 cup molasses
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, pure
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Sweetly Coated Walnuts

  • Nonstick spray for the baking tray
  • 2 egg whites, from large eggs
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4-5 tablespoons sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)
  • 4 cups California walnut halves

Instructions

Gingerbread
  1. Do this at least an hour ahead of preparing the recipe: Unwrap the butter, and place it in a large bowl. Use a dinner knife to "chop" it into 1-inch pieces, and let it stand at room temperature to soften.
  2. Adjust the rack to center position, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees F if you're using a glass pan).
  3. Put a little soft butter on a paper towel or a piece of waxed paper (or a butter wrapper) and lightly grease the "floor" and corners of a 9 x 13 inch pan. (No need to grease the sides.)
  4. Combine all the dry ingredients except the sugar in a medium size bowl. Whisk slowly to blend, and then stir in the grated fresh ginger, whisking until it's distributed. Set this aside.
  5. Crumble the brown sugar into the softened butter from step 1. Use a hand-held electric mixer at high speed (or, if you don't have one, use a whisk, with enthusiasm) to beat the butter and sugar together until light and luffy.
  6. Add the molasses and the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. (Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times during this process.)
  7. Add the vanilla extract, and continue to beat for another minute or two until everything is well combined.
  8. Add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, slowly whisking just enough to mostly blend.
  9. Pour in approximately 1/3 of the buttermilk, and stir it in.
  10. Continue with another 1/3 of the dry mix, and another 1/3 of the buttermilk (dry-wet-dry-wet-dry) until all the ingredients are in the big bowl. Switch to stirring with a spoon as the batter thickens, mix from the bottom of the bowl after each addition - just enough to thoroughly blend without over-mixing. (It's okay if the finished batter is not 100% smooth.)
  11. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, taking care to scrape all of it in with a rubber spatula. Then use the spatula to spread the batter into place.
  12. Bake in the center of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is springy to the touch, and/or a wooden pick inserted all the way into the center comes out clean.
  13. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the gingerbread to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.
  14. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.
  15. Serve this with Sweetly Coated Walnuts and a big spoonful of whipped cream or Greek yogurt – or some vanilla or fruit-flavored frozen yogurt. It's also delicious with freshly cut fruit in season.

Sweetly Coated Walnuts

  1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking tray with parchment or foil and spray generously with nonstick spray.
  2. Place the egg whites in a shallow pan (a pie pan works well).
  3. Use a fork or small whisk to beat in the salt and sugar.
  4. Add the walnuts and stir until thoroughly coated. You will probably need to do this in two or three shifts.
  5. Transfer the coated nuts to the prepared tray.
  6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring to redistribute every few minutes to prevent sticking. When the nuts are as dark as you like them remove the tray from the oven.
  7. Remove the walnuts from the tray while they are still hot, transferring them to a bowl or a plate to cool completely.

Nutrition

Per serving: 660 Calories Fat 37g Saturated Fat 9g Monounsaturated Fat 7g Polyunsaturated Fat 20g Cholesterol 68mg Sodium 506mg Carbohydrates 75g Dietary Fiber 4g Protein 13g

Attribution

Recipe and photo used with permission from: California Walnuts
Created By Mollie Katzen - Chef and Author



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