Novembrrrrr.

This has been a pretty chilly fall here in the upper Midwest, and a winter storm advisory has just been posted for tonight, with perhaps 3 to 5 inches of snow in the forecast….And I still haven’t finished clearing the last (I hope) layer of leaves off of my deck.

What better time to fill the house with the warm fragrances of fall. Apples. Cinnamon. And ginger, All it took was the featured price of molasses at Aldi–about half the cost from the other stores in town–for me to begin thinking of homemade gingerbread.

Now my mother’s old, old recipe for gingerbread is reliable and great, but I wanted to see if I could add in some of the many apples I have right now. Off to the internet, where I found that most of the recipes for “apple gingerbread” were for upside-down cakes, with a layer of caramelized apples put in the pan, with the gingerbread batter poured over. Not a bad idea, but it wasn’t what I had in mind.

I finally found something similar to what I was looking for, so I started experimenting and came up with this version. So far, all those who have tasted it have given it rave reviews, so I hope you will find it equally delicious.

One note:  Probably the longest part of the preparation here is chopping or grating the apples. If you have a small food processor, or a chopping attachment like this one for my immersion blender, use it! This is a time when those little extra kitchen appliances can really be worth having.

• 1 egg
• 1/2 c packed  brown sugar
• 1/2 c canola oil
• 2 T frozen apple juice concentrate (see NOTE)
• 1/2 c molasses
• 1/3 c water
• 2 c flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t soda
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1 T ground ginger
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 c coarsely chopped or grated apples–about 1 pound or so; press the apples a little into the cup

NOTE:  If you don’t have apple juice concentrate, substitute 1/2 cup apple juice or cider for the juice concentrate and water.

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