eggnog chocolate chip bread [gluten free, soy free]

How is it that we're already like pretty much half way through January? How? I feel like I was just watching the Naked Gun series with friends and family, waiting for midnight to strike so we could watch the ball drop and then promptly go to bed. (Seriously, staying up until midnight is becoming more and more of a challenge. I'm usually in bed by like 10. Or 10:30, if I decide to walk a little on the wild side.) It's like I'm reverting back to childhood. Or becoming an old lady. Either one. Maybe both. Is that possible? Quick story: when I was little, my best friend and I were determined to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve. Our parents didn't think that we could do it. So, in order to prove that we stayed up until midnight, we recorded what Emily's hamster was doing in half-hour intervals (or fifteen minutes. Or hourly. I can't remember exactly how precise we were.) Anyhow, we logged Hammy's activities -- the majority of them being "sleeping" or "eating food pellets." I'm positive we made it to midnight, but I'm not sure if the log convinced our parents. I don't know why not -- it was very scientific and all. 

Anyway. It's just bizarre that it's like mid-January already. And I suppose it's bizarre that I'm sharing this eggnog bread recipe with you, well after the holidays. I actually bought some rice nog for Christmas. I have to admit, I do like eggnog, but I don't like drinking a lot of it since it's so rich. So, instead of buying real egg nog, I bought some rice nog. For some reason, that sounded rational to me. But, I never opened up the rice nog over the holidays. Nope. It sat in the cabinet. Good think that unopened rice milk is shelf-stable. So, the holidays came and went and there my rice nog sat, languishing in the cabinet. It was finally opened when my brother wanted to make an eggnog milkshake, and all we had in the fridge was an old carton of eggnog that was way past its prime (my mom did buy some real eggnog. We usually have it during the holidays. I don't know why no one really drank it this year -- we all like eggnog perfectly fine. We're not particularly eggnog haters. What was up with this past holiday season?) 

Anyhow. So now I had an opened carton of rice nog that I was pretty sure I wouldn't finish off before it had to be thrown out. Last year I made some eggnog cookies, which turned out pretty well. But I wanted to make something different this year. And I really wanted to make something with chocolate. Chocolate makes the world go 'round. And, voila -- eggnog chocolate chip bread! Well, technically I guess it would be rice nog chocolate chip bread. Details, details. 

Eggnog (Rice Nog) Chocolate Chip Bread

gluten free, soy free 

inspired by and adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free all purpose flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of salt

1/2 cup Earth Balance soy free spread, melted

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup rice nog (or regular eggnog)
2/3 cup of Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the melted soy free spread and sugar until smooth. Add in the vanilla extract and then add in one egg at a time, whisking until fully combined. Add the rice nog to the mixture, and then slowly incorporate the flour mixture. Stir together until just combined. Toss the chocolate chips in some flour and fold them into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the bread is golden. Let cool, and then dig in! Eat it for breakfast, eat it for dessert. Heck, eat it for lunch and dinner too! Okay, well maybe not lunch and dinner. But it's totally acceptable for breakfast and dessert.

best gingerbread ever [vegan, gluten free]

I was surprised at how shockingly well this gingerbread came out. It is the best gingerbread cake I have ever eaten. Seriously. I think I'm going to have to make this every year for Christmas. I was a bit skeptical about making a gluten-free-vegan cake. But I didn't want to leave out my vegan-dieted cousin (vegan-dieted? Is that even a term?) And I really wanted to be able to eat it too. Thus, a gluten-free-vegan gingerbread cake was born. And, omigosh. It. Was. Good. It came out nothing like I was expecting. I was fully prepared for this experiment to go awry and end up with a dry, dense, crumbly, tasteless gingerbread. But, no. Oh no. This was the exact opposite. Instead, I ended up with a gloriously moist cake with a perfect texture and consistency. Not too light, not too dense. Perfectly in the middle. It smelled absolutely delicious baking in the oven -- the house smelled exactly like Christmas should with warm cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. I think one of the key elements to this gingerbread cake is the lemon zest -- when you dig into the deliciousness, there's just this hint of lemon that goes so perfectly with the ginger. Oh so good. Just writing about it is making me crave a piece. I think that I'm not going to be able to wait until next Christmas to make some more; I might just have to make another cake like right now.

By the way, did you know that it is thought that gingerbread was invented by the Greeks in 2800 BC? Those Greeks. They were so inventive. However, the original meaning of the word gingerbread was quite different than what we think of today. Okay, etymology lesson of the day: gingerbread comes from the Latin word zingiber (meaning ginger) and the Old French word gingebras. Both of these simply referred to preserved ginger. But you can see how it evolved into gingerbread and the delicious cake we all know and love! All right, lesson over. Onto the recipe!

Best Gingerbread Ever
vegan, gluten free, soy free
recipe from Vegetarian Times, adapted to make gluten free

Ingredients:
2½ cups all purpose gluten free flour (I like to use Bob's Red Mill)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1½ teaspoon baking soda
1¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup nonhydrogenized vegetable shortening (Spectrum's Organic All Vegetable Shortening is fantastic -- and soy free!)
½ cup light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 cup molasses
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 cup of boiling water

First, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Sift the gluten-free  flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and cloves in a large bowl. Then, beat the shortening with either a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer until it's all nice and smooth. Slowly add in the brown sugar and lemon zest to the shortening and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then, slowly add the mixture of dry ingredients and beat until smooth. In a glass bowl, mix the molasses and vinegar together. Then, stir in 1 cup of boiling water. Slowly add the molasses mixture into the batter. Once that's all set, pour the batter in the parchment-paper lined pan. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test (toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). Let the cake cool a bit, then dig in! This cake is even more delicious with some whipped topping. If you're vegan and not concerned about soy, use some soy whip! Or you're vegan and you are concerned about soy/can't have dairy products or soy, then try some rice whip. Or, if you're not concerned at all with what type of topping you put on this delicious gingerbread cake, go for the Cool Whip. Or Reddi Whip. Whatever floats your boat. A lemon sauce would also be delicious! Dig in and enjoy!

Yummy!

happy new year!

  

Well, almost. 

Happy New Year's Eve! See ya next year!