Best Old Fashioned Gingerbread Recipe

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Everyone will love this iced old-fashioned gingerbread recipe. It’s soft, chewy, moist, and delicious! Plus, it’s so easy to make this holiday favorite and it will make the whole house smell great.

In my opinion, there isn’t a candle on the market that can compete with the spicy aroma of a freshly baked pan of gingerbread.

How to Make Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Recipe

The first step is to preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Pour the molasses into a large mixing bowl. I use blackstrap molasses because it has a rich, bold flavor that gives this old-fashioned gingerbread loaf the perfect flavor.

If you aren’t a fan of this type of molasses, you can use any dark molasses or fancy molasses instead but you will not get the same strong flavor in your finished product.

Blackstrap molasses is a robust molasses that brings out the other flavors in this old-fashioned gingerbread loaf so I always choose this kind when making old fashioned gingerbread loaf.

Add in the softened butter a little bit at a time to make sure everything is mixing well.

In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix. Then add half of the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture on low speed. Slowly combine flour to avoid a mess, if you add too much at a time the flour will go everywhere and you will not have the proper amount in the bowl.

To mix this recipe, you can use a spoon, hand mixer, or any kind of electric mixer but if you have a stand mixer, this way is much easier. This batter with molasses is sticky and thick so it can be hard to do this by hand but definitely not impossible.

Ever since I got my stand mixer I use it for everything. I take advantage of the fact that I can keep my hands free while mixing and it really speeds up my recipes.

After the dry ingredients are incorporated, mix everything together until the batter is smooth.

Pour batter into a prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Place a wire rack in the center of your oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf and if it comes out clean, your gingerbread is done baking.

Allow the loaf to drop to room temperature and then make the icing.

Be sure to check the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredients and instructions.

This old-fashioned gingerbread recipe calls for a half cup of molasses, butter, hot water, baking soda, brown sugar, salt, ground ginger, all-purpose flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Simple ingredients come together to create a quick bread that makes a perfect gift for Christmas time.

If you want to scroll down to the variations on this recipe section you can find alternative ways to make this recipe and each one would require different ingredients.

For example, if you wanted to make an old-fashioned gingerbread cake, you will need to add eggs to this recipe.

Also, be sure to check out the full recipe card for ingredients at the bottom for all of the instructions and ingredients before getting started.

What You’ll Need for the Gingerbread Icing

This icing is the perfect combination of buttercream and cream cheese frosting. Plus, this gingerbread icing recipe can be used for gingerbread cookies too!

The gingerbread icing comes together by mixing butter, sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and heavy cream. Whip the ingredients together until they have the perfect whipped, creamy texture. Easily spreadable on top of the gingerbread and easy to work with for gingerbread cookies.

Plus, it doesn’t call for powdered sugar so no need to run out for yet another ingredient to make the icing. That’s actually how I figured out this delicious combination and a lot of my favorite recipes.

I had to improvise when I realized that I was all out of powdered sugar but I was knee-deep in this recipe so I decided to see what I could use that was already in my own kitchen.

How to Store Old Fashioned Gingerbread

If you have leftover gingerbread and want to leave it in the loaf pan, you can seal the top off with a thick layer of plastic wrap.

If you are giving away this gingerbread as a gift for the holidays, you can store it in an airtight container or wrap it completely with plastic wrap for gifting.

I prefer to wrap up bread this time of year in fancy packaging like these Christmas bakery boxes. It really makes gift-giving easy and festive. Just be sure to wrap the bread with plastic wrap before placing it in the box for an airtight seal.

Variations on this Recipe

This dessert bread does not call for an egg but if you want a lighter, fluffier gingerbread, you can add one large egg. I prefer moist and chewy gingerbread. In fact, I think that is what makes this the best gingerbread recipe so I would not recommend adding eggs.

Some traditional gingerbread recipes call for them, so this can be determined by your desired outcome for the bread.

If you like a chewy, moist gingerbread recipe, do not add them. If you want your homemade gingerbread to resemble a cake recipe, add them in. Both options are sure to result in a delicious dessert perfect for the holiday season.

Another addition to this recipe that you may want to make is to add maple syrup. The flavor mixes well with the warm spices in this recipe. You can either replace the vanilla extract in this recipe with the maple syrup or just add a teaspoon in for a hint of maple flavor.

This recipe goes great with a hot drink and can be served as a breakfast with a cup of coffee or serve with hot chocolate for dessert. Leave off the icing and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or caramel sauce for the perfect dessert.

Add a dollop of homemade whipped cream to the top. If you aren’t sure how to do that. you will love this homemade fresh whipped cream recipe. It’s so easy to make with just three ingredients and a couple of minutes. It is sure to bring every one of your holiday desserts to the next level.

This is one of those flavors of Christmas that is perfect to give as gifts. Triple this recipe and give this delicious treat as a gift this holiday season.

More Homemade Desserts for Gift Giving

This Homemade Eggnog recipe is the perfect holiday treat. So delicious and simple to make, you will never want to buy eggnog from the store again!

This Frosted Pumpkin Spice Cake is so easy to make it is full of the best flavors of the season.

Pick up some cute gift bags and fill them with caramel popcorn. This easy caramel popcorn recipe makes a bunch of caramel corn so there will be plenty of caramel corn for everyone.

Everyone loves cupcakes so if you are baking a gift for someone who is just an acquaintance and you don’t really know what flavors they like, these scratch vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are a safe bet.

Everyone will love this simple recipe!

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