Making Gingerbread

Yesterday was a cold, gray, rainy day, and I wanted something nice and comforting to go with a cup of afternoon coffee. When my daughter got up from her nap, I asked her if she'd like to make gingerbread. She inquired if we could use our new boy and girl cookie cutters but I explained that we were going to make the cakey kind of gingerbread, not the dough that you roll out for cookies. She thought the idea of cake sounded nice, as long as I promised to make the cookies soon too, which of course I did.

So with her standing in the "helping chair" we mixed up the very simple batter, practiced counting while the mixer whipped it up, and then sampled batter before I got it in the oven. (Yes, eating batter with raw eggs is a risky practice, but we only use local organic eggs and I take that risk.) When the gingerbread came out of the oven, we sat down at the table and enjoyed a nice warm piece.

The recipe I used comes from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. My mom had an older version of it and used it often when I was growing up, and the red plaid cover is comforting to me. When I'd just gotten old enough to use the oven, I started making this gingerbread recipe on my own, and it became traditional for me to make it for my family on Christmas Eve so sharing it with my daughter brightened an otherwise dismal day.

Here's the recipe:

Gingerbread

1.5 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4t cinnamon
3/4t ground ginger
1/2t baking soda
1/2t baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/2 cup hot water

Stir all ingredients together and use an electric mixer on low until combined. Then mix on high speed for 2 minutes (medium speed if using a stand mixer). Pour batter into a greased and floured 8x8 pan and cook at 350F for 25 minutes.