Gingerbread

     I was going through some old cookbooks, looking for a cheesecake bar I have been wanting to try. As I pulled one of the books off the shelf a recipe card fell to the floor. "Grandmamas Gingerbread". A flood of memories came rushing in as I held the card. My grandma Helga passed many years ago, but I still think of her often. She taught me to can and bake when I was a young mother. I still use her pyrex mixing bowls that she used to fill with fresh raspberries and cream, for me when I was a little girl. 

     Needless to say, I quickly forgot about cheesecake bars and got busy baking gingerbread! The house smells so fabulous right now! I brewed some Seattle's Best Sleigh Bell coffee and the afternoon was complete. The recipe is included below the photo, for those of you who are craving some spicy gingerbread and cream. Happy December 1st!

Grandma Helga’s Gingerbread

(*High altitude directions can be found at bottom of recipe.)

½ Cup margarine

½ Cup sugar

1 egg

1 Cup molasses

2-½ Cups sifted flour

1-½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. ground cloves

½ tsp salt

1 Cup hot water

Cream margarine and sugar together in a mixer. Add egg and molasses; mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Add to sugar mixture; mix well. Add hot water and mix until smooth. Turn into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 fro 30-40 minutes. Let cool, serve with whipped cream, (homemade is best!) and a dusting of nutmeg.

*High Altitude Directions: ½ Cup sugar minus 1 Tbls, add 4 Tbls flour, decrease baking soda by ¼ tsp, increase oven temperature to 365 and bake 25-30 minutes.