Mia came up with the idea of equating writing stories with Gingerbread Houses and I (quick to recognize brilliance when I see it!) jumped on board....
But I don't do gingerbread houses per se... I do cake houses, and we'll blog about that sometime soon, but I do love gingerbread.
And molasses cookies.
So this old-time recipe works for me! Here's a picture of it as it is in my 1950 Betty Crocker cookbook:
Cookbooks should always have great pics. I'm just sayin'....
And here's a close-up:
This old-style gingerbread was made famous in the 1870's... can you believe that? And it was called the Fort Atkinson Gingerbread in the original "Gold Medal Cookbook", a precursor to our current Betty Crocker editions...
How stinkin' cool is that?
So here's the recipe courtesy of Gold Medal, Betty Crocker and my mother's old cookbook! (Mine is actually a reprint edition, I'm so glad they did that!)
Mix together thoroughly:
1/2 cup soft shortening
2 TBSP. sugar
1 egg
Blend in:
1 cup Dark Molasses
1 cup boiling water
Sift together and stir in (beating until smooth):
2 1/4 cups sifted Gold Medal flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
Pour into greased and floured 9" square pan. Bake. Cut into 3" squares in pan. Keep hot and serve hot with sweetened whipped cream, applesauce, chocolate sauce or any of the toppings below. (I'm only showing you the lemon Haddon Hall version here because I'm tired... But choir practice was WONDERFUL tonight!!!)
Lemon sauce for Haddon Hall gingerbread:
Fluffy Lemon Sauce
Mix together in saucepan:
1/2 cup sugar
2 TBSP. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. nutmeg (just a pinch!) :)
Stir in gradually:
1 Cup boiling water
Boil one minute, stirring constantly.
Stir in:
1 Tablespoon butter
4 TBSP. lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
Gradually mix into:
1 egg, well beaten.
Now if you've ever made lemon meringue pie, this is pretty darn close to the same recipe and structure except for the nutmeg.... You can add the rind or not, it's good either way. If I have fresh lemon I use it. Dried lemon has too much "chaw" in it and I don't like the texture in a smooth sauce like this....
Basically, you're pouring (ladeling) lemon pie filling over homemade gingerbread... so GOOD!!!
But, wait..... The original version calls for this, too!:
Soften white cream cheese (is there another color? Was there ever?????) with a little cream. Beat until fluffy. Split each serving of hot gingerbread and spread with this cheese mixture. Replace top layer and spread more cheese mixture on top layer. Then ladle lemon sauce over it.
I haven't made this in a while. Now I've got the urge to do it and I blame that Mia Ross character... if she hadn't come up with gingerbread themed Seekerville, I'd be happy with a Little Debbie snack cake.
Well.
Since they're here and the gingerbread isn't....
