Gingerbread

One of my grandmother’s made gingerbread when she had the hankering for it. She didn’t have a recipe; she just threw things together, mixed it up, and baked it in her wood burning stove. My aunts rave about it, but none of us got my grandmother’s gingerbread recipe. I make the basic American version of gingerbread—no added fillings like applesauce or pumpkin—just ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and molasses. I usually bake it in a gingerbread man baking pan, but this year I tried Wilton’s Holiday Pan. Small gingerbread people, candy canes, and a large snow flake are outlined in the baked gingerbread. I made a mess decorating them.

Gingerbread Recipe

olives-n-okra

Old fashion gingerbread.

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 1 hr

Servings 10

Ingredients

  

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• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 egg
• 1 cup molasses
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup hot water
• decorator icing

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray with baking spray, or grease and flour a 9-inch baking pan.
• In a large mixing bowl, with mixer set at medium speed, cream together sugar and butter. Reduce speed to low and mix in egg, then molasses.
• Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, a little at a time, alternately with hot water, until ingredients are blended.
• Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center of gingerbread comes out clean. Cool completely before decorating holiday figures.

Notes

You can substitute a 1/2 cup shortening or oil for the butter.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!