I believe this is an old Watkin's Recipe although I can't say that for sure. My Mother penciled in "Watkins" on her recipe when she wrote it out. Since she used as many Watkins products as she could afford, either she intended to use all Watkins or that's where she got the recipe.
I've been going through all our old cookbooks prior to giving them to my 4 grown children. I'll be 76 my next birthday, and it's time I was "traveling lighter". This recipe is so rich and good, and it brings back so many nice memories of walking up our driveway and being able to smell the aroma of Mother's baking. Sometimes it was as simple as bread pudding or sugar cookies, but very often, it was Gingerbread. I can't remember ever meeting a child who didn't love Gingerbread.
The hot water is one of the most important things and it varies slightly depending on how moist you want your Gingerbread to be. I add about 1/2 cup hot water, but you can add as much as one cup without a problem.
I've seen many Gingerbread recipes which called for hot black coffee instead of boiling water. That's another reason which makes me think it was a Watkins recipe. During WWll, we couldn't always get coffee and the recipe was changed to water. Feel free to use coffee instead if you're making it for grown-ups as it will sometimes make young children a bit hyper.
This is such an old recipe (from the 1930's at least), and there were often times "variations" in amounts to use of several things. Molasses might be a lot thicker at times back then for one thing. With today's products have more and better consistency, we can depend on amounts given in a recipe. I always pay strict attention to flour too, as that will (almost) always have some inconsistency with moisture content.
Molasses was very often used to add extra iron to a child's diet. It is a naturally occurring mineral found in molasses. The old blackstrap molasses has more, but it's pretty strong-tasting. It was always was given to us in the springtime along with sulphur and cream of tartar tablets to "clean off our liver".
Today, I always use the yellow labeled Grandma's unsulphured molasses and it's wonderful. Grownups might enjoy the more robust flavor of blackstrap molasses though.
Cream butter and sugar, add the molasses and egg and mix. Sift the spices and baking soda with the flour. Add flour, ginger, cinnamon, and soda and stir. Add boiling water and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured 8 inch square cake pan and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F.
You can double this recipe and make a large Gingerbread to be baked in a 9x13 inch rectangular pan for about 30-35 minutes. Test for doneness.
| Servings: | 9-12 |
| Time: | 25 Minutes Preparation Time 30-35 Minutes Cooking Time |
Source: My Mother's old recipes
By Pookarina/Julia from Boca Raton, FL
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Oh I haven't had Gingerbread in quite some time. I will have to try this. I don't see where it says how much boiling water to use though...or am I blind? Many thanks~ :-)
I was going to ask that same question of how much boiling water or coffee to use, and you beat me to it.
LOL! :o)
Dear Kaelle and MCW,
Thank you both for writing, and my apologies to everyone for leaving out the amount of hot water. It is one of the most important things and it varies slightly depending on how moist you want your Gingerbread to be. I add about 1/2 cup hot water, but you can add as much as one cup without a problem.
This is such an old recipe (from the 1930's at least), and there were often times "variations" in amounts to use of several things. Molasses might be a lot thicker at times back then for one thing. With today's products have more and better consistency, we can depend on amounts given in a recipe. I always pay strict attention to flour too, as that will (almost) always have some inconsistency with moisture content. When I make this Gingerbread, if the batter seems to be just too soupy, I'll add a couple of TBS of flour, or if it's too dry, I'll add the whole cup of hot water (or coffee). Trust me. You will know when it feels right. Thank you both again.
All the best, Julia in Boca Raton, FL
Editor's Note: I have added Julia's instructions to the original recipes. Thanks for letting us know.
And for those who don't know what Watkins is, Watkins is a company in Minnesota that has been around for over 140 years. They have wonderful spices, flavorings, all sorts of good things. They are famous for their cinnamon.
You can get Watkins cinnamon and ginger at
http://www.buy-vanilla-pepper.com.
Thank you! This reminded me so much of when my mother would make Gingerbread too. She would make it in this adorable gingerbreadman shaped baking pan and decorate it with icing and raisens just like you would a cookie. It smelled so good! I've inherited that pan and now I'm feeling inspired. :)
OH, does this ever bring back the memories! When I was in elementary school, we didn't have a school cafeteria at all the year I was in 3rd grade, so our mom packed our lunches every day. She'd make Gingerbread to go in with our sandwiches as often as possible, and it was just so-so good. Thanks for opening that door. Songwriter
This is another familiar recipe. It was an old family tradition
to give all the children a square of iced gingerbread wrapped in
cellophane in their Christmas Stocking. If you didn't find it, then
you were sure that St.Nicholas wasn't happy with you, and you might
even get a bundle of switches. Of course, no child I ever knew failed to
find the gingerbread in their stocking, and no bad boy ever received
switches although some deserved a few. ;-o
Nice memories. Thanks.
MisMachado
Please! What hot water? I do not see anything calling for hot water here. Please clarify. thank you.
Found it! But I adapted it in so it would read as the recipe should to avoid confusion:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup molasses (I buy Grandma's unsulphured molasses. It's the one with the yellow label.)
1 egg
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. baking soda
boiling water - about 1/2 cup hot water
thank you for this recipe. :->
Re your comment, what child doesn't like gingerbread. I never liked it as a child and I still don't like it at age 85. in fact I never use ginger in recipes that call for it.
Doris, I don't care for gingerbread either but my philosophy is "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."
I suppose I am breaking my own rule by posting this! I probably should just ignored your cranky comment lol
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