Merry Christmas! (and a cookie recipe)

Merry Christmas, to everyone who celebrates the season!

And as my gift to you, here's an old family recipe for Ginger Cookies. These are from my mother's mother's father's mother, Clarissa Peruna Hall Wiest-Burke. She lived in Indiana, USA, in the mid 1800's. I remember having great fun making and decorating these cookies as a girl. Hmm...I wonder if we can whip up a batch tomorrow afternoon?


Ginger Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
1 cup golden molasses
2 eggs
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp ginger
3 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp soda dissolved in 1/4 cup boiling water
about 5 cups flour

Cream together the sugar and the shortening. Blend in the molasses and the eggs. Stir in the allspice, ginger, cinnamon, and soda. Blend in enough flour to make a workable soft dough--about 4-5 cups. Chill dough. Roll out on a floured surface, about 1/4" thick. Cut into shapes. Bake on greased cookie sheets in a 350 F oven for about 6-7 minutes.

We used cookie cutters, and cut these into trees and gingerbread men and other fun shapes. Then we decorated them with colored icing.

Enjoy!