One of my most endearing memories of my maternal grandmother was her cooking.  Grandmom's kitchen was always an inviting haven of love, warmth, and security where I loved to linger for hours as a child.  As kids (and even as adults), one of the things my siblings and I always looked forward to when visiting her was her famous homemade ginger bread or "ginger cakes" as we called them back then.  It did not have to be a holiday or a special occasion.  If she knew any of her grandchildren were coming she would always bake a tray.  They were nothing fancy in appearance, just plain brown rectangular cakes.  However they were sooo good.  One of these warm soft cakes paired with an individually wrapped block of Neapolitan ice cream on a hot summer day, were a slice of love for this little girl.

     I vowed that one day I would ask her for the recipe, but the years came and went and in all of the busyness of life, I never got around to it.  She died in 2005 at just a few years shy of 100.  She had lived a long and fulfilling life and was ready to go; however, she was and still is greatly missed.  Interestingly enough, just about everyone who paid tribute to her at her funeral from friends and family to her pastor and even the mayor, made mention her ginger cakes.  All had fond memories of her and her ginger cakes; however, no one had managed to get the recipe.  When she died her ginger cake recipe died with her or so we thought.

    For years I searched and searched, experimented, and tried different recipes to try and recreate her ginger cakes (or gingerbread as they are known nowadays).  Some of the results were pretty okay; however, none of them came close to the taste I had come to know and love.  I decided that the recipe was probably lost forever. Then one December, one of my students, presented me with a little bag of homemade gingerbread men as a Christmas gift. One bite into one of those soft fragrant cookies, instantly flooded my mind with all of the wonderful memories and emotions of being in Grandmom's kitchen and I began to cry.  Then realizing that my tears had alarmed my student, I explained to her about my grandmom and her ginger cakes, how long I had searched to find a recipe like hers, and how much these gingerbread men tasted like hers.  Looking relieved that she had not done anything wrong, she promised to bring me the recipe.

    When my son was 2 years old, I decided to start a new Christmas tradition with him.  We would make ginger bread cookies, box them up, and give them as gifts to his preschool teachers, the mail carrier, and other folks whose service we appreciated.  The first attempt was a little ambitious as he was still very young.  His little hands struggled to cut out the shapes and he ended up eating a good bit of the raw dough.  Still, the surviving cookies turned out delicious and the recipients were very appreciative.

     The next Christmas at age 3 he was much more into it and he not only cut out the cookies but also insisted on helping to roll out the dough.  We made several dozen and also gave them to some of our elderly neighbors that year.  I can't wait to do it again this year as he is 4 ½ now and already talking about it.  Grandmom would be so proud.  Incidentally, one of my cousins recently informed me that she had finally found Grandmom's recipe.  I am still waiting for her to send it to me but in the meantime, I will share the recipe that I have.

Soft Gingerbread Cookies  (makes 3-4 dozen)

 

Ingredients:

1 cup of softened butter or margarine (2 sticks)

1 ¼ cups of sugar

1 large egg

1 cup of molasses

1/3 cup of hot water

1 teaspoon of whole cloves

5 cups of all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons of baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of ginger

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

½ teaspoon of allspice (optional if like your cookies very spicy)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Place cloves in hot water and set aside for about 5 minutes
2. Cream the butter and the sugar
3. Add the egg and beat the mixture
4. Add molasses and beat until well mixed
5. Strain the cloves from the water and discard the cloves
6. Add the clove water to the mixture and beat
7. Add the vanilla extract and beat
8. Add 1 of the 5 cups of flour and the rest of the spices and beat
9. Gradually add the last 4 cups of flour and beat.
10. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour
11. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
12. Roll the dough out to about ½ inch in thickness and cut out shapes
13. Place cookies on an un-greased nonstick cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes
14. Once cool decorate as desired

Enjoy!  What are some of your favorite family holiday traditions?

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