Laura Ingalls Wilder's Gingerbread

12 servings

"This was one of Laura's favorite recipes. There is nothing quite like the aroma of gingerbread baking. Serve this warm or at room temperature. It is delicious with applesauce or with cream that has been whipped to soft peaks and sweetened just a little."

~from The Laura Ingalls Wilder Country Cookbook

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup molasses

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup boiling water (measured in a 2 cup or larger measuring cup)

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground gloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 13x10x2 inch pan. Blend sugar and shortening; mix in molasses. To the boiling water add the baking soda and mix well. Combine the flour, spices, and salt. Combine the sugar and molasses mixture with the flour mixture and the water. Mix ingredients well and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until center of gingerbread tests done. Enjoy with a glass of cold milk!

Also from the cookbook...

"Laura Ingalls Wilder, like other celebrities, was sometimes asked to share a favored recipe. To such requests, Laura invariably supplied her gingerbread recipe, a lifelong favorite. The gingerbread became widely known when it was published in a special Laura Ingalls Wilder issue of the Horn Book Magazine in 1953. In the years since, Laura's gingerbread has been the feature of thousands of celebrations held in her honor all over the world."