KAY'S SOFT GINGERBREAD

Recently some friends and I gathered at our friend Kay's house to play cards. When Janice, Fran and I walked in the door, we were met with the wonderful aroma of gingerbread cooking in the oven. It was hard to concentrate at first on the game it smelled so good.

She had other "goodies" for us to eat, but I think, like me, everyone was really waiting to taste the gingerbread. I took this picture of it as soon as she took it out of the oven.

Kay gave me her recipe card so I could copy it down. I asked her where she had gotten the recipe and she said it was her mother's.

SOFT GINGERBREAD

1/2  cup molasses

1  cup sour milk (1 teaspoon vinegar + 1 cup milk)

5  tablespoons butter

1  egg

1/2  cup sugar

1  teaspoon baking soda

2  cups flour

1/2  teaspoon salt

1  teaspoon ginger

1  teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter and mix with molasses and sour milk in medium size bowl.

Add egg and stir.

Sift dry ingredients and put in mixing bowl. Add the liquid ingredients and beat well.

Pour into a buttered 9-x 13-inch pan and bake for 25 minutes. Test doneness with the toothpick test.

NOTE: It works with regular milk at room temperature. Also you can use Crisco (shortening) or butter.

Kay used an 8-x 11-inch dish so the gingerbread was thicker. She also cooked it an extra 8 minutes.

When Kay served the gingerbread, she cut the thick serving in half.

Then she told us she had soft butter or Cool Whip and wanted to know which we wanted.  

Several said Cool Whip

Sharon said she would take one of each

Kay had hers spread with the soft butter and then sprinkled sugar on top. I have never seen gingerbread served this way. I asked her why she ate it this way. She told me she probably learned it from her dad. He put sugar on everything, even sliced tomatoes. He ate his cornbread with milk and sugar over it. She didn't like her cornbread soggy so she just put butter and sugar on it. She said it seemed logical that you would eat gingerbread the same way.

When she told me this, it got me to remembering. My daddy always ate rice in a bowl with milk and sugar.