Family Gingerbread

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup dark molasses
• 0.5 cup sugar
• 1 small cup lard, melted
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch salt
• flour, sifted
• to taste ginger, allspice, and nutmeg

Instructions

1. Combine the dark molasses, sugar, and melted lard.
2. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water.
3. Add the dissolved baking soda and salt to the mixture.
4. Sift the flour.
5. Stir in the flour until the batter is rather stiffer than pound cake batter.
6. Add the spices—ginger, allspice, and nutmeg in powder form—to taste.
7. Bake rather quickly.