Hard Sugar Gingerbread

3/4 cup butter 1 1/2 cups sugar 3/4 cup milk

5 cups flour

3/4 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 tablespoon ginger

Cream the butter, add sugar gradually, milk, and dry ingredients mixed and sifted. Put some of mixture on an inverted dripping-pan and roll as thinly as possible to cover pan. Mark dough with a coarse grater. Sprinkle with sugar and bake in a moderate oven. Before removing from pan, cut in strips four and one-half inches long by one and one-half inches wide.

Christmas English Gingerbread

1 lb. flour 1/2 lb. butter 1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ginger 1 teaspoon salt Molasses

Mix flour, sugar, ginger, and salt. Work in butter, using tips of fingers, and add just enough molasses to hold ingredients together. Let stand over night to get thoroughly chilled. Roll very thin, shape, and bake in a moderate oven.

Card Gingerbread

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup molasses

1 3/4 cups flour 1/2 tablespoon ginger 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream the butter, add sugar gradually, egg well beaten, molasses, and flour mixed and sifted with ginger, salt, soda, and cinnamon. Chill, roll in sheets to one-fourth inch in thickness, bake on a buttered sheet, and cut in squares.

Walnut Molasses Bars

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup lard

1/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 teaspoon soda

3 cups flour

1/2 tablespoon ginger

1/3 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon clove

1 teaspoon salt

Chopped walnut meat

Pour water over butter and lard, then add sugar, molasses mixed with soda, flour, salt, and spices. Chill thoroughly, roll one-fourth inch thick, cut in strips three and one-half inches long by one and one-half inches wide. Sprinkle with nut meat and bake ten minutes.

Ginger Snaps

1 cup molasses 1/2 cup shortening 3 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon soda 1 tablespoon ginger 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Heat molasses to boiling-point and pour over shortening. Add dry ingredients mixed and sifted. Chill thoroughly. Toss one-fourth of mixture on a floured board and roll as thinly as possible; shape with a small round cutter, first dipped in flour. Place near together on a buttered sheet and bake in a moderate oven. Gather up the trimmings and roll with another portion of dough. During rolling, the bowl containing mixture should be kept in a cool place, or it will be necessary to add more flour to dough, which makes cookies hard rather than crisp and short.