After all the spring flowers I've posted here lately, it seems pretty strange to have snow to report. I wasn't expecting it at all, but Sunday night, it freakin'
snowed. However, in light of the recent bout of thunderstorms and devastating tornadoes, a gentle little snowfall wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Still, if you look very closely at this next photograph, you can see a couple of robins out there in the snow under the pear tree.
Peaches and Bugsy seemed a bit baffled by it all, and I really can't blame them. One day we're out picking flowers and the next, we're leaving footprints in the snow.
What with all of this winter weather, I got the itch to bake some gingerbread. Interesting stuff, gingerbread. According to the King Arthur Flour cookbook (which is where I found this recipe), in the medieval days of merry old England, ginger and pepper were the only spices readily available. Therefore, gingerbread was the most popular sweet treat during holidays and festivals for at least a thousand years.
I guess times haven't changed all that much, because I had all the ingredients on hand except for the buttermilk. I substituted regular milk and it turned out fine. The sweeteners can also be varied according to taste and availability, just use 1 1/2 cups of whatever you have. You can also substitute corn or maple syrup for the molasses if you like.
So, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and get ready for an age-old treat!
Gingerbread
Ingredients:
3/4 stick of butter
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
Directions:
Cream the butter until light. Continue beating as you add sweeteners 1/2 cup at a time and then the egg. Beat until light and fluffy. Blend the dry ingredients together and add them to the butter mixture alternately with the milk. Pour into a greased 9 inch cake pan. Bake 45 minutes and enjoy with the medieval hunk of your choice!