Gift Ideas

When my girls were little, we made gingerbread houses for friends and relatives. We decorated them with candies from Halloween. The expense was minimal and the day of baking and constructing was enjoyable... almost more than the giving.

GINGERBREAD COOKIE DOUGH

1/3 C shortening
1 C brown sugar
1 1/2 C dark molasses
1/2 C cold water
7 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cloves
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix shortening, sugar and molasses together. Stir in water. Sift all dry ingredients together and add to batter one cup at a time until completely mixed. Chill dough.
Roll dough to 1/2 inch think for house walls and roof. Make a pattern of the sides and roof of house then cut them out and carefully place them on the cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes to insure they are hard enough to hold up. For soft cookies bake only about 12 to 14 minutes. Cool completely. Use frosting to "glue" the sides together and add candies.

We also made pumpkin bread with or without nuts and raisons. The pumpkins were grown at home, cooked down, mashed and canned, ready for this recipe. We poured the batter into small loaf pans so one batch made 8 small loaves.

PUMPKIN BREAD
2/3 C shortening
2 1/2 C sugar
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin or 3 Cups pumpkin
2/3 C water
3 1/2 C flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
2/3 C nuts and raisons

Cream shortening and sugar together, add eggs one at a time. Add pumpkin and water. Sift dry ingredients together and add to batter one cup at a time until throughly mixed. Nuts and raisons optional.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes in small loaves or 60 minutes in large loaves.