The New England Cook Book, or Young Housekeeper's Guide: Being a Collection of the Most Valuable Receipts; Embracing all the Various Branches of Cookery, and Written in a Minute and Methodical Manner

to roll it out easily. Roll it about half an inch thick, and lay it on flat buttered tins; bake it as soon as rolled out in a quick oven a few moments. Gingerbread to be very nice, should be made of good molasses, and baked very quick. Some people use only a tea spoonful of saleratus, to a pint of molasses, but it is much better with more, appearing in point of lightness like sponge cake. 141. _Soft Gingerbread._ Melt a cup of butter and mix it with a pint of molasses, a table spoonful of ginger and a little flour, dissolve three tea spoonsful of saleratus, in a tea cup of water, and stir it into the cake, together with flour enough to render it of the consistency of pound cake. Bake it in deep cake pans, about thirty minutes. A couple of eggs improve the cake. 142. _Ginger Snaps._ Mix half a tea cup of melted butter, with a tea cup of sugar, half a tea cup of molasses, and a table spoonful of ginger. Dissolve a tea spoonful of saleratus, in half a tea cup of water and strain it into the cake, knead in flour till quite stiff. Roll it out very thin, and cut it into cakes, with a wine glass. Lay them on buttered tins, and bake them a few moments, in a very moderate oven. A tea spoonful of allspice, the same quantity of cinnamon, mace, and coriander seed, together with a tea spoonful of ginger instead of a table spoonful, put into this cake will convert it into spice snaps. 143. _Cider Cake._ Rub together three quarters of a pound of sugar, and half a pound of butter. Dissolve two tea spoonsful of saleratus in half a tea cup of water, turn it into the cake, together with half a pint of cider, stir in two pounds of flour and a grated nutmeg. Bake it about half an hour. This cake should be eaten in the course of two or three days after it is made, as it gets dry very