Swell Ginger Cookies

We weighed Bug today and he had lost weight.  Poor little guy - he just doesn't get enough to eat, but I have the milk.  We made some swell ginger cookies today.  - Annette, December 1941

A friend of mine is going through something similar with her first child.  She is constantly worried that her little one isn't getting enough to eat.   Understandably so!  Here you are, charged with keeping this new little person alive - feeding him is always on your mind!  Annette had that same worry.  How do you make sure your baby has enough to eat?  Luckily for her, some of the other missionary wives had children, so she had a strong network of support.  I like this diary entry because although she is preoccupied with feeding schedules and general human survival, she makes a point to mention ginger cookies!  What do I do when I am stressed?  Bake!  Creating a sweet treat by hand is like therapy - no matter what is going on in the world, you can always combine butter and sugar to escape.  

Annette included lots of little notes in her diary - lists, accounts, weights/heights, and even recipes!  Here is her recipe for those 'swell ginger cookies.'  Pretty straightforward, but baking in rural China seemed to always be an adventure for Annette (more entries on that later....).  If you make these, comment below and let me know how they turned out!  I know what I'll be making for dessert tonight!

Ginger Drops

1/4 cup shortening

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 egg

1/2 teasp cinnamon

1 tablesp ginger

1/2 cup molasses

1 teasp soda

1/2 cup boiling water

Cream butter + sugar.  Add egg. Add dry ingredients alternately with hot water + molasses.  Bake in muffin pans.