Modern-day Ginger Drops

My favorite part of Annette's diary has always been the recipes in the back of the book.  I love that she jotted down tricks, tips, and treats that made her happy.  I've always wanted to recreate the recipes, so here we go! 

I started off with my store-bought ingredients. Did anyone notice that the recipe calls for shortening but the directions say "Cream butter + sugar"? I went with shortening for this test round.

All-purpose flour, brown sugar, molasses, egg.

Batter - hand mixed, because I'm pretty sure Annette didn't have the same access to a red KitchenAid mixer like I do!

One of the few directions - bake in muffin pans!

A little crumbly, but delicious! 

Overall, the Ginger Drops were not quite what I expected.  With only basic instructions, contradicting ingredients, and no cook time or temperature, that was part of the adventure!  The consistency was definitely more like cake than cookie.  I tried one batch in a 350 degree electric oven, and another batch at 400 degrees (definitely more crispy!).

This experiment really got me thinking.  What kind of flour was available in 1941 China?  Did she use wheat flour, or something more like rice or tapioca?  Was the ground ginger more fresh?  More medicinal?  How did the get brown sugar?  The diary includes a recipe for Refining Chinese Sugar - was that the sugar she meant?  What kind of oven did she use?  I had the option for either gas or electric, but could she have used wood-burning? 

For my next attempt, I'll head up to the Chinese markets on Buford Highway and see what kind of ingredients I can find.  Stay tuned!