Sweet Baked Goods Lemon Gingerbread

lemon gingerbread

(from Godey's Ladies Magazine, edited by L.A. Godey, Sarah J. Hale, 1861)

Ingredients:

rind and juice of 2 to 3 lemons​

1 glass of brandy​

1 lb. flour​

1/2 lb. treacle​

1/2 lb. butter melted​

1/2 oz. ground ginger​

1/4 oz. cayenne pepper​

Instructions:

Grate the rinds of two or three lemons, and add the juice to a glass of brandy; then mix the grated lemon in one pound of flour, make a hole in the flour, pour in half a pound of treacle, half a pound of butter melted, the lemon-juice, and brandy, and mix all up together with half an ounce of ground ginger and quarter of an ounce of cayenne pepper.​

The Godey's Lady's Book from December 1861 is chock full of great period holiday recipes. Here's one for a very interesting spin on gingerbread cookies.

By the way treacle is like modern Karo syrup - I assume you'd use the dark variety since it's gingerbread.

 

[CivilWarTalk]

lucy washington's lemon gingerbread
(from Lucy Washington's Personal Cookbook, The WV & Regional History Center.)

Ingredients:

rind and juice of 2 to 3 lemons​

1 glass of brandy​

1 lb. flour​

1/2 lb. treacle​

1/2 lb. butter melted​

1/2 oz. ground ginger​

1/4 oz. cayenne pepper​

Instructions:

Grate the rind of 2 or 3 lemons and add the juice to a glass of brandy then mix the grated lemon in one pound of flour make a hole in the flour pour a half pound of treacle half pound of butter melted the lemon juice and brandy mix up all together with an half ounce of grated ginger and a quarter of an ounce cayenne pepper.​

This is nearly word for word, taken from the Godey's recipe... So the question becomes, which recipe came first!

Image of Original Recipe: https://news.lib.wvu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/3212_009.jpg

Here is an article about Lucy Washington of Locust Hill, near Charles Town, West Virginia, and her recipe.....

https://news.lib.wvu.edu/2015/03/30/lucy-washingtons-lemon-gingerbread/