Lucy Forster-Smith, outgoing Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at Macalester, has been making a lot of gingerbread lately. For those who associate gingerbread with tiny people-shaped cookies, as I did at first, this is different. It is in actual bread form accompanied by a lemon glaze. The recipe comes from The Silver Palate Cookbook and with a recommendation from Lucy herself. Cold days are great for baking since the oven will warm a whole room, so give it a try!

Ingredients

Gingerbread

1 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp. salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Lemon Glaze

2/3 c. powdered sugar

3 Tbs fresh lemon juice

Sift sugar into a bowl; add lemon juice and mix well.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.
2. Sift dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl. Add eggs, sugar and molasses. Mix well.
3. Pour boiling water and the oil over mixture. Stir thoroughly until smooth.
4. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Set on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until top springs back when touched and the edges have pulled away slightly from the sides of the pan.
5. While the gingerbread is still hot, pour glaze over top and cool in the pan, set on a rack. Lucy recommends poking a few small holes in the top so that glaze can sink into the bread.