"Oh, dear Miss Betty," Brownie cried, "it is Christmas cooking! Come and see it."
So Miss Betty saw all the lovely little holly cakes, and the tartlets, and the macaroons, and the Brownies, and ate little crumbs off wherever she could find one. Then she said, "I want to cook too! May I, Norah?"
"Sure you may," said Norah, who thought Miss Betty was the nicest young lady in the world.
Then Miss Betty wrote out this receipt, and pinned it up, and everybody helped her make:
GINGERBREAD MEN
| 2 | cups of molasses. |
| 1 | cup of equal parts of butter and lard, mixed. |
| 1 | level tablespoonful of ginger. |
| 1 | teaspoonful of soda. |
| Flour to mix very stiff. |
Melt the butter, add the molasses and ginger, then the soda, dissolved in a teaspoonful of boiling water; stir in flour till the dough is so stiff you cannot stir it with a spoon; take it out on the floured board, and roll a little at a time, and with a knife cut out a man; press currants in for eyes and for buttons on his coat. Bake in a floured pan.
Gingerbread man
"These are going to be Santa Clauses," said Miss Betty. "Jack, if you will cut me some tiny cedar twigs, we will stick them in the right hands—one in each." So Jack whittled down the ends of some little twigs till they were very sharp, and while the men were warm and soft, they put a twig in the right hand of each, and they were as funny as could be.