Busha's Recipe Book

     Every family has their own nickname for Grandma- Gran, Nana, Mimaw, Noni.  They're influenced by culture and tradition, not to mention what little tongues are capable of saying clearly.  My mother's grandmother was Busha, short for "Babushka", a word meaning either a grandmother, an elderly woman, or a headscarf in Russia or Poland.  I never knew her personally because she passed away when my mom was still in grade school, but Busha, my Great Grandma Sobey, was still a part of my life.  I grew up with stories about her life, saw her picture on the shelf, thumbed through the handwritten cookbook she left behind, and every year as Christmas neared, her soft gingerbread cookies were part of the pantheon of treats we made with Mom.

     So, this year, as I have been sharing favourite holiday recipes in various places on the internet (see our Facebook page or the Wordpress blog I've started as a place for that kind of thing) I naturally thought of Busha's gingerbread.  I'll post that recipe here, but first I had to clear it with Busha.  She had no knowlege of the internet or what posting a recipe might mean.  I suspected she'd be OK with it if she did understand.  These weren't  recipes she'd marked "secret."  Still, I wanted to double check with the nearest relative who had actually met her,and that meant calling Mom.  Coincidentally, my call caught her between steps as she was waiting for the oven to preheat.  Her batch of Busha's gingerbread, the first she had made in several years, was ready for baking.

     Mom told me how she had personally translated the recipe so a modern cook could use it.  Busha's cookbook was really just a collection of notes for herself, and it was pretty vague on things like measurements, temperatures, or cooking times.  She was a confident cook who rarely needed specifics to make her dishes come out right.  And she was happy to share.  That's what gingerbread is for.

     So here it is, a gift from Mary Sobey, with all the wonderful, humble magic of cookies from Grandma.  Share them and enjoy.

Busha's Soft Gingerbread

1 cup sugar

1 cup softened butter

1 cup molasses (You can substitute some or all with honey, but the molasses is a key flavour.  This year, I had to use some honey as I ran short.  That's why the dough is a little light coloured, also.)

2 tsp baking soda dissolved in a little water

1 Tbsp ginger

2 eggs

1 cup sour milk (You can make sour milk using 1 Tbsp lemon juice and as much milk as will make up a cup)

About 5 1/2 cups flour 

Mix all the ingredients together.  This works best if you cream the butter and sugar first.  Then, add all of the rest except the flour and mix well.  Gradually add the flour, incorporating it little by little until you have a stiff dough.  You may need more or less flour depending on the humidity and the amount of water you used to dissolve the baking soda. Chill the dough until firm.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Roll portions of the dough on a floured surface and cut the shapes you like.  If you're being efficient, you can plan your cuts to leave as little excess as possible.  The fewer times you re-roll the excess, the more tender the cookies will be.  However, if you're working with kids, don't sweat it.  Let them enjoy the experience.  Keep the dough you're not rolling in the refrigerator as it rolls better when it's cool.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 5-10 minutes.  Thickness of the dough and size of the cutters will vary the cooking time as well as the output.  I got about 100 cookies from this year's batch.  Cool on a wire rack.

You can leave them plain or have fun decorating them.