Favorite Friday: Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce

Introducing Favorite Friday, the sweet new feature of the family recipe blog. Each Friday I will (try to) share a new favorite recipe. So if you make something really awesome that you'd like to share, send it and it could be our next featured recipe on Favorite Friday. I am now looking for recipes you really enjoyed while spending Christmas with your family these last couple of days.

I will kick things off by sharing my mom's recipe for Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce. We celebrated Christmas day at my house, but Mom made the dessert and while we all love it, Kara is the one who is most fond of this warm, gooey, wintery cake. The gingerbread (but not sauce) is actually from the green (oldest) Peach Tree cookbook, which many of us have I think.

By the way, this year I noticed stores selling cupcake-type pans that make little gingerbread men shaped cakes. Wouldn't that be cute to make this recipe into little gingerbread men and put them out for dessert at a Christmas party??

Old Fashioned Gingerbread
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup molasses
1 cup boiling water
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon allspice

1. Combine butter, brown sugar and molasses in a bowl. Add boiling water and stir until butter is melted. Add the eggs and beat well.
2. Combine the remaining dry ingredients and add to the egg mixture. Continue stirring until batter is smooth.
3. Pour batter into a buttered 9x13 pan. Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Lemon Sauce
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 cups boiling water
1 lemon, rind and juice
2 tablespoons butter

Mix the sugar and corn starch; add boiling water gradually, stirring constantly. Cook 8-10 minutes, add lemon juice, rind and butter, stirring until smooth. Serve hot or cold. (Best warmed, poured over a slice of gingerbread.)