Then one day I ran across a very old cook book that I got from my Mom when she passed. It is so old it looks like it was run off a Ditto Master. Remember those? The paper had gone yellow with age and the cover was gone. There was no sign of where it came from or who had put it together. Mysterious!
I began leafing through the small book and found lots of recipes I had never heard of and among them was exactly what I was looking for. Something I had never seen before, but sounded delicious!
Gingerbread Dip
Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1 1/3 cups freshly whipped cream (I used Cool Whip)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 Tablespoons of molasses (to taste)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
Beat and stir the cream cheese until smooth. (I used an electric mixer for about a minute)
Slowly tap in the powdered and brown sugars and stir until completely combined. (I beat with my mixer for about a minute and a half)
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and molasses.
Add this mixture to the cream cheese and sugars and stir until thoroughly combined. (used my mixer for about a minute, scraping the sides)
Fold in whipped cream and stir gently till completely mixed. (I did this by hand, but you could use a mixer)
Now before you chill this dip, it is better to put it in its serving bowl because once chilled it is harder to smooth it into a serving container.
This old recipe did not say what to serve this dip with, but the suggestions really are endless. A few off the top of my head are small butter cookies, honey graham crackers, vanilla wafers and even pretzels for those that like the sweet/salty taste.
When I made a trial run of this dip, I used honey grahams to dip because it was all I had on hand. However, when I made it for the family party, I used grahams, butter cookies and apple slices. (make sure you don't forget to soak them in lemon water so they don't turn brown) and all were equally well received.
My old fashioned dip was a hit! It was pretty much cleaned out by the end of the night and I received many compliments on my new and unusual contribution. I was elated. In the car, on the way home, I wondered what other gems were hidden in that old, weathered cookbook. I intended to find out!
