8 ounces of butter.
8 ounces (a large cup) of sugar.
8 ounces of molasses.
2 teaspoonfuls of ground ginger.
2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder.
Flour to make soft dough.
Warm the butter, sugar and molasses together and mix them well, when nearly cold again add the ginger, powder and flour. Roll pieces of the dough in long thin rolls and cut off in pieces large as cherries. Place on buttered pans with plenty of room between. Bake light.
Whitehead’s Family Cook Book, 1891