Trying to bake like Grandma, Part II

Yesterday, I finally did it. I baked real, delicious jam jams. Just like Grandma. If you don't know why I am so proud of this accomplishment, you might want to read Part I of Trying to bake like Grandma by clicking here. It took me three hours (keep in mind that I'm still dizzy) to do a double batch.

If you want the recipe, here's a reprint:

1 cup lard
1cup brown sugar
2 eggs
6 tbsp Roger's Golden Syrup
2 small teaspoons soda (slightly heaping tsp? dissolved in a bit of water)
1 pinch salt
5 cups flour (small china tea cup -- somewhere between 3 and four regular cups of flour!)
2 tsp vanilla

Roll dough out (use a bit of flour to keep it from sticking to the rolling pin) and cut circles. Put on greased pans and bake at 350F until done (10-12 minutes). Put together with jam or date filling.

This time, they turned out just right, moist and not too thick. The lard made all the difference to their texture. I wonder how I could make a vegetarian version that's as good? If you have any ideas, let me know.

Grandma had nine kids, and the thought of keeping nine kids in jam jam cookies is quite something, because they're a lot more work than basic chocolate chips or ginger cookies, no question. 

Anyway, I don't think I can make jam jams any better than these. So... this evening, Lee and I walked some over to my Dad. I'm sure they still aren't quite as good as Dad's Mom's jam jams, but my girls don't know the difference - they love them! I may not be able to bake like Grandma, but I can bake like me, and that's good enough in the end.