Gingerbread House
~ Mary ~
For a couple of Christmases I was invited to make Gingerbread Houses with my ‘adopted’ nieces (I claimed them as blood relatives because they are so awesome!). It was a lot of fun, until we all outgrew the novelty- it’s an extremely time consuming project that takes more than one day to complete. We did have a lot of laughs, and I wanted to make sure that if we were ever crazy enough to do it again – the recipe would be here in safe keeping.
Gingerbread for a House
In a medium saucepan heat to boiling while stirring:
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Molasses
1 1/2 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Allspice
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Clove
Remove from heat and stir in:
2 tsp Baking Soda – it will foam.
Next stir in:
1/2 Cup melted Margarine or Butter
With a form stir in:
1 Beaten Eagg
3 1/2 Cups Flour
On a floured surface knead the dough until mixed. Divide in half and wrap with plastic.
Roll out dough, with a rolling pin, slightly thinner than 1/4 inch.
Place dough on baking sheet THEN put on your pattern pieces and trace the pattern with an exact knife.
LEAVE ALL THE DOUGH ON THE SHEET! This will help get you nice straight edges for building with!
Bake at 325° for approx 12-18 minutes – make sure the cookie is slightly crisp around the edges.
Once dough has only slightly cooled – go around the outline with your exact knife again – BEFORE it’s completely cooled or your cookie will crack in unwanted places.
Gingerbread House Icing
Whisk together:
1 lb powdered Suger (about 4 Cups)
Dash of Salt
1 tsp Cream of Tartar
Set aside
In mixing bowl beat:
3 Egg Whites
to a soft peak, now slowly add the dry ingredients until stiff peaks form.
Use a pastry bag – or plastic bag with a corner clipped off – to distribute the icing on your creation.
