Holiday Gingerbread House Recipes

HAPPY HOLIDAYS GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch square pans and two 15x10x1-inch rectangular pans. In large bowl, mix brown sugar, shortening and molasses until well blended. Stir in cold water. Stir in flour, baking soda, ginger, salt, allspice, cloves and cinnamon until well blended. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Press 1 piece in each rectangular pan. Divide remaining piece of dough in half; press in square pans.
• Bake one rectangular pan at a time, then both squares together, about 15 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched in center. Cool 5 minutes; turn each pan upside down onto large cutting surface. Cut off any rough edges. Immediately cut 1 rectangle into back and front pieces (including holes for windows and door), and cut other rectangle in half for side pieces (see diagram below). Cut 1 square into trim and shutters (see diagram below); cut extra square into gingerbread people, or save for another use. Cool completely, about 25 minutes.
• In medium bowl, beat all frosting ingredients except food colors until smooth enough to spread, beating in additional milk if necessary. Leave most of frosting white; remove and tint small amounts of frosting with food colors for decorating front of house
• Cover cardboard or serving platter with foil. Use frosting to stand front piece of house on cardboard. Attach 1 side to front, then 1 back to side, using frosting. Attach back pieces together at center with frosting. Attach remaining side to house. Attach trim along roof of house; attach door and shutters to door and window openings, using frosting. Fill any gaps with frosting and small gingerbread pieces if desired. Decorate house using remaining frosting, jelly beans, pretzel rods and assorted candies, as desired.

GINGERBREAD CHRISTMAS COTTAGE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine shortening and water. Add brown sugar and molasses; mix well. Combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices; beat into molasses mixture until blended. Divide into three portions; chill overnight., Trace the full patterns onto waxed paper; cut out. Trace the remaining (halved) patterns onto waxed paper as directed on the patterns; cut out. , With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll one portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness directly onto a lightly greased and floured baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut out two front/back house pieces. On one piece, score window and door. , Roll out second portion of dough. Cut out two 8-1/2-in. x 6-in. rectangles for roof. , Roll out third portion of dough. Position house side pattern on dough; cut out two pieces. On each piece, score two window outlines. Cut out one 2-3/8-in. x 1-3/8-in. rectangle for left side of chimney and a 1-3/8-in. x 7/8-in. rectangle for right side of chimney. Roll out scraps to cut out patterns for sides of chimney; sides and roof of porch; and front, sides and roofs of dormers. Score dormer window outlines., Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes; place patterns over baked dough and trim. Cut out door and windows completely. (Set aside door cutout; discard window cutouts.) Cool on wire racks., To make icing: Prepare only one batch of icing at a time. For each batch, in a large bowl, combine 4 cups confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and 6 tablespoons water. Beat on low speed for 5-10 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Place a damp cloth over bowl and cover tightly between uses., To assemble frame of house: Place front and sides of house and fronts of dormers on a waxed paper-lined flat surface. Cut a small hole in a corner of a pastry bag; insert star tip #16. Fill two-thirds full with icing. Pipe curtains in the house and dormer windows. Outline frames of windows and doorway with round tip #3. , For shutters, roll out 10 red gumdrops to 1/16-in. thickness; cut each into a 1-1/8-in. x 3/8-in. rectangle. Roll out four red gumdrops for dormer shutters; cut each into a 7/8-in. x 1/4-in. rectangle. Attach house and dormer shutters with a dab of icing on each side of windows. , Using tip #16, pipe decorative trim on the front and back rooflines and peaks of the house, taking care to avoid the edges. Let dry completely., Pipe icing along base and one side of front wall and the adjoining side wall. Place at right angles to each other on foam core board and position with front of house 6-1/4-in. from one narrow side of board; prop with small cans. Pipe icing along inside and outside edges for added stability. Repeat with second side section and back. Let dry completely. , Cut 3-1/2-in. pieces from the straight end of four large candy canes (set aside curved ends for another use). Pipe icing along each outside corner of house with star tip #20; press straight candy cane pieces into each corner. Let dry completely, about 4 hours. , For dormers: Insert tip #16 into pastry bag; fill two-thirds full with icing. Pipe icing along one side of front of dormer and one adjoining side wall. Position at right angles to each other and place on waxed paper; pipe icing along inside edge for added stability. Hold in place until secure. Repeat with second side. Repeat for second dormer. Let dry completely with front side up., To assemble roof: Generously pipe icing along top edges of house. Position roof pieces so there is a 5/8-in. overhang in front and back. Pipe icing along the joining edges. Prop bottom of roof pieces with cans until roof is completely dry. , On right roof piece, position one dormer 1-1/2 in. from left side, 1-1/2 in. up from the bottom and above the lower window, aligning so dormer front is perpendicular to board. Pipe dots of icing to mark the position of bottom dormer corners. Pipe icing onto back edges of dormer; attach to roof. Hold in place until secure, about 1 minute. Repeat with second dormer. Let dry completely. , Attach dormer roofs with icing so there is a 1/4-in. overhang in front. Cut two 2-in. straight pieces from candy canes. Pipe icing along top edge of dormer roofs; press straight candy cane pieces into each. Let dry completely. , For chimney and door: Spread chimney pieces and door with icing; dip into multicolored nonpareils. With tip #3, pipe a dot of icing on door and attach red-hot for the handle. Let dry. Pipe icing along left edge and bottom of door; position door so it is ajar. , Using tip #16 and icing, attach chimney pieces to plain side of roof, positioning the back chimney piece 1-1/2 in. from back edge of roof and working clockwise with remaining pieces. Pipe icing around top of chimney and along chimney seams. Cut one 5-in. piece and one 1-1/4-in. piece from the straight ends of two candy canes. Pipe icing along top edge between roof pieces; press straight pieces into icing., For porch: Place porch roof smooth side down on a work surface. To attach sides, pipe icing along the long side of each triangle and position against porch roof. Invert to dry. , For porch support posts, cut two 2-3/4-in. straight pieces from candy canes. Insert each into a leaf-shaped spearmint gumdrop; position 1 in. from house and 3 in. apart on each side of doorway. Secure gumdrops with icing. Let dry. Attach porch roof to posts and house with icing; prop with small cans and let dry., To decorate roof: With tip #20, pipe two rows of icing along bottom of chimney side of roof. Press five different colored halved gumdrops into icing in a row; repeat until one horizontal row is finished. Begin the second row with the second color from row one. Repeat nine times, slightly overlapping each row until one roof piece is covered with a diagonally patterned design., On dormer side of roof and starting at bottom edge, repeat procedure for gumdrop shingles. Attach gumdrops to the dormer and porch roofs in the same pattern as roof of house. Pipe icing onto sides of porch roof. Let dry., For finishing touches: Using round tip #7, pipe icing icicles. Sprinkle with edible glitter. , To make trees, use a serrated knife to carefully score and cut ice cream cones to desired heights. Tint a portion of icing with green food coloring. Using leaf tip #67 and beginning at bottom of ice cream cones, pipe icing in rows; sprinkle with edible glitter. Place on waxed paper to harden. Using tip #7, pipe snow on the trees and sprinkle with edible glitter. Set aside., For curved path, using tip #20 and beginning at the door, pipe icing in a zigzag pattern. Press chocolate rock candies 1/8 in. apart onto pathway. Position candy corn, point side up, along both sides of path. Working in small sections, frost base with icing for snow and sprinkle with edible glitter. , For each corner fence, use tip #7 and white icing to attach two miniature candy canes to board. Arrange trees on base along with green gumdrops, rock candy suckers and remaining leaf-shaped gumdrops for bushes; secure with icing. For smoke, pull and stretch the cotton ball; attach with icing to inside of chimney.

HOLIDAY (GINGERBREAD) COOKIE HOUSE

Steps:

• In Addition you will need: flat baking sheet, parchment paper or foil, lightweight cardboard, pencil, scissors, sharp knife, 9 inch square piece of heavy cardboard, Pastry bag with writing tip and star tip, candies, nuts, raisins, etc for decorating.
• Sift together dry ingredients in a med bowl.
• In a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy.
• Beat in honey, molasses and egg.
• With floured hands, work flour mix into moist ingredients until well mixed.
• Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
• Roll dough out onto it.
• Return to fridge for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Trace on the lightweight cardboard outlines of a roof rectangle, 2 1/2"x4 1/2", front/back rectangle, 4 1/2"x3" and side pieces with a roof point on one end, 2 3/4" wide, 3" from bottom to diagnal cut, 2" at an angle to make the roof point.
• Place the cut out pieces on the rolled out dough and cut around them with a sharp knife point, twice for piece, leaving the cut out dough on the pan and removing the dough between the pieces.
• (you can roll this dough out for cookies) Make a tree for the yard if desired.
• Bake on middle shelf until edges are slightly browned.
• 10 to 12 minutes.
• Remove from oven and cool completely on wire racks.
• Make the decorator frosting by beating the egg whites and cream of tartar together until frothy.
• Beat in honey and vanilla.
• Slowly add dry milk, beating until stiff and glossy.
• Place 1/2 of the frosting into a pastry bag with the writing tip.
• Cover the rest as this frosting hardens quickly.
• Draw on your doors and windows.
• (if the frosting is too thick, thin slightly with honey. If not thick enough, beat in more dry milk) Line the edges of the cookie pieces as you work, gluing the house together and onto the foil covered heavy cardboard.
• You will have to hold each piece together for about 2 minutes to allow frosting to dry and hold.
• Tint the rest of the frosting with food coloring to finish decorating your house.
• Maybe a wreath for the front door, curtains in the windows and to color in the door or to paint your house (thin out to brush on the paint, paint in thin layers, drying between layers) To make the vanillia frosting for snow and icicles, etc.
• Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy.
• Beat in honey and vanilla.
• Gradually beat in dry milk.
• If icing is not firm enough, add more milk.
• Outline all the joints and the eaves (where the roof joins the house) of your house with this frosting.
• If desired, form the icicles with the writing tip under the roof and outline the roof with candies or nuts by pushing them into the icing.
• Beat about 1/2 cup of the dried milk into remaining frosting.
• Spread out around the house creating snow.
• Place candies or nuts creating a walk to the door.
• Make"snowdrifts" in front of the windows.
• Push trees into drifts.
• To make a snowman, roll a 3/4 inch and 1/2 inch icing balls between your palms, pressing the two together.
• Use small bits of nuts or candies to make his face.
• Lightly press the snowman into the snow in the front yard, adding more frosting to secure him in place if necessary.
• Roll out 2 long pieces of icing between palms to make snowdrifts and place them on each side of the walk.
• Let house dry for 24 hours.

HOLIDAY GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Steps:

• Mix sugar and water until blended. (Mixture will be thick.) Spoon into resealable bag. Cut small piece off bottom corner of bag. Use to secure all assembled graham pieces and decorations on house as described in following steps.
• Break whole grahams crosswise in half. Assemble house, using 1 graham square for floor and 4 squares for walls. Cut 1 of the remaining graham squares diagonally in half; secure to tops of 2 opposite walls for roof supports. Top with remaining graham squares for the roof. Let stand 5 min.
• Decorate with remaining 1/2 graham and all other remaining ingredients to resemble gingerbread house as shown in photo.