Omas Gingerbread House Recipes

GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Steps:

• Gingerbread House: In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda together until the mixture is smooth. Blend in the flour and water to make a stiff dough. Chill at least 30 minutes or until firm.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cut out the following paper patterns for the gingerbread house template: Two rectangles, 3 by 5 inches, to make the front and back of the house. Two rectangles, 3 by 5 1/2 inches for the roof. Two pieces for the ends of the house, 3 inches wide at the base, 3 inches to the roof line, and slanted to a peak 5 1/2 inches from the bottom. Four smaller rectangles, 1 1/2 by 1 inch for the roof and sides of the entryway. And one piece, 2 inches wide at the base, 1 1/2 inches to the roof line, and slanted to a peak 2 1/2 inches from the bottom for the front of the entryway.
• Roll gingerbread dough out to edges on a large, rimless cookie sheet. Place paper patterns onto the rolled out dough. With a sharp, straight edged knife, cut around each of the pieces, but leave pieces in place.
• Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes until dough feels firm.
• Place patterns on top of the gingerbread again and trim shapes, cutting edges with a straight-edged sharp knife. Leave to cool on baking sheet.
• Place royal icing into pastry bag with a writing tip and press out to decorate individual parts of house, piping on decorations, windows, door, etc., as desired. Let dry until hardened.
• Glue sides, front and back of house together at corners using royal icing. Place an object against the pieces to prop up until icing is dry (it only takes a few minutes).
• Glue the two roof pieces to the pitched roofline of the house. Then, similarly, glue the sides and roof of the entryway together with icing. Attach the entryway to the front of the house.
• Continue decorating the house, gluing on gumdrops, licorice and peppermint, as desired.
• Mix all of the ingredients together using an electric hand mixer, until the icing is smooth and thin enough to be pressed through a pastry bag with a writing tip. Add more lemon juice, if necessary.

GINGERBREAD HOUSES RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
• Grease the bottom and sides of a heavy-bottomed pot (such as a Dutch oven) with nonstick spray. This will ensure the dough doesn't stick to the pot as you turn it out.
• Melt the shortening in the greased pot over medium heat. Add the molasses and sugar, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat.
• Gradually stir in 4 cups (500 grams) of the flour mixture, 1 cup (125 grams) at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each addition before adding more. You'll have some of the flour mixture left over.
• Dust a work surface with some of the remaining flour mixture. Carefully turn the dough out onto the floured surface and work in the flour mixture. (You don't want the dough to be too crumbly. You may have some flour mixture left over, which can be used for rolling out the dough.)
• Once the flour is incorporated, shape the dough into a 12-inch (30.5 cm) log and cut into 3 portions, 1 piece slightly larger than the others for the roof.
• Set aside the smaller pieces of dough in the pot (it still should be warm, but not hot), cover with plastic wrap, and put the lid on. You'll want to work with the dough while it's warm as it tends to harden at room temperature. If it hardens, simply microwave for about 30 seconds.
• On the floured surface, roll out the larger piece of dough to a rectangle about ½-inch (1 ¼ cm) thick. Using a house template, cut the 2 pieces of the roof and set on a prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart as the dough will expand while baking.
• Roll out the rest of the dough and cut out the front, back, and sides of the house using the templates. Place on a baking sheet.
• Wrap the leftover dough in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 1 day. Microwave to soften and roll out to make decorations for the house or another gingerbread creation.
• Bake the gingerbread house pieces for 12-15 minutes, until they have hardened and baked through. Let cool completely.
• Make the royal icing: In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric hand mixer until frothy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, 1 cup (120 grams) at a time, until the icing is smooth and thick. NOTE: The icing is used for gluing the house together. It's very thick. To use the icing for decorating, add about 1 teaspoon of water at a time to thin the icing to your desired consistency.
• Assemble the gingerbread house with the royal icing. TIP: Put the roof pieces side by side with the underside up (and the eventual exposed part of the roof down). "Glue" a cut piece of a paper shopping bag across these two pieces with royal icing. Place two small glass bowls on either side of this upside-down roof to prop the pieces up into a "V" shape. Let dry completely. When assembling, this will help ensure that your roof doesn't slip down the sides of the house.
• Decorate the house with more royal icing and your desired decorations.
• Enjoy!

CHRISTMAS GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Steps:

• Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth and creamy. Stir in molasses and egg yolks. Combine flour, cloves, ginger, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a separate bowl; mix into the butter mixture until a smooth dough forms. Shape dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
• Cut 4 wall panels and 2 rectangular roof panels out of paper to use as templates for the gingerbread house.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 6 portions, 2 slightly larger than the others. Roll out the 4 smaller portions; use the templates to cut out 4 walls. Cut windows and a front door into the walls as desired. Roll out remaining dough portions; use the templates to cut out 2 roof panels.
• Roll out any remaining dough and cut into decorative shapes with Christmas-themed cookie cutters. Transfer all the dough to the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cooked through and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks. Let stand at room temperature, 8 hours to overnight.
• Lightly whisk 2 egg whites in a large bowl. Gradually beat in about 5 cups of the confectioner's sugar until a smooth icing forms with firm peaks.
• Spread or pipe a line of icing the length of one of the side walls of the house onto a wooden cutting board. Press one of the side walls into icing so that it sticks firmly and stands upright, using cans or jars to help support the wall. Take an end wall and ice both of the side edges. Spread or pipe a line of icing on the board at a right angle to the first wall, and press the end wall into position. Repeat this process with the other two walls until they are all in position.
• Leave the walls to harden together for at least 2 hours. Keep remaining icing in the bowl, cover with a wet towel, lay a plate on top, and refrigerate so it does not dry out.
• Spread or pipe a thick layer of icing on top of all the walls, and fix the roof panels in position; the roof should overlap the walls to make the eaves. Pipe or spread a little icing along the crest of the roof to hold the two pieces firmly together. Allow to set until firm, 8 hours to overnight.
• Lightly whisk remaining 4 egg whites together in a large bowl. Gradually beat in the remaining 10 cups confectioners' sugar until a smooth icing forms with firm peaks. Pipe snow onto the roof and decorate house with candies. Finish the gingerbread house with a thin layer of sifted confectioners' sugar.

OMA'S GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Steps:

• Mix ingredients in order given.
• Flour liberally! It will start out a bit sticky. Just keep adding flour to your board and your rolling pin. Turn it often.
• Roll to a maximum thickness 1/4" (1 cm).
• Bake at 350°F until brown and slightly crisp. It is hard to give a time for how long to bake. It depends on how many pieces you have on your sheet, how thick they are, etc. I found that they all needed a minimum of 8 minutes. And then I just kept checking every 3 minutes after that.
• Dust the flour off of the pieces after they have cooled. A pstry brush works well for this.
• Glue: Melt a fair amount of sugar in a large heavy pan over low heat. Mom used a cast iron pan. We started with about 2 cups of sugar and ended up adding about another cup. Keep stirring and waiting. You want the sugar to get to the point where it is almost a clear brown. Be careful though, the "glue" burns BADLY if dripped on skin.
• Mom would simply "dip" the edge of the piece that she wanted to glue into the sugar and then press it with the other piece. When it cools, it is VERY hard and holds very well. It does cool quickly though, so work fast.
• For Icing: Beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly add in all of the icing sugar.
• To make cookies: Bake until lightly browned for soft cookies. Crisp cookies will keep better though.
• There is enough dough to make a house and a free form base to put your house on. Or you can simply make a bunch of cookies with the "leftovers".
• Mom has some hand drawn pictures of how to cut out the house. Here are her measurements and directions.
• Cut 2 side walls: 7" x 4".
• Cut 2 roof panels: 9 1/2" x 8".
• Cut 4 chimney pieces: 2 1/4" x 1 1/4" (in two of them, cut a 1" V into the bottom so that it will "straddle" the peak of the roof).
• Cut 2 end walls: 6" x 9" (4" up the sides, cut diagonally to the top center to make a point). In one end, cut out door and two windows. Bake the door along side.
• For the windows: Place foil underneath and fill with crushed lollipop. Bake as usual.
• Base: Simply roll out the leftover dough to make a free form base. Make sure that it is wide enough for the house.
• NOTE ABOUT CLEAN-UP: Don't fret! Your pan that you melted the sugar in is certainly not ruined! All you need to do is add some hot water, let sit for a little while (5-10 minutes) and then rinse it out. If for some reason, that isn't quite working, simply heat the pan full of water over low heat for a short while (again, about 10 minutes).

OMA'S GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 2 cookie sheets.
• Beat 1 cup sugar, butter, molasses, and egg together in a mixing bowl using an electric mixer.
• Sift flour, baking soda, ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, cloves, salt, and nutmeg together in a bowl. Beat into butter mixture until combined.
• Combine 1/8 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Roll cookie dough into 1-inch balls. Roll cookies in the sugar-cinnamon mixture to coat. Place on the prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and edges are set, about 11 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool at least 5 minutes before serving or storing.