Directions: |
Directions:In a large bowl, beat together shortening, brown sugar, molasses and eggs until thoroughly blended. Beat in cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves and salt. Add flour and baking powder, beating until well blended. Dough will be sticky. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Wrap each portion in a plastic bag. Refrigerate 1 hour or longer. To bake gingerbread, preheat oven to 300F. Line 2 (18"x12") sheet-cake pans with heavy-duty foil; grease foil. Or, use 1 pan and reuse after baking. Using a rolling pin, roll each portion of dough out on 1 greased foil-lined pan in an even layer, filling pan completely. Dimensions for making the house can be found on the back of the Dessert divider. To make 3 smaller houses, I would make 1 1/2 recipes of dough. You'll need to make paper patterns. For each house make 2 front/back pieces, 2 sides and 2 roofs. Any extra space on the cookies sheets can be made into small cookies of trees, snowmen, angels, etc which can be used to decorate the yards of the houses Cut around the patterns carefully; do not separate and remove dough from pan.
Bake pans of dough, 1 at a time, in center of oven 55 to 65 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid over browning. Long baking time is necessary for a hard cookie—important to make a sturdy house. Remove pan from oven; immediately re-cut dough pieces, removing any excess gingerbread. Remove small dough pieces, including cookies, to racks to cool. Let large house pieces cool in pan, loosening carefully underneath them with a spatula while still warm. Allow house pieces to dry overnight.
Gingerbread-House & Cookie Icing
Use as cement when building cookie houses or to frost and decorate cookies.
4 egg whites
1 (1-lb.) pkg. powdered sugar (3-3/4 cups)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
In a medium bowl, beat together egg whites, powdered sugar and cream of tartar, electric mixer at low speed until blended. Turn mixer to high speed; continue beating 7 to 10 minutes until thick and soft peaks form and a knife drawn through mixture leaves a clean-cut path. Use immediately or cover and store in airtight container in refrigerator. Use within 1 to 2 days. Once you begin working with the icing, keep it covered with a damp towel to prevent drying out. This icing dries hard. Makes about 3-3/4 cups icing.
Variation
Tint icing with paste colors or food coloring, as desired. Paste colors, available at cake- decorating-supply stores, are much stronger and give deeper colors.
To Assemble House: Prepare Gingerbread-House & Cookie Icing. Keep icing covered with a damp towel during assembly or it will dry out. Place icing in a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain round 1/4- to 1/2-inch-diameter decorating tube, filling half-full at a time. Use a round 16- to 18-inch-diameter styrofoam or cardboard piece for base. Draw lines at a right angle on the base where you want the front and left-side wall of house to stand. Ice over the lines using bag filled with icing. Place side wall upright in place; then pipe a strip of icing up edge where front wall will attach to it. Stand front wall in place attaching to side wall at a right angle. Hold the pieces upright for a few minutes until icing has set. Then prop walls up placing a heavy jar in corner for support. Let stand 30 minutes or longer until icing sets. Remove jar. With icing, cement right-side wall of house to front, piping icing strip on base and on edge of front wall as before. Put icing on base and on side walls where back will attach. Stand back in place. Let stand about 30 minutes or until set. Ice top edges of house; lay roof pieces over them, using jar or can under roof overhangs to prevent slippage while drying. Roof pieces should meet but not overlap. Fill any space between them with icing. Check house and make sure all seams are filled with icing. Let house stand until all icing has dried completely. Frost roof with icing and decorate with assorted candies, as desired. Using a large pastry bag fitted with a small round decorating tube, decorate sides, front and back of house with windows, shutters and flowers. Icing can be tinted, as desired. Add candy pieces. Decorate door. Decorate base of house or yard by spreading completely with white icing. Use candies to make walkway leading up to house. Arrange striped candies around edge of yard for fence. Decorate house and yard as elaborately or simply as desired and time allows. Attach front door to house by applying a strip of icing to door opening and base and standing door in place. Decorate assorted shaped cookies such as miniature gingerbreadmen, snowmen or others. Stand decorated cookies in yard using icing as cement. |
This recipe for FAIRY TALE GINGERBREAD HOUSE is from