Gingerbread House
Skill Level
Making Gingerbread Houses is a family tradition for David's family. Every year each kid in elementary school has one for his/her class, one goes to the office for work, and one stays home for us to enjoy. Everything we use to build our gingerbread houses with is edible.
1
Add Ingredients
Ingredients
1/3 C
Shortening
1 C
Brown Sugar
1 1/2 C
Molasses
2 tsp
Baking Soda
1 tsp
Salt
1 tsp
Cloves
1 tsp
Cinnamon
1 tsp
Ginger
1 tsp
All Spice
Instructions
Mix these ingredients together in a mixer (preferably a heavy duty mixer for dough).
2
Add Flour and Water
Ingredients
7 C
All-Purpose Flour
2/3 C
Water
Instructions
Alternate adding water and flour. Add the flour1 to 2 cups at a time, then add some of the water and mix. Repeat until all of the flourand water are mixed in.
3
Chill
Ingredients
Instructions
Chill the gingerbread in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
4
Roll and Cut
Ingredients
Instructions
Roll out the gingerbread thin on a baking mat (like Silpat), approximately 1/16".
When we roll out the gingerbread, we roll it onto a roll and cut mat (Wilton makes the one I like). We also use the large 20" Wilton rolling pin with the guides to make sure we have an even thickness. If you don't have a roll and cut mat, you can put oil on your counter top, cover with wax paper, and roll the gingerbread thin.
Lay your house part templates on the gingerbread and use a butter knife to cut them out (if you haven't made templates, it is recommended for consistency). Remove the scraps.
When we roll out the gingerbread, we roll it onto a roll and cut mat (Wilton makes the one I like). We also use the large 20" Wilton rolling pin with the guides to make sure we have an even thickness. If you don't have a roll and cut mat, you can put oil on your counter top, cover with wax paper, and roll the gingerbread thin.
Lay your house part templates on the gingerbread and use a butter knife to cut them out (if you haven't made templates, it is recommended for consistency). Remove the scraps.
5
Bake
Ingredients
Instructions
Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes. If you want to add jolly rancher candy windows, bake the gingerbread for 10 minutes, add the jolly rancher candy, then bake for another 10 minutes.
6
Assemble
Ingredients
Instructions
Use Royal icing to assemble the house with, and to decorate it with candy. We have had a traditional way we decorate our houses, but the sky is the limit. While we continue to make a traditional house, we have branched out and done a number of fun projects.
