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Building Gingerbread
SUBMITTED BY:
JBS BOX
PHOTO BY:
HappyHousewife
"Every Christmas I design a new pattern and make a gingerbread house for the holidays. The kids love to help decorate."
RECIPE RATING:
Read Reviews
(34)
Review/Rate This Recipe
PREP TIME
30 Min
COOK TIME
15 Min
READY IN
3 Hrs
Original recipe yield 1 gingerbread house
SERVINGS
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Servings
US
METRIC
INGREDIENTS
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup shortening
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 cup white sugar
1 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
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DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Melt shortening in a saucepan large enough for mixing the dough. Mix in sugar and molasses. Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and ginger; gradually stir into the pan, using your hands to work in the last bit. Dough should be stiff.
On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness, and cut out as desired. Make sure the gingerbread is of uniform thickness, or the edges may burn before the center is done. Place pieces onto cookie sheets.
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool for several minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to racks to finish cooling.
When the gingerbread has cooled completely, make the frosting cement. In a medium bowl, mix together confectioners' sugar and cream of tartar. Add egg whites and vanilla. Beat on high speed until frosting holds its shape. If necessary, add more confectioners' sugar to thicken the icing. Cover frosting with a damp cloth to prevent drying.
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REVIEWS
Reviewed on Jan. 10, 2004 by Rebekah
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Rebekah
Jan. 10, 2004
My mom & I make approximately 40 gingerbread houses each year, so I know what I am saying when I tell you this is a great recipe. We lost our recipe this year so tried this one and we like it better than our usual one. You will have to correctly measure the flour or it would be too dry. You scoop the flour into the measure cup and with a kitchen scoop, then clear off the top with a knife WITHOUT tapping the cup. Then it should not be too dry. Also don't try to make them too thin. They should be app. 3/8" thick. Good luck with your gingerbread house!
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32 users found this review helpful
My mom & I make approximately 40 gingerbread houses each year, so I know what I am saying when...
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Reviewed on Jan. 10, 2004 by hosta53
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hosta53
Jan. 10, 2004
Lost my old recipe and had to try several until I found this one-it is really good. This makes a good stiff dough that yeilds a sturdy non-puffy cookie that works very well for building houses or making large cookies for hanging. NOTE: Flour must be measured very carefully and then should not be dumped into the fluids all at once. Flour varies in moisture content- the amount needed in any cookie recipe may vary somewhat from time to time even if it is same brand brand of flour. Don't pack the flour into the cup- spoon it into the cup then level the top off with a knife. This makes a very stiff dough, but that is what is needed for house building. Use a different recipe for cookies to be used for eating only.
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16 users found this review helpful
Lost my old recipe and had to try several until I found this one-it is really good. This...
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Reviewed on Dec. 5, 2005 by kats_snguyen
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kats_snguyen
Dec. 5, 2005
To all those who have tried this recipe and ended up with a crumbly mess (like me!) I have some valuable advice. Once you've melted the shortening, keep the heat on medium as you add the rest of the ingredients GRADUALLY using a whisk to mix it in, rather than dumping all the dry ingredients in all at once. Keeping it over the heat helped keep it warm and pliable. It's amazing how much of a difference this all made. It turned out PERFECTLY and I will be sure to use this recipe every year!
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12 users found this review helpful
To all those who have tried this recipe and ended up with a crumbly mess (like me!) I have...
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Reviewed on Dec. 20, 2003 by THUNDERINGOAK
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THUNDERINGOAK
Dec. 20, 2003
This recipe is great, but to make it easier for the beginner to work with, I'd suggest taking the yolks from the eggs --you're using 2 whites for the frosting - and add them to the dough mixture. Any good baker knows not to pack flour either, the only ingredient you usually ever pack is brown sugar, so be sure to measure flour by sifting or spooning and level it carefully with the blade of a knife and you'll have a terrific house. The icing works great even heavy things like ribbon candy can be 'glued on' with it. This was a fun little house to build.
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9 users found this review helpful
This recipe is great, but to make it easier for the beginner to work with, I'd suggest taking...
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Reviewed on Dec. 19, 2003 by
BJUBC
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BJUBC
Dec. 19, 2003
Thanks, this was a perfect recipe for a beautiful gingerbread house......it was easily doubled or quadrupled to give very creative house designs. The icing was great.....very strong...once again I recommened this recipe highly.
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8 users found this review helpful
Thanks, this was a perfect recipe for a beautiful gingerbread house......it was easily...
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Reviewed on Dec. 4, 2002 by
Julie
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Julie
Dec. 4, 2002
The icing was fantastic, but the gingerbread wasn't. I rolled it thicker than suggested, and it burned on the edges after 8 minutes.
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8 users found this review helpful
The icing was fantastic, but the gingerbread wasn't. I rolled it thicker than suggested, and...
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Reviewed on Dec. 18, 2005 by
JENSPIN
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JENSPIN
Dec. 18, 2005
This recipe goes against all "rules" of typical rolled cookies. This dough needs to be *hot* to be workable, and I wouldn't use any flour at all while rolling - the shortening keeps the dough from sticking to anything, and extra flour just makes a goo out of the oil. I microwaved the dough for about 10-20 seconds between each rolling, and the results seem fine and strong. The flour-to-liquid ratio is critical in this recipe. I was very light-handed with the flour, and it turned out fine. You might want to sift the flour first, or spoon it very lightly into the measuring cup. I also doubled the spices and added 2 t. cinnamon and 1 t. allspice for extra flavor. I was able to make 2 6-inch square roof pieces, 2 5x5-inch side walls, and 2 front/back pieces extending up to 7 inches tall - and I still had plenty of leftover dough for trees, a chimney, etc.
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7 users found this review helpful
This recipe goes against all "rules" of typical rolled cookies. This dough needs to be *hot*...
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Reviewed on Dec. 10, 2003 by schutzie
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schutzie
Dec. 10, 2003
This was my first attempt at making a Gingerbread house. This is an excellent, easy recipe. Thanks to Doris C for the advice. It was helpful and made the dough perfect. This will defintely become a family tradition.(Even my husband had fun helping!!!)
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6 users found this review helpful
This was my first attempt at making a Gingerbread house. This is an excellent, easy recipe....
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Reviewed on Dec. 19, 2003 by M-DRAGON
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M-DRAGON
Dec. 19, 2003
This was my first attempt at building a gingerbread house and this recipe worked really well. I used the Royal Icing II for the glue, made an outside chimney with tiny M&M's on it for "stones", and small tootsie rolls beside the front door for "firewood". I was able to cut out a window from the back side of the house but left a cutout of a gingerbread person waving through the window! It was really great.
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4 users found this review helpful
This was my first attempt at building a gingerbread house and this recipe worked really well. ...
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Reviewed on Dec. 16, 2003 by TISHMURPHY
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