Baked Gingerbread House Recipe
Mix together:
4 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
Melt together 1 cup molasses and 1/2 cup butter.
When cool, mix in 1/4 cup milk and all the dry ingredients from above. Form dough
into two balls, wrap in paper and chill.
Make the Icing:
This is the "glue" that holds the house
together. Beat two egg whites together with 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar. Beat
in 1 cup confectioner's sugar and beat for ten minutes. Add 1 more cup
confectioner's sugar and continue to beat for ten more minutes. This is what makes
the glue stick.
Assembling the House:
 Cut out four pieces of cardboard that are seven inches
wide and ten inches long. Two are for the side walls and two are for the roof of the
house. Then cut out two pieces of cardboard, each seven inches X eleven inches for
the gabled ends of the house. Make a line across each end wall, diving it into
four-inch and seven inch sections, Then make a mark at the top center of the four-inch
section. Make two cuts down from this mark to the line, to from the pointed gable.
If you want windows or doors in your house, cut openings
out of cardboard pieces where you want them.
Line cook sheets with wax paper. Roll out dough on
floured surface. Using cardboard pieces as patterns, cut out two side walls, two end walls
and two roof pieces. Cut the pieces a bit larger than the patter. Cut windows and doors.
Preheat oven to 350º and bake the gingerbread for twelve
to fifteen minutes. If you want stained glass windows in your house, crush some colored
hand candies, remove the gingerbread from the oven after ten minutes, fill window spaces
with crushed candy, and return to oven for several more minutes. While the
gingerbread is baking, use masking tape to assemble cardboard pieces into a house.
Tape house to a cardboard base.
Let gingerbread cool completely. Then use frosting to glue
the pieces onto the cardboard model. When your house is assembled and the glue has
dried, use more frosting to glue on candy decorations. Maybe you'll use extra
frosting to crate a snowy yard. You might want to fill it with animal cracker creatures.
Let your imagination take over and you'll find yourself with a gingerbread house
that is absolutely a one of a kind.
Tips:
Use Popsicle sticks to support the inner walls
and use lots and lots of icing to bind the house together.
Use a Styrofoam base with felt glued to the
bottom - that way it is lightweight and won't scratch your table.
If your not planning to eat the house and want to
save it for next year, spray it lightly with acrylic glaze. Wrap it in a garbage bag with
small holes cut into it and store at room temperature.
 Christmas
Party Ideas
A gingerbread house is a fun and tasty
way to decorate for the holidays. Not only will you have fun making and
eating it, but it makes a great centerpiece too. Follow these directions
for a quick, no-bake, miniature gingerbread house.
What you will need:
- Empty milk carton (the small kind
you get at school)
- Graham crackers (5 for each house)
- Marshmallow fluff or icing
- Different kinds of candy (let your
imagination run!)
- Toothpicks
The empty milk carton will be the base
of your house. You'll use the marshmallow fluff or icing as a glue to
stick everything together.
Directions:
- Use a spoon to smooth the "glue" on
a graham cracker.
- Next, place the graham cracker,
sticky-side down on to one side of the milk carton.
- Repeat this for the other three
sides.
- For the roof of your house you will
do the same thing, but you will need to break a graham cracker in
half and just use the halves for the diagonal sides of the roof.
- Now comes the fun part-decorating
your house. Use a toothpick to put icing or fluff on the candy
pieces. Just do this one at a time so they don't dry before you
stick them to the graham crackers. Use your imagination decorating
the roof and walls of your house. Don't forget about a door and some
windows. Experiment with different candy pieces to see what works
best. Have fun!
Family
Fun at Christmas
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