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.

Make Your Own No Bake Gingerbread House

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:

1. Use a spoon to smooth the "glue" on a graham cracker.
2. Next, place the graham cracker, sticky-side down on to one side of the milk carton.
3. Repeat this for the other three sides.
4. 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.
5. 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!

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Gingerbread house felt bag - small
Despite lessons learned, this adorable and scrumptious bag would tempt even Hansel and Gretel. Perfect as a little goodie bag for holiday treats. Even perfect for a hand-full of bread crumbs. Made of felt. 6" by 6".

Gingerbread house gift bag - medium
Almost good enough to eat! Get in the holiday spirit with ginger and peppermint. Stock this bag with all the goodies to make a real gingerbread house or fill with holiday treats in red and green. Medium: 10" by 11" by 4.5".

Candy land lunch box
Stir nostalgia with the Candy Land lunch box. We all have a sweet spot for the gingerbread men playing pieces, the Gumdrop Pass, Queen Frostine. This decoupage metal box pays homage to the quintessential first board game. Use it as a keepsake box for other trinkets from times gone by. 7" long by 10" wide.

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