Ginger bread house

To the modern cook, making a gingerbread house may seem nearly as daunting as building a real house. But, like dyeing Easter eggs, it’s a rewarding, hands-on way to connect to holiday traditions of the past. Stretched over a few winter evenings or a weekend, it’s a festive effort — especially with a group. This guide, made with help from Bill Yosses, the former White House pastry chef (and our chief gingerbread adviser), will lead you through the process step by easy step. You won’t even need a pastry bag. • For baking the dough , you’ll need a scale to weigh ingredients, a rolling pin, a ruler, and parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Wirecutter, a product recommendations website owned by The New York Times Company, has a guide to • U se a sharp chef’s knife or a serrated knife to cut the gingerbread. Whichever you choose, you’ll want a small knife and a large one, along with a ruler and a 2-inch round cookie cutter. If making a stained-glass window, you’ll need electric tealights and hard candies, in red, yellow or green. • For assembling the house, a sturdy board, like a wood or canvas painting panel, or an inexpensive cutting board, about 18- or 20-inch square, is key. Mugs, jars and cans will also help prop up the walls as they dry. • For decorating, you’ll need thick, sealable one-gallon plastic bags to use as pastry bags. An offset spatula will allow you to scrape and smooth the icing. Orange and lemon zests make this recipe, from Bill Yosses, the former White H...

Ingredients • GINGERBREAD HOUSE DOUGH: • 2 cups sugar • 2 cups shortening • 2 cups dark molasses • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon • 2 teaspoons baking soda • 1 teaspoon salt • 9 to 10 cups all-purpose flour • ICING AND ASSEMBLY: • 8 cups confectioners' sugar • 6 tablespoons meringue powder • 3/4 to 1 cup warm water • Decorating bag • Large dot (#12) decorating tip • Spice jars • Candies and cookies for decorating Directions • Dough: In a large saucepan, cook the sugar, shortening and molasses on low, until shortening is melted and sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add the cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough can be formed into a ball. • Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead until even in color and smooth (not crumbly or dry), adding more flour if needed. Form into a log. Cut into five equal pieces; wrap in plastic. Cut • Line a • Bake at 375° for 10-14 minutes or until cookie springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven; immediately replace patterns on dough. Cut around the edges to trim off excess cookie. Cool 3-4 minutes or until cookies begin to firm up. Carefully remove to a wire rack; cool Repeat with remaining dough and patterns. • Icing and Assembly: In a large bowl, beat the sugar, meringue powder and 3/4 cup water on low until blended. Beat on high for 8-10 minutes or until stiff peaks form, adding additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Place a damp paper towel over bowl...

Can You Eat This Gingerbread House? Technically, yes, this gingerbread house is edible. But it's made more for decoration then deliciousness. If you're craving gingerbread, make our Your Gingerbread House Action Plan If you're feeling overwhelmed, break the process down into steps. Here's a suggested timeline. • 4 days before: Do the shopping for all ingredients. Gather all the tools you'll need to make the house: a base for the house, cookie sheets, parchment paper, rolling pin, sharp knife, electric mixer, and a pastry bag with tips (or plastic freezer bag). Print and cut out the pattern pieces (download the templates • 3 days before: Make the dough. • 2 days before: Bake the pieces; let cool. • 1 day before: Assemble the house and let the icing mortar set. • Day of: Decorate! (Or add an extra day and bake the house pieces one day and decorate the next.) More Gingerbread Recipes to Make This Holiday • • • • • With 6 cups of flour, how you measure the flour makes a difference. Lightly fluff up the flour in the container, use a cup measure to scoop up flour, then use a blunt knife to level the flour. Do not pack or tamp down the flour in the cup. This recipe is best for making a gingerbread house, not cookies. For cookies, I prefer my If you have pets in your house, keep them away from the gingerbread house during all phases of construction and decorating. Non-gingerbread-house-building-participating adults and children should be informed to keep their hands off the house ...

Nothing says holiday season like a Gingerbread house sitting on the counter! This recipe includes the recipe for gingerbread, a template to print out the ginger bread house pieces, and how to make the royal icing. This is the perfect recipe for the whole family to enjoy! I love making desserts together with my family during the colder months. Warming up the house with the oven is my favorite way to spend chilly evenings. I also love the way that the house smells when you have spiced desserts baking. This holiday season you have to try these delicious Gingerbread House Recipe Ok, this is the most fun I’ve had writing a recipe! There is nothing like getting the family together and putting together the most adorable holiday decor. You can also eat the gingerbread house, which is a big bonus. I will say, this recipe is meant to make firm gingerbread that will hold up to the weight of stacking and decorations, so it is pretty hard and not as sweet as traditional gingerbread. But if you want some gingerbread that is soft and delicious, you can make these cute This recipe comes with everything you will need to build your houses! First, print off the Ingredients You are making a cookie dough, so you will need the basic pantry items. You will also need molasses to make these gingerbread houses, which you should be able to find in the baking aisle of your grocery store. Don’t forget to pick up the meringue powder as well, you will need it to get your icing nice and firm! You can fin...

One of the most common recipe questions I receive is how to turn my • solid gingerbread cookie dough recipe • a • all my decorating tips and recommendations • links to the products I use if you want to replicate this Trust me when I say that I am NOT a crafty person, but I could EASILY decorate this beauty and I’m showing you exactly how I did it. This is perfect for beginners! Let’s get started. Here’s the video tutorial to guide you along. You can watch me make this gingerbread house from start to finish, including rolling out the dough and decorating the house. Sprinkled throughout are my highly recommended tips and methods to guarantee gingerbread house success. Gingerbread House Video Tutorial Starting Your Homemade Gingerbread House We’re using a cookie dough that’s similar to my • small amount of baking soda for less puff • less butter so the house shapes are harder • less molasses so the dough isn’t as sticky • add water to make a smoother dough Other than that, the recipes are pretty similar. Chilling the dough is imperative—otherwise the house pieces will lose shape and constructing will be impossible. The dough is a little sticky from the molasses, so I recommend chilling in two discs before rolling out. Why two discs? It’s easier to roll out smaller portions of cookie dough. How to Construct a Gingerbread House Use my gingerbread house template. This template will give you a small-medium house that’s totally approachable. I find large houses difficult to constr...