Gingerbread House Recipes and Ideas
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Basic Gingerbread House RecipeGingerbread house recipes can look rather intimidating but if done step by step or an easier version they can be great fun for kids and a chance for their creativity to shine.
Gingerbread Recipe1 ½ cups packed brown sugar 1 ½ cups shortening 1 ½ cups dark molasses ¾ cup cold water 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda 2 teaspoons ground ginger ¾ teaspoon ground allspice 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ¾ teaspoon ground cloves 2 teaspoons salt 7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour In mixing bowl beat shortening, sugar, molasses and water together until well blended. Then add in baking soda, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Blend together and add flour. Form into a ball and chill for 1-2 hours. Roll out dough onto a floured surface and using templates or make your own cardboard house dimensions cut out pieces. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Don't allow to brown. Lay your pattern pieces on top of the cooked gingerbread and trim if needed. The dough may have spread while cooking and you want your pieces to fit nicely together. Let cool and construct your gingerbread house. Here is a pdf Gingerbread house template that you can download. Buttercream Frosting You can also use a royal icing but this isn't for eating. Since we all know how much kids love to eat as they go or lick their fingers (no matter how much we tell them not to!) we are including this frosting recipe for your kids gingerbread houses. ½ Cup shortening 3 ½ Cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon clear vanilla (other vanilla is okay also but the frosting won't have a pure white look) ¼ teaspoon almond extract 3-4 Tablespoons of milk(add less for a thicker frosting) In mixing bowl, add all ingredients and blend together. If using different colors separate into smaller bowls and add coloring.
Putting Your Gingerbread House Together
Prepare a serving tray or square piece of cardboard for the base of your house. Pipe frosting on edges of sides and attach together. Let dry for 20-30 minutes. Then attach the roof. Let dry another 20-30 minutes or overnight if your kids can wait that long! Then let the decorating begin.Gingerbread House Recipes: Decoration Ideas Pretzel sticks for windows or fences Miniature chocolate bars for roof tiles Peppermint candies Ice cream cones decorated with green frosting-(evergreen trees) Chopped nuts for gravel Gum drops Jellybeans Candy canes Cake decorations or sprinkles Mini marshmallows and where ever the imagination takes you Easy Graham Cracker Gingerbread HouseSquare box or small 8 oz. milk cartongraham crackers White frosting decorations Place your box on a serving platter or tray. With the frosting attach graham crackers on each side of the milk carton. Then attach the roof with two crackers pointing up. Leave the house out to dry overnight. Then decorate however you choose. Back to Seasonal Cooking from Gingerbread house recipes... On to More Christmas recipes and ideas...
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