RECIPES FOR ROYAL ICING AND GINGERBREAD COOKIES FOR MAKING GB HOUSES + hints

LARGE RECIPE FOR ROYAL ICING

Beat together:

1 1/2 cup Warm water

12 tb Meringue powder

Add:

4 lb Powdered sugar

1 ts Almond extract

SMALL RECIPE FOR ROYAL ICING:

3 tb hot water

1/2 ts almond extract

3 tb Meringue Powder, (beat;add:)

1 lb confectioners' sugar

Beat until icing loses it's shine and stands in peaks.
Beat water and meringue powder until frothy. Add as much p. sugar as necessary. Continue beating until icing stands in peaks. Color as desired.
Icing should not be stiff or house will not hold together as long. Add more water to thin the icing if necessary.
Makes enough for 2-3 houses. Can half recipe.

ROYAL ICING NOTES:
Icing will keep about 2 weeks unrefrigerated or may be stored in fridge for months. Seal very tightly in TUPPERWARE! You cannot use "lumps."
Requires heavy-duty table mixer*
Any bit of oil will cause this icing to become soupy and unusable.
Icing SHOULD NOT be stiff or GB houses fall apart a lot sooner!
You might want to add 1/4 ts Cream of Tartar for additional icing strength.

Dolores' Gingerbread Recipe used for GB Houses
You can substitute dark Karo for a different taste or for darker color of baked GB. Or add spices from another recipe if you prefer. Other spices will not alter the baking process. This recipe works the best of any I have ever tried. You can use it the day you make it, once it gets good and cold.

1 cup Melted solid Crisco

1 cup Granulated sugar

1 cup Light Karo (may use dark Karo for more flavor appeal)

2 Large eggs, room temp.

1 ts Salt

1 ts Baking soda

2 ts Ginger

2 ts Cinnamon

1 ts Cloves

1 ts Nutmeg

5 1/2 cup to 5 3/4 Flour or - more to very stiff

METHOD:

METHOD: TO MIX GB DOUGH: Pour melted Crisco into mixer bowl. Let cool slightly; add sugar and Karo, blending well. Add eggs, mixing all until smooth and creamy. Add salt, baking soda and spices into mixture and begin to add flour, just a little at a time. Knead the flour in when dough becomes too stiff for the mixer. DON'T HURRY THIS STEP! Continue adding as much flour as the dough will absorb.
TO ROLL OUT DOUGH: My directions say to spray the surface with PAM, but I don't. It doesn't stick too much. I roll the dough out on heavy-duty foil (splash a few drops of water under it so it will stay stationary on the table), roll the dough out, lay pattern pieces on and cut the desired shapes. Leave a 1" space between each piece so they won't bake together. Remove the excess dough and the pattern pieces.
WINDOWS: Must be cut before baking. You can add crushed hard candy for "a stained glass look." I use "sour ball" candies. I crush them with a hammer before I unwrap the pieces. Slide the foil, holding the gb cutouts, onto a cardboard. Put the foil holding the gb pieces in the oven, right on the oven shelf; <==REMOVE THE CARDBOARD BEFORE SHUTTING OVEN DOOR==>
If pieces do bake together, cut them apart immediately after removing from oven, while house parts are still hot and soft. Bake house pieces at 375 degrees for 5-8 minutes. Pieces should not brown. Again, slide the cardboard back under the foil to remove the baked house pieces from the oven. Cool on flat surface.

Makes 2 Medium-sized houses, depending on how thick you roll out the dough. Don't roll it too thin. This weakens the structure of the house. Dough should be rolled out about 1/4" thick. Gingerbread house, made with this recipe, may be assembled as soon as it is good and cold.

NOTES:

Meringue powder Avail. at Sugarcraft or other cake decorating supply shops.

If using a hand-held mixer, save out about 2/3 of the conf. sugar until after the icing peaks. The rest can be mixed in by hand if necessary. Stop & let the mixer cool if it becomes hot!

ASSEMBLY: To "glue" house together

1. Use a very sturdy tray or 2-3 cardboards to set the house on <cover cardboard with FDA foil or white freezer paper!.

I use (3) 14" round cardboards together, for this size house.

2. Using #5 tip in decorator bag, back of house first; pipe out icing on each side-edge of back. Stand the back house piece up and place one side at a time against the back of house. Prop with cans of soup, ect., if it doesn't stay firmly together. Or hold it for a few moments, until house feels like it is staying together.

3. Place icing up the front edges of standing sides. Add house front section. Let dry for 10-15 minutes, then add roof and chimney.

4. Decorate with desired candies using royal icing to hold decorations on.

5. Do "landscaping" last. Let dry and store covered away from dust.

HINTS:

You can make permanent pattern pieces from mylar <avail. at Sugarcraft, other cake dec. supplier, or craft shop >. You can substitute other plastic sheets, like notebook protectors. Mark each section with a Sharpie pen. Also mark how many pieces are needed of each section.
LEFTOVER DOUGH: Can be used for cookies. (Let it return to room temperature before using.) For instance; with cookie cutter, cut out a star, using a smaller star cut a "window." Then fill the "window" with crushed hard candy for a "stained glass" effect. Taste good! OR make cookie "people" for your scenery!
FOR CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENT COOKIES: Before baking the cookie, use a straw to punch a hole to tie a string through. Add the string before baking.
"TREES" can be added on the "lawn" made of ice cream cones, dec. tip #67 or 352. While icing is still wet, sprinkle on multi-colored sugar decorations.
"WINDOW SHUTTERS" can be gb or candies. Sugar wafer cookies also make nice shutters.
PUT A LIGHT IN YOUR HOUSE: A single tiny light bulb on a chord - the type ceramics shops have (available at Sugarcraft $3.75 each) - can be inserted through a hole in the bottom of the cardboard your house sits on. Must be cut before assembly! See my windows glow in Photos 1 & 2.
AVAILABLE PATTERNS: More gingerbread house kits and patterns can be obtained at Sugarcraft right here online, or from Wilton. ...OR, you can make your own. It is easy to create your own patterns. I have made several. This is a nice way to make a 'village.'
You can bake your pieces well ahead of the day you use them, provided you lay them all out flat.
Browse the Holiday magazines for wonderful ideas. How about making a whole village!
A CHURCH is so pretty; Ice the gb white. For a nice effect, have stained-glass windows.
WINDOWS & DOORS can be cut with child's LEGOS.
Finish house off with a sprinkling of clear edible glitter to make your 'snow' glisten.

Source: an out-of-print book

GRANDMA'S GINGERBREAD RECIPE See Photos of this 'BOX' in the 'making' - Photo3)

My Daughter Joyce's Favorite Gingerbread House Recipe:
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1 cup solid white vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup unsulphured molasses *
2 eggs, beaten

* Use robust molasses for dark gingerbread, Joyce uses Brier Rabbit

METHOD: Preheat oven to 350 deg; F or temp. specified. Thoroughly blend flour, soda, salt and spices; set aside. Melt shortening in large saucepan. Add sugar, molasses and eggs; mix well. When mixture is cool, add 4 cups of the blended dry ingredients and mix well.

Turn mixture onto light floured surface. Knead in remaining dry ingredients by hand. Add a little more flour, if necessary, to make a firm dough.

Roll out dough on lightly oiled cookie sheets (I don't oil - I roll out on heavy-duty aluminum foil).
NOTE: Wilton cookie sheets have no edges and will not buckle during baking, making them a smart investment.

Baking time varies according to thickness of rolled dough. For large pieces, 1/8-l/4" thick, bake as long as 17-20 minutes. For smaller pieces, rolled thinly, 6 to 15 minutes may be enough. Check frequently to avoid over-browning. Remove from cookie sheets to wire racks with a large spatula. Cool about 30 minutes. Cover flat surface, counter or cookie sheet, with paper toweling and place baked pieces on it to dry and crisp overnight.

To store, wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Knead briefly to roll out. Yields enough for most of our projects. If additional dough is needed, it will be noted. When making a project with sides that fit together, lean them together to make sure that they fit. Cut away excess or trim to fit with a craft knife.

Humidity-Proof Gingerbread
This recipe found in an ICES newsletter Feb 2008. I thought this recipe might be of interest to those living around a body of water where humidity is making gingerbread houses almost impossible to make.

3 c. all purpose flour
1 1/8 c. sugar
3/4 tsp. each: cinnamon, ground cloves, ginger
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ c. honey

   Sift together dry ingredients. Combine eggs and honey. Add to dry ingredients. Mix-ture will be very stiff. If unable to mix, add 1 tbsp. honey. Do not add too much or the dough will be too sticky. Pat into a ball.
   Knead the dough on a floured surface to combine ingredients. Place dough in bowl, cover tightly and let stand at room tempera-ture a few hours (or overnight), until honey is absorbed.
   Preheat oven to 325°. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8" thick. Dust pattern pieces with flour and lay them on the dough. Cut out with the point of a sharp knife.
   Carefully transfer pieces with a spatula to a lightly greased cookie sheet. Baking time is about 12 minutes for the walls, doors and shutters and 15 minutes for the roof pieces, or until gingerbread is lightly brown. Remove immediately from cookie sheet and lay flat on wire rack to cool.

HINTS FOR GINGERBREAD HOUSES

Gingerbread houses are actually very simple to make. The easiest way to get started is to make a few Graham cracker houses to help master techniques and determine which effects you prefer (e. g., which types of roofs you think are cutest, which materials you find make the nicest doors and windows, et cetera). Once you get the hang of it, it is very simple.

The icing is a breeze if you use the recipe included with the meringue powder, which is available at Sugarcraft and other cake decorating supply shops. I like to make replicas of the recipients' homes ...

Most houses have very basic shapes (and, if more elaborate, you can easily simplify it), making it easy to adapt them from any standard pattern. Then, write the recipient's surname on the peppermint stick mailbox, add gingerbread characters with each family member's name on front, add a Santa in the chimney with a list bearing the family members' names, or whatever. Even the biggest executives _LOVE_ to see their names in print <g, and personalized items are popular because they are the one thing that cannot be purchased. From: Virginia Sauer

ANOTHER HINT: From The Cincinnati Enquirer - "GINGERBREAD HOUSE & OTHER "KID" THINGS"

Use graham crackers/house, Colored Royal icings, Assorted candies to decorate house & path

1. A gingerbread house can be made quickly & easily, so if several children make their own at the same time, you'll have a street instantly lined with houses.

2. A milk carton or any other sturdy cardboard box becomes the form for this house.

3. Gather: Royal Icing & Graham crackers (use only full pieces, not broken ones).

4. Using Royal Icing as glue, cover one side of the carton with the icing & place the graham crackers on it. Repeat for the other three sides (to cover the carton.) Use as many crackers as you need to cover each side (you may have to slice some in order to make them fit.) The top of the milk carton becomes the roof, or form one with cardboard or the box top if you are using a regular box. Once all the graham crackers have been "glued" to the box & covered with icing, you can begin to decorate with the candies, forming doors, windows, shutters & decorations.

5. A young child's creation may not look as finished as his older brother's, but he should decorate it as he likes. Windows placed at funny angles won't detract from the masterpiece, since houses come in all shapes, sizes & colors. Everyone fools like an artist or an architect at the end of this project.

HINTS: I own and run a small business creating Gingerbread Houses so I'd be glad to give you some tips.

The key to making a good gingerbread house is to choose the correct dough. Find a gingerbread recipe that does not contain four eggs; for some reason the addition of extra eggs to the above ingredients produces a soft dough that is prone to absorbing moisture and you'll be hard pressed to keep the walls from caving in.
I use popsicle sticks to support the inner walls and use lots and lots of royal icing to bind the house together. I also like to 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 sm holes cut into it and store in a even-temperatured environment. (like a bedroom closet). Good luck on your mansion.