Who can resist the heady aroma of baking gingerbread? This sweet confection dates back to the Middle Ages , when it was sweetened and spiced with honey. When gingerbread came to the Americas, molasses became the sweetener of choice. As a cookie or cake, or when fashioned into a house or village, fresh gingerbread is pure comfort food.
When our brood was young, I started baking gingerbread cookies for everyone to garnish. A festive family activity, gingerbread cookie decorating became a household holiday tradition that soon expanded to include their school classmates, swim team buddies and cousins. I shipped dozens of cookies to nieces and nephews, complete with cups of decorations and frosting for “glue”.
This year I was intrigued by the set of Gingerbread House cookie cutters from King Arthur Flour, and expanded the collection to include these creative additions. Using the same dough, one can easily create the sides and roofs for houses, plus cookies to decorate for your gingerbread village.
For best results, and short attention spans, I recommend stepping this project out over three days. The first day, prepare the dough and refrigerate. The second day, roll out the dough and cut out the cookies and pieces of the gingerbread house. Allow these confections to cool and store in a tightly sealed container. The third day, prepare the frosting “glue”. I like to portion decorations and glue in separate containers for each individual. This allows for plenty of sanitary “fingerlickin” and sampling. Then comes the fun part! Decorate and assemble your houses, decorations and village.
Gingerbread Cutouts for Houses & Cookies
Ingredients
Gingerbread Construction Dough
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup molasses
- flour to roll dough
Gingerbread Construction Glue Frosting
- 2 tbsp meringue powder *
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup cold water
- 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon or more flavoring: vanilla peppermint, orange, lemon…
Instructions
Directions to make Gingerbread Construction Dough
- Assemble ingredients and tools. Add the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, ginger and cinnamon to the bowl of your electric mixer. Mix well.
- In a saucepan, heat the buttermilk with the butter until it just melts.
- Whisk in the molasses, then whisk in the egg. Stir until well incorporated and cooled.
- Gradually add this mixture to the dry mix bowl, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Increase the speed to incorporate all the flour until you reach a smooth, stiff dough. If the dough seems a bit wet, mix in a few tablespoons of flour.
- The dough should be stiff enough to be flexible, and neither crumbly nor sticky. Divide the dough into 2 pieces. Flatten. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Directions to shape and bake cutouts
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Remove 1 piece of dough from the refrigerator to a well-floured surface.
- Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thick. (A thinner dough does not rise as much and makes a better house piece. A thicker piece of dough makes excellent gingerbread cut-out cookies.)
- Cut out the pieces as needed on the dough, pull away the dough scraps.
- Transfer the cut-out to the sheet pan. Continue rerolling and shaping the dough.
- Bake the pieces for 10 – 12 minutes. They should be set and brown on the edges.
- Remove any rough edges and cool the pieces completely. Store in a tightly sealed container.
Directions to make Gingerbread Construction Glue Frosting
- To the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the whip add the meringue powder and cream of tartar. Whisk together.
- Add the cold water and whisk together.
- Whip the mixture until it becomes nice and frothy. Scrape down the sides and be sure all the dry particles get incorporated. Continue to whip the mixture as you gradually add 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar.
- The more the frosting is whipped, the stiffer it becomes, and the faster the “glue” sets up.
- Flavor the frosting to taste: vanilla, peppermint, lemon, orange, your choice. Start with 1 teaspoon of the extract, whip and taste. Add more if needed. YUM!
- Cover the bowl and take out only what you need. To draw lines or pipe, use a plastic bag with a corner for the tip cut off. Store extra in the bag. This glue may also be colored.
TO ASSEMBLE YOUR CREATIONS
- Decorate the house pieces before assembling. Using the glue, glue large decorations directly onto the cookie pieces. For sprinkles, spread the area with glue and then sprinkle the decorations. The lines may also be piped with glue.
- Once the decorations have dried, line the edges of the cookie pieces with glue and stick edges together.
- For best results, start with 2 – 3 pieces and allow them to dry. Continue adding pieces.
- Use the additional glue and decorations for cookies.
Cheryl's Notes