creative chaos: Day 5-Gingerbread

I think this one is probably our longest running tradition. I made my first gingerbread house the first year we were married. My visiting teacher invited me to her home to decorate a house. I found the whole experience wonderful-especially the smell of real gingerbread, so we started the tradition ourselves.

Each year, we usually invite one or two families over for our annual gingerbread party. We purchase cheese pizzas from Papa Murphy's and let the families put their own toppings on them. After we've eaten our pizzas, we start on the kids' trains or houses. Once the kids are done, then the adults get to do their houses. It's so funny to watch the husbands "take over" the project while the mom's are cleaning up the kids or helping them finish their projects. I've just learned to let Gordon take the lead on our house each year-it's easier that way. "-) The first couple years we tried different gingerbread house patterns, but the past several years we've used the same one. It's cute, simple, and I have the pattern.

This year I decided to have a Cub Scout Gingerbread party. Jarrett really got into decorating. Kaden did it for about 5 minutes-nice and simple and the other boy, Daniel, worked on his for about 30 seconds and then decided he was done and that he'd rather play computer games.

Baking

Here is the recipe I use. As you can see, it makes a lot of dough. I think I can get at least three large houses and a couple trains out of one dough.

Gingerbread House Recipe

2 sticks margarine

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cups molasses

3 eggs

8-9 cups flour

1 TBSP. baking soda

1 tsp. of each of the following: salt, allspice, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger

Cream together margarine and sugar. Add molasses and eggs. Beat until smooth. Add baking soda and spices. Add flour slowly, until just mixed, forming a ball. Wrap in saran wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. Divide dough into manageable portions. Roll out on parchment paper until dough is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut desired shapes. Remove excess. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. (If not using parchment paper or wax paper, lightly grease pan)

So I made a movie on how to make the houses, roll the dough, bake it, etc. However, I can't figure out how to upload it so I'm going to have to write it out, so here it goes-

Roll your dough on parchment paper-it REALLY makes a difference. You can use wax paper, however the wax burns a little in the oven. When you open the oven door, you'll get a puff of smoke when using wax paper. I use it when I run out of parchment paper, but I definitely prefer the paper.

For my pattern pieces, I have them printed on cardstock and then individually cut out and laminated. I store them in my cookbook so I can easily find them year after year. Each piece tells me what it is and how many I need to cut. That's essential for me as I have two different house patterns and train that has four different cars. By laminating them, it also keeps them from sticking to your dough and getting grease stains.

When cutting out the pieces, use a pizza cutter. It gives you a nice clean edge. Also, make sure you leave enough space between your pieces for them to grow in the oven. Don't try to cut them all close together and then move the pieces-they will lose their shape.

Once you have your pieces cut, remove the excess dough and place the entire parchment on your cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Before placing in the oven, use a water bottle to lightly mist the tops-this will prevent them from raising too much.

Remove them from the oven and let them sit on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes and then transfer the entire parchment to a cooling rack. When cool, remove the pieces from the parchment and I then place mine on a new piece of parchment until I'm ready to use. Don't stack the pieces or they may stick together.

It really is worth the time to make the gingerbread instead of using graham crackers. Your house will smell heavenly! I think I cut and baked the three trains in less than an hour (however I do have double ovens so that speeds up the process).

Assembling

To assemble your house, you will need a piece of cardboard that has been covered in aluminum foil. Don't skimp on the size because it's just as fun to decorate the landscape as it is the house itself. You will also need frosting (the cement), piping bags and tips, a moist washcloth (get it wet and ring out excess water), and a couple cans of soup.

I use a medium star tip to begin with. Pipe a generous amount of frosting on the bottom of your first piece and one side. Then use a can of soup on the outside of the house to support the piece while you work on the next one. Continue to assemble the house, making sure that you are securing the house to your board (with the frosting). Use an GENEROUS amount of frosting. You can always cover it up with candy. I use cans of soup to hold my roof on too, while it's drying. I place the soup under the overhangs. Once it's dry, you can decorate. If you're doing a party and you want the party to go smoothly, go ahead and assemble the houses or trains beforehand. I assemble the kids' stuff beforehand definitely.

The key to assembling is to have the right kind of frosting-Royal frosting. This is NOT buttercream. It's pure sugar with no fat. This is the recipe that I always use:

Royal Frosting

3 level TBSP Meringue Powder

4 cups powdered sugar

6 TBSP water

Beat all ingredients at low speed for 7-10 minutes (10-12 minutes at high speed for portable mixer) until the icing forms peaks and it loses it's sheen. Makes 3 cups.

You'll need to double or triple this for one recipe of dough, depending on how much decorating you do. The meringue powder makes it very easy but you can make it without. Here is a recipe in case you don't have any. (The powder is found in the cake decorating aisle at Walmart or craft stores)

Cement Frosting

1 egg white, room temperature

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

A little less than 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Combine and beat for 7-10 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Now, make sure that after you make your frosting that you cover it with a lid or the moist towel. Otherwise it will dry up quickly. I also have several wet washclothes laying around while we decorate so we can cover the decorating tips (attached to the pastry bags) when they are not in use. If your frosting dries, you'll have to use a toothpick to try and clean the tip out.

Once the house or train is assembled and dried, it's time to decorate! There are so many different candies that you can use. I think our staples are red and green M&Ms, peppermints, licorice, cookies, tootsie rolls, gum drops or dots, red hots, candy canes (large and small), coconut (looks like snow), pretzels (makes a great fence), sugar ice cream cones (makes great trees), marshmellow snowmen or trees, etc. I used to hate it because we'd have a ton of candy left over because we'd buy so many varieties, and it would go to waste or my kids would find it and eat it. But I've learned that most of it is pure sugar and it lasts for years. So I just bag it up and put it with my cake decorating supplies and keep it for the next year. I didn't have to buy any candy this year as I had a ton left over from last year!

That's it! It is SO MUCH FUN!!

Here are just a few of the families that we have shared this tradition with, over the years-