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My review
Building Gingerbread
31
JBS BOX
"Every Christmas I design a new pattern and make a gingerbread house for the holidays. The kids love to help decorate."
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Ingredients
3 h servingsOriginal recipe yields 30 servings (1 gingerbread house)
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Directions
{{model.addEditText}} Print- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Melt shortening in a saucepan large enough for mixing the dough. Mix in sugar and molasses. Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and ginger; gradually stir into the pan, using your hands to work in the last bit. Dough should be stiff.
- On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness, and cut out as desired. Make sure the gingerbread is of uniform thickness, or the edges may burn before the center is done. Place pieces onto cookie sheets.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool for several minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to racks to finish cooling.
- When the gingerbread has cooled completely, make the frosting cement. In a medium bowl, mix together confectioners' sugar and cream of tartar. Add egg whites and vanilla. Beat on high speed until frosting holds its shape. If necessary, add more confectioners' sugar to thicken the icing. Cover frosting with a damp cloth to prevent drying.
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Reviews
Read all reviews 7589 Ratings
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Most helpful positive review
11/26/2002
My mom & I make approximately 40 gingerbread houses each year, so I know what I am saying when I tell you this is a great recipe. We lost our recipe this year so tried this one and we like it b...
Most helpful critical review
1/17/2002
The icing was fantastic, but the gingerbread wasn't. I rolled it thicker than suggested, and it burned on the edges after 8 minutes.
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11/26/2002
My mom & I make approximately 40 gingerbread houses each year, so I know what I am saying when I tell you this is a great recipe. We lost our recipe this year so tried this one and we like it b...
12/5/2005
To all those who have tried this recipe and ended up with a crumbly mess (like me!) I have some valuable advice. Once you've melted the shortening, keep the heat on medium as you add the rest o...
12/18/2005
This recipe goes against all "rules" of typical rolled cookies. This dough needs to be *hot* to be workable, and I wouldn't use any flour at all while rolling - the shortening keeps the dough f...
12/14/2002
Lost my old recipe and had to try several until I found this one-it is really good. This makes a good stiff dough that yeilds a sturdy non-puffy cookie that works very well for building houses ...
11/21/2008
If you are looking for a strong firm gingerbread that will not spread or warp this is it. BUT, having said that, you need to realize that this is not your typical cookie dough recipe. This is ...
12/19/2003
This recipe is great, but to make it easier for the beginner to work with, I'd suggest taking the yolks from the eggs --you're using 2 whites for the frosting - and add them to the dough mixtur...
11/19/2007
I gave it 4 stars because I tweeked the recipe to make it a 5 star! What I did different: I used 4 3/4 cups of flour instead of 5. And I added a little bit of cinnamon and cloves to make it sm...
11/21/2000
Thanks, this was a perfect recipe for a beautiful gingerbread house......it was easily doubled or quadrupled to give very creative house designs. The icing was great.....very strong...once aga...
1/17/2002
The icing was fantastic, but the gingerbread wasn't. I rolled it thicker than suggested, and it burned on the edges after 8 minutes.