Gingerbread Dough and Royal Icing
Laura and I started making gingerbread houses each Christmas when she was in kindergarten. Some of our more memorable creations were a 2-story house that had stained-glass windows (we lit it up each night, which was quite spectacular), a cottage with a thatched roof (wheaties), a couple of bird and squirrel friendly concoctions made out of suet instead of gingerbread, and finally in Laura's senior year of high school, we made our triumph: a replica of our house on Stanmore Drive. It was a beauty and even better, we spent a wonderful day together creating it. Here is the recipe for dough and royal icing that worked best for us.
-Terry
INGREDIENTS
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable shortening
- ½ cup molasses
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 1½ tablespoons warm water
- 4 cups sifted confectioners sugar
- 3 level tablespoons meringue powder (find in craft stores and with cake decorating supplies)
- 6 tablespoons water
- Food coloring
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 325°F degrees. Sift together dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside. Whip shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add light corn syrup and molasses to sugar mixture, slowly, until thoroughly mixed.
Add warm water. You can add dry ingredients to mixer and knead with a dough hook, or transfer wet ingredients to large bowl of dry ingredients and knead for 10 minutes. Put dough in a large plastic bag for 1 hour to rest. Although it is best when used same day, the dough will keep for a week at room temperature or a month in the refrigerator.
Roll dough evenly onto a piece of tin foil (big enough to fit onto a cookie sheet) 1/8 - 1/4 inch thickness. Use copper cutters to make cottage shapes and peel up unused dough. Place foil on cookie sheet being careful not to disturb cut pieces and bake 15-20 min. until edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a flat surface. Once baked, the cottage will last for years if stored in a plastic bag. Makes 2-3 cottages.
Make Royal Icing: Combine meringue powder and water, beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add sugar and continue to beat for 7 minutes. Add food coloring to tint. Keep covered when not using, since royal frosting will begin to harden when exposed to air.
Decorate the gingerbread pieces while laying flat. Gravity will work to your advantage, and you'll have more control. Assemble the house with heavy frosting by adding more powdered sugar. Use various size tips to create the degree of detail you are looking for.