Gingerbread House

1 C. Solid White Shortening

½ C. Warm Water

2 C. Dark Molasses

½ C. Sugar

1 tsp. Baking Soda

3 tsp. Baking Powder

2 to 3 tsp. Ginger

2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Allspice

1 ½ tsp. Salt

7 ½ to 8 C. All-Purpose Flour

Melt Shortening in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and add water, molasses, and sugar, beating with an electric beater at low speed until blended. 

In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. 

Gradually add dry ingredients to molasses mixture using electric mixer at first and then changing to a wooden spoon as dough stiffens. The dough will be quite firm. In the beginning stages of mixing, be sure to blend wet and dry ingredients together well and watch for any lumping. 

Chill dough for 1 hour. 

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F just before rolling out the dough.

Roll

 out the dough, ¼ at a time, right on the cookie sheet you will be baking with. No greasing or flouring is necessary if a non-stick cookie sheet is used. Roll dough to a 1/8 inch thickness. If the dough is a little stiff and hard to roll out, you may warm the cookie sheet slightly to make rolling easier. 

A sheet of waxed paper may be used over the dough to prevent the rolling pin from sticking. 

Cut out the pattern pieces provided and arrange them on the rolled dough. Cut with a knife or pizza cutter. The pizza cutter makes a nice smooth edge. Be sure to reverse the chimney pattern and cut again. The chimney pieces are placed back to back and frosted together to form a fatter chimney. Be sure to cut out all your windows and doors!

Remove trimmings for rerolling. Repeat above process until all the pattern pieces are cut out.

Bake pieces 10 to 15 minutes, or until edges are just starting to brown. The larger pieces will need to cook slightly longer than the smaller pieces. 

Cool pieces slightly on a cookie sheet, then remove to sheets of wax paper and allow to cool. Be sure the surface is flat or the cookies may warp. Cool cookies completely before you start to assemble (they should harden in a few hours.)

Snowy White Frosting: In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat 3 egg whites until they are frothy and slightly thickened. In ½ cup increments, add 4 cups confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth. Construction 1 gingerbread house can take between 1 ½ and 2 batches of frosting. Store frosting in an air tight container or place a wet towel over the bowl. 

Nelson, Barbara; Nelson family tradition, Found in a manila envelope in Barb’s kitchen cupboard, December 2010.  

Note: The darker the molasses you use, the darker the gingerbread will be. If houses are for decoration only, spices can be eliminated without changing the color.