Structural Gingerbread House Dough Recipes

GINGERBREAD FOR A GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Steps:

• Make the gingerbread dough: Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
• Combine the butter, shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the egg, molasses and vanilla and beat on medium until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sifted flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined into a smooth dough, about 1 minute. Form the dough into a flat square, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until just firm, about 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Meanwhile, make templates for a gingerbread house. Gather several sheets of stiff paper; a manila folder works well. For the wall panels, cut a rectangle that measures 4 by 7 inches. For the front and back panels of a house with a peaked roof, cut a template that is 6 inches wide at the base, 4 inches to the roofline and 4 1/2 inches slanted to a peak. The template for the roof panels should measure 4 1/2 by 8 inches.
• Roll and cut the gingerbread: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the dough and cut into 3 equal pieces (a pizza wheel is handy for this). Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the other pieces refrigerated, roll the dough into a rectangle 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Using the templates, cut out the front and back of the house and remove the scraps around the cutouts. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, cutting out 2 roof pieces and 2 side pieces. (If the dough gets too soft while rolling, return it to the refrigerator for 15 minutes before proceeding.) Discard the dough scraps or reroll to make cookies. Chill the dough pieces on the baking sheets for 15 minutes.
• Bake the gingerbread: Bake the dough pieces until crisp almost all the way through (the very center will still be a little soft), 30 to 35 minutes. Cool the pans 10 minutes on a rack, then remove the house pieces to the rack to cool completely. Assemble and decorate the gingerbread panels as desired.

STRUCTURAL GINGERBREAD HOUSE DOUGH

Steps:

• In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat corn syrup, brown sugar and margarine until margarine has melted and sugar has dissolved completely. Stir until smooth.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add syrup-sugar-margarine mixture. Mix well.
• Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough 1/4-inch thick onto a sheet of parchment cut to fit your baking pan.
• Lightly flour the cardboard patterns and place them on the rolled-out dough, leaving a 1-inch space between pieces. Try to fit as many as you can without crowding. For clean edges, cut with a pizza wheel. Remove and reserve excess dough. Reroll dough scraps for the remainder of the pieces.
• Grab the opposite edges of the parchment paper and transfer to the baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until pieces are firm and lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely before removing from pans.
• This recipe can easily be increased, if you want to make it a project for several kids by doubling or even tripling the ingredients. Instead of measuring out the flour, for a double recipe, use 1 (5-pound) bag plus 1 cup flour. For a triple recipe, use two (5-pound) bags plus 2 cups flour.

GINGERBREAD CONSTRUCTION DOUGH

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour ( 6½ cups, 930 grams), ground ginger ( 2 tablespoons), ground cinnamon ( 2 tablespoons), and ground cloves (1 teaspoon).TIP: If you plan on displaying your gingerbread house for an extended time (a year or so), I suggest using some white pepper (1/2 teaspoon) in addition to all the spices. Spices deter small insects from taking a bite from your beautiful gingerbread house.
• Cream margarine (1 cup, 226grams) with granulated sugar (1 cup, 200grams) until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
• Add eggs (2 whole, large eggs, at room temperature), one egg at a time and beat well. Then gradually beat in molasses (1 cup, 340grams) and beat until smooth, about a minute.TIP: You can substitute molasses for corn syrup, either light or dark, or honey. Or use a combination of molasses, and corn syrup or honey.
• At low speed, gradually, in 3 additions add flour mixture to the wet mixture.
• Turn the dough onto a work surface and knead it for 30 seconds to a minute until it comes together into a large ball. If the dough appears too crumbly, add 1tsp water.
• I like to roll my cookie dough between 2 silicone mats or parchment sheets to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. I often lightly dust my work surface with flour. Once I have all the cookie dough rolled out, I like to chill it for 40 minutes or so. TIP: If you are not making house panels right away I recommend you tightly wrap freshly made gingerbread dough into a food wrap and place it into a fridge for up to 3 days. Let it soften a little before rolling it out.
• It's best to cut the house pieces on the material you are using to bake them on, so you don't have to pick them up after they are cut.When hand-cutting with a knife, I prefer to cut and bake gingerbread pieces on parchment to avoid cutting thru the silicone mat. I slide the parchment with rolled-out cookie dough onto a cutting board and I hand-cut cookies.
• You can use this recipe to make molded gingerbread pieces. Dust texture mats with a little bit of flour before using. For deeper molds, such as skulls, I like to use a non-stick spray and freeze the mold with cookie dough and then unmold.
• Bake construction gingerbread at 350F (180C) for 12-15 minutes or longer depends on the size of the cookies. I like to bake house panels until they are golden brown around the edges.Larger pieces I often bake for 16-20 minutes. While baking, sometimes little bubbles can form on top of the cookies. Using a toothpick, make a pinhole in the cookie, where the bubble appears to be forming, while still hot to deflate the bubble. You can also flatten the cookie with a wide spatula while the cookie is still hot.
• When baking small pieces for your gingerbread centerpieces, you need to watch them carefully as they bake, they will be done in less time.
• Thicker the cookie more time needed to bake them. I usually bake small pieces on the same baking sheet and large pieces on the another sheet.
• Cool the cookies completely before decorating.

CONSTRUCTION GRADE GINGERBREAD DOUGH

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat corn syrup, brown sugar, and shortening.
• Stir mixture over medium heat until shortening is melted.
• Continue to cook until full boil. Remove from heat and let sit until cool enough to handle (approx. 15-30 min).
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
• Make a well in the middle of dry ingredients, and add warm wet mixture.
• Mix dough with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula. Continue to mix until well incorporated.
• Kneed dough by hand until combined and dough is smooth (about 10 rotations).
• Kneed dough until a dough is smooth, and can shape into a ball.
• Divide dough in half and flatten, placing each half in a sandwich zip-lock bag to keep from drying out. Repeat recipe until enough batches of dough have been made as per template instructions.
• This recipe makes enough dough to roll-out approx. 484 square inches @ 1/4" thick
• Roll and cut pieces according to template. (The Best Gingerbread Templates are available at www.gingerbreadbydesign.com)
• Bake gingerbread pieces at 350 F (176 C), for 15-30 minutes (depending on size) or until pieces are firm and light brown around the edges.

CONSTRUCTION GINGERBREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• For the Dough: Trim a sheet of parchment paper to fit the interior of a half sheet pan. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, corn syrup, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low until smooth, then sprinkle in flour and continue mixing to form a stiff dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Proceed immediately, or wrap in plastic and set aside at room temperature until needed, up to 24 hours. (Larger batches should be divided into 14-ounce portions.)
• Sprinkle prepared parchment with flour, place dough on top, and flatten into a rectangle. Sprinkle with more flour and roll to fit just within edges of parchment, leaving dough about 3/16 inch thick. Using both hands, transfer parchment to a half sheet pan. Cut according to your gingerbread house template, using an X-Acto or paring knife. Leave a narrow border of dough around cutouts to minimize spreading, but trim away larger areas of excess dough to gather and re-roll, or turn into paste (see directions below).
• Bake gingerbread until dry to the touch and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Immediately cut along pre-scored lines with a sharp knife or pizza wheel. Cool completely in pan, then transfer cutouts to a safe place. Scraps can be nibbled, or ground in a food processor to use in recipes that call for cookie crumbs.
• For the Paste: Return scraps to mixing bowl and resume mixing on low speed. Begin adding water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until scraps form a stiff but pipeable paste. Thoroughly scrape bowl and beater with a flexible spatula to eliminate lumps, then continue mixing until perfectly smooth. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe designs, such as fences and railing, onto a parchment-lined half sheet pan and bake until pale gold, about 12 minutes. Cool completely before handling. If you like, assemble with Sturdy Royal Icing .

CONSTRUCTION GRADE GINGERBREAD DOUGH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, ginger, and salt) in a large bowl, set aside. Whip vegetable 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. This dough will keep for a week at room temperature or a month in the refrigerator, although it is best when used same day.
• Roll dough evenly onto a piece of tin foil (big enough to fit a cookie sheet) to about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness. Use copper cutters to make cottage shapes. Peel up the unused dough. Place foil on cookie sheet, being careful not to disturb cut pieces, and bake 15 to 20 minutes 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. Construct the house using Royal Frosting.
• Combine meringue powder and water and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add confectioners' 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.