Grandma's Gingerbread House Recipe

-ROYAL ICING-
2 lb Powdered sugar
6 Egg whites
1 ts Cream of tartar

1. Thoroughly blend flour, soda, salt and spices. Melt shortening in
large saucepan. Add sugar, molasses and eggs; mix well. Cool, then add
four cups of the blended dry ingredients and mix well. Preheat oven to
350F.

2. Turn mixture onto lightly floured surface. Knead in remaining dry
ingredients by hand. Add a little more flour, if necessary, to make a firm
dough.

3. Roll out dough on flat cookie sheets. Lay gingerbread house patterns
lightly on rolled-out dough and cut around edges with sharp knife. Pick up
scraps around cut pieces. Continue rolling out dough and cutting out pieces
on cookie sheets, making sure to keep walls, roof and small pieces on
separate cookie sheets. Bake one cookie sheet at a time in preheated oven.
Large pieces may bake as long as fourteen minutes, depending on thickness .
For small pieces, rolled thinly, six or seven minutes may be enough. Check
frequently to avoid over-browning.
4. Remove from cookie sheets and cool about 30 minutes on wire racks. Then
cover a flat surface with paper toweling and place baked pieces on it to
dry overnight before assembling house.

5. Assemble gingerbread house using Royal Icing: 2 lb powdered sugar, 6
egg whites, 1 tsp cream of tartar.

This dough is delicious and rolls out smoothly. The baked dough is strong
and rigid to support weight of candy and icing trims, and the house is very
easy to put together. The icing will dry quickly and hold tight. Be sure to
keep the icing covered with a damp cloth while not using.

Here are the measurements of my gingerbread house pattern pieces:

Side Walls (2): 7 5/8″ x 4 7/8″

House Front & Back (2): 7″ x 4 7/8″ high at sides, 8 3/8″ high at center

Roof (2): 8 3/4″ x 6 1/8″

Chimney (2): 2 1/8″ x 2 7/8″ high at sides, 1 7/8″ high at center

Chimney sides (2): 1 1/8″ x 2 7/8″

Door: 1 1/2″ x 3 1/4″ high at center (top is rounded)

posted by Jeanne Geake