Unfortunately, I can't find the recipe that I received in German class all those years ago. The past few years I've looked for different recipes and haven't liked any of them. The dough made from this recipe seems to be nice. The basis of the recipe is from the 1996 Joy of Cooking cookbook. I changed it a bit for the flavor. More accurately, I changed it for the smell. I don't really like to eat gingerbread! The house smells like gingerbread and it is delicious. If anything, make a gingerbread house instead of buying an air freshener. The scent will linger for days.
I've made gingerbread houses with friends the past few years. This year I needed to make 5 gingerbread houses. I ended up with enough pieces for 6 by making this recipe twice. This recipe will make 3 small gingerbread houses or 1 large gingerbread house. It all depends on the size you want to make. This is a bit time consuming as well, so keep that in mind.
Gingerbread House Dough
5 1/2 to 6 C flour
1/2 t baking powder
2 1/2 t ground ginger
2 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1 1/2 stick butter softened (12 T)
1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 C molasses
1 T water
Place the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg into a bowl. Stir together to combine.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar. It won't be creamy, it will just be well blended.
Add the eggs, molasses, and water. Mix at medium speed until well blended.
Add half of the flour mixture. Stir until combined.
Add the other half of the flour mixture. Stir until combined. It will be a bit crumbly at this point. I placed the dough in a larger bowl and mixed it by hand. It may still seem a bit dry, but that is fine. If the dough seems too sticky, add a bit more flour. If it seems really dry, add molasses until it isn't extremely crumbly.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator. It can chill for up to 3 days.
While the dough is chilling, make the pattern pieces. The pieces I made have the following dimensions: Front/back: 5 5/8" high, 4 3/8" wide. Sides: 5" wide, 4" high. Roof: 3 1/8" high, 5 1/2" wide. I always seem to make the roof pieces too narrow. Feel free to play with a ruler, paper, and pencil to create your own pattern. I think that making your own pattern results in a better house! I used a heavier card-stock to create the patterns this time. Any thickness of paper would work fine.
Once chilled, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Let it warm a bit while gathering all of your tools. Preheat the oven to 350.
You will need: parchment paper, rolling pin, knife, gingerbread house pieces pattern, cookie sheets, small cookie cutters for windows. I have a fondant/dough cutter that I used to cut out the pieces. A sharp knife works just fine.
Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit flat on the cookie sheet. If the paper isn't flat, your pieces will be bent. Work a chunk of dough in your hands, sprinkle some flour on the parchment paper, and roll out the dough on the parchment paper. Place the house patterns on the dough and cut out.
Peel away the extra dough from around the house pieces. Cut out any windows or doors you want at this point. Carefully transfer the parchment paper to a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes. It depends on the size of your pieces. Once they start to brown and aren't smushy when you poke them with your finger, they are done.
Let cool until firm on the cookie sheet. Transfer the parchment paper to a cooling rack to cool completely. Cool overnight before assembling the house.
I'll post the royal icing recipe tomorrow and possibly a basic "how to" for assembling... but that is a pretty easy & obvious thing.
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