Banana Ginger Bread Houses Recipes

Steps:

• Make half of the batch: In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together half the butter and half the sugar for 5 minutes, until fluffy. Scrape down sides.
• Meanwhile, sift together the dry ingredients - the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt - and set aside half.
• With mixer running at low speed, add two eggs, one at a time. Mix in 1 cup molasses. Scrape down bowl.
• In 3 batches, add half the dry ingredients, mixing just to combine. To prevent any flour from flying out, make sure the mixer is off when adding each batch, and drape a towel over it when mixing. Mix in zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange.
• Pull dough out of mixer, and wrap in plastic wrap, or transfer to a resealable plastic bag. Repeat Steps 1 to 5 to make the remaining dough. Refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Roll out dough: For each square, weigh out about 20 ounces of dough. The goal is to end up with five 9-inch squares, so you'll roll them out a bit larger, bake them and trim off the edges.
• Lightly dust a large piece of parchment paper with flour. Place the chilled dough on top. Roll side to side and up and down to make a rough square shape. While you roll, make frequent quarter-turns so that the dough remains even.
• Roll until dough is about 10 by 10 inches and a generous 1/4-inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. (Any dough left after the squares have been prepared can be rolled out 1/4-inch thick and used for cookies.) In the oven, the slab will rise to about 3/8- or 1/2-inch thickness, which will make the house extra sturdy.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until even and firmly set. Place pans on racks to cool. To prevent bending and cracking, carefully transfer to racks by lifting parchment paper. When completely cool, stack the slabs, still on parchment, and set aside to dry out at room temperature for 3 to 7 days. (When ready to assemble, see How to Make a Gingerbread House guide for full instructions.)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Beat the eggs in a small bowl.
• Mash the bananas with a fork in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and evenly combined. Stir in the flour, baking soda, ginger and kosher salt until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and candied ginger, if using.
• Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake until the bread rises, the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
• Remove the bread from the loaf pan, invert onto a wire rack and cool completely to room temperature before slicing and serving.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
• Mash bananas in a large bowl with a fork. Add brown sugar, molasses, oil, eggs, and 1/4 cup milk. Stir until combined. Stir flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, allspice, and salt together in another bowl. Stir flour mixture into the banana mixture until just incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool completely, at least 30 minutes. Turn bread out of the pan.
• Combine 1 tablespoon milk, corn syrup, and butter in a bowl. Add confectioners' sugar and stir. Add vanilla extract and enough remaining milk to achieve a drizzling consistency. Pour glaze over the cooled bread.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Line three 8-inch disposable loaf pans with parchment paper and set aside.
• 2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.
• 3. Cream together the butter and sugar on high, until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until well combined. Stir in the bananas and vanilla extract.
• 4. Add the dry ingredients and blend until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to incorporate the batter as best you can from the bottom. Divide evenly among the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 55 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
• 5. To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese, and butter until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all the powdered sugar has been added, add the salt milk and cream and beat on high until smooth and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl (or several bowls if you plan on coloring them with food coloring).
• 6. To make the royal icing, in a large mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar, meringue powder and cream of tartar. Add the water and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined; beat on high speed for 7-10 minutes or until mixture is very stiff.
• 7. To assemble the houses, remove the loaves from the pans. Working with one at a time, cut and stack as desired to create the base of each house and a roof. Use a serrated knife to carve out the banana bread to desired look. You can apply a thin layer of cream cheese frosting to ensure the pieces hold.
• 8. Once the houses have been assembled, decorate as you'd like using the cream cheese frosting, royal icing and various candies!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
• Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt together in a bowl.
• Beat butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Stir bananas, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla extract into creamed butter mixture until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until batter is just combined; pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes. Cool bread in the pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• Using parchment or waxed paper, make gingerbread house pattern pieces according to this diagram; set aside. In a heavy saucepan, cook and stir the shortening, brown sugar, corn syrup and molasses over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat; stir in ginger and cinnamon. Stir in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough can be formed into a ball. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough directly onto a greased baking sheet to 1/4-in. thickness., Position patterns on dough; cut out. Remove dough scraps; cover and save to reroll if necessary. Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until gingerbread springs back when lightly touched. Immediately place patterns over gingerbread; cut around edges to trim. Cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes or until gingerbread begins to harden. Carefully remove to a wire rack; cool. , For icing and assembly: In a large bowl, beat the egg whites, confectioners' sugar and cream of tartar on low speed for 1 minute. Beat on high for 6-8 minutes or until stiff., Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert pastry tip. Place some icing in bag. Pipe icing along base and sides of front wall and one side wall. Position at right angles to each other and place on covered board; prop with small bottles or jars. Repeat with second side section and back. Let dry; remove bottles. For side supports, carefully cut Pirouette cookies widthwise in half. Pipe icing along one side of each; position at the corners of the house., For roof: Pipe icing along peak of roof. Position roof pieces; let dry. For roof tiles, cut Tootsie Rolls widthwise in half. Flatten with a rolling pin; cut each flattened piece in half. Pipe an icing line 1/2 in. from bottom of one side of roof. Curve Tootsie Roll pieces around your finger or a wooden spoon handle and press along icing; repeat until one horizontal row is finished. Repeat six times, slightly overlapping each row until one roof piece is covered. , Repeat on other side. Pipe a thick line of icing along top, front and back roof seams. Using the same technique, place a row of Tootsie Roll pieces at a right angle to direction of roof tiles along the top, front and back seams; let dry. Pipe a few thick clusters of icing onto roof tiles to resemble snow. Sprinkle with edible glitter., For finishing touches: In a bead pattern, pipe icing around front door. Pipe 1-in. squares on both sides of door and on each side of house for windows. Pipe windowpanes. Decorate the corners with snowflake-shaped sprinkles., For wreath over door, attach pudding bites and nonpareils to front of house using icing. On covered board, spread icing into a 1-in. curved strip from the front door to the edge of the board for path. Cut candy bar into small rectangles; press side by side into icing. Let dry. , Using scissors, cut sugar cones to varying heights. If desired, pipe a thick circle of icing around open end of each cone to help hold in place. Position cones around house.