Cape Cod Gingerbread Cottage Recipes

Steps:

• To make dough: In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until butter is melted. Combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt; stir into brown sugar mixture (mixture will be stiff). Transfer to a small bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle., Trace patterns onto waxed paper; cut out. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Position patterns on dough and cut out. Using a sharp knife, score outlines to mark windows and door where indicated on pattern, being careful not to cut all the way through dough. Using a toothpick, draw lines into dough to form bricks on all pieces except door area and roof. (Keep pieces covered to prevent them from drying out.), Transfer all cutouts to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until browned. Immediately replace patterns on cutouts and cut around edges to trim excess. Cut out windows completely. Cool on pans for 2 minutes before carefully removing to wire racks to cool completely., Return front of house to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon 1 teaspoon crushed candies into each window cutout. Bake at 400° for 3-4 minutes or until candy is melted. Cool completely on baking sheet before removing., Tint water with desired amount of red food coloring. Using paintbrush, paint mixture over each piece except door area and roof; blot gently with paper towels and let dry., To make icing: In a large bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and cream of tartar. Add water; beat on low speed just until combined. Beat on high for 4-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Keep icing covered at all times with a damp cloth., To assemble frame of house: Working with a small amount of icing at a time, wipe icing over bricks using your fingertip. Immediately wipe gently with paper towels to remove excess., Place front of house on a flat surface. Tint a small amount of icing green and a small amount red. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert #4 round pastry tip. Fill the bag with white icing. Pipe lines to trim door and windows, and to form windowpanes. For door knob, attach dragee with icing., Using a #14 star tip and green icing, pipe garland along windows and a wreath on door. Using a #2 round tip and red icing, pipe berries on garland and a bow and berries on wreath. Pipe additional details as desired; sprinkle immediately with glitter. Let dry completely., Pipe icing along base and one side of front of house and the adjoining side wall. Place walls at right angles to each other on cake circle; prop with small cans. Pipe icing along inside and outside edges for added stability. Repeat with second side section and back. Let dry completely., For chimney: Pipe icing along one side of front of chimney and one adjoining side wall. Position at right angles to each other and place on waxed paper; pipe icing along inside edge for added stability. Hold in place until secure. Repeat with remaining sides. Let dry completely., To assemble roof: Generously pipe icing along top edges of house. Position roof pieces so there is equal overhang in front and back. Pipe icing along the joining edges. Prop bottoms of roof pieces with cans until roof is completely dry., On left roof piece, position chimney 1-3/4 inches from the front and 1-3/4 inches down from the top. Pipe dots of icing to mark the position of bottom chimney corners. Pipe icing onto the edges of chimney and attach to roof. Hold in place until secure, about 1 minute. Let dry completely. Center cap of chimney over chimney top, leaving a small overhang on all sides; attach with icing., To decorate roof: With tip #4, pipe icing along bottom of chimney side of roof. Press five Shredded Wheat pieces into icing in a row; repeat to cover both roof pieces. On one roof piece, pipe a line of icing along top row of Shredded Wheat; press a candy stick into icing. Repeat on other side., Attach four Shredded Wheat pieces along the peak of the roof with icing; arrange jelly beans along peak and an M&M at the front gable. Shape two miniature candy canes into a heart shape; attach to roof. Decorate as desired with heart sprinkles and additional icing., For finishing touches: Cover cake circle with icing. For shrubs, immediately place gumdrops in front of house. Spread with green icing; pipe berries with red icing., For sidewalk, attach red licorice pieces in front of door; place butterscotch candies for stepping stones. Brush licorice with a small amount of water; sprinkle with glitter. Break pretzel rods into pieces; stack at side of house for firewood. For smoke, carefully cut the jumbo peppermint stick to desired length; attach to chimney cap with icing. Hold in place until secure, about 1 minute.

Steps:

• Place the flour, ginger, cinnamon and butter in a food processor and pulse until they resemble breadcrumbs (do this in two batches if the bowl is small). Combine the sugar, treacle and egg in a large mixing bowl. Tip in the flour mix and stir, then bring the dough together with your hands. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Cover and chill for at least 1 hr.
• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line three baking sheets with non-stick paper. Divide the dough into three and roll out on a floured surface to the thickness of two £1 coins. Using the templates, cut out two each for the roof, sides and two pointed end walls. Lift them onto the baking sheets. Re-roll scraps of dough, then cut out the small trees. Bake for 12 mins or until just firm. Leave to firm up for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• To assemble the house, pipe a door on an end wall and a window on a side wall, using the squeezy icing. Pipe icing generously along one long edge of one side wall and stick it to the board. Repeat with an end wall, join the corners with a line of icing, then fix a flake bar to the base as a 'foundation'. Stick the remaining walls together. Use another flake bar to support the other end wall. Fix on the roof pieces, then leave overnight to set.
• Stick the marshmallows all over the roof, using the decorating icing as glue. Fix chocolate buttons around the door and to cover the corner joins. Pipe icicles along the front edge of the roof using the squeezy icing - start each one with a small pea-sized blob of icing. Pull the icing nozzle downwards and away from the blob - the icing will break off in a jagged 'icicle'. Alternatively, decorate with a line of white chocolate buttons.
• Mix the icing sugar with drops of water until you have a thick but spreadable icing. Spread this over the board and decorate with the lollipops (fastened to soft sweets), sweets, chocolate buttons and gingerbread trees. Dust lightly with icing sugar for a snowy effect.
• NOTE: To make the templates draw each shape on card or paper, using the following measurements. Side walls: 16cm x 10cm. Roof walls: 19cm x 12cm. End walls: Total height 18cm to the apex. 10cm tall to the top of the box. Angled line 11cm long.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine shortening and water. Add brown sugar and molasses; mix well. Combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices; beat into molasses mixture until blended. Divide into three portions; chill overnight., Trace the full patterns onto waxed paper; cut out. Trace the remaining (halved) patterns onto waxed paper as directed on the patterns; cut out. , With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll one portion of dough to 1/8-in. thickness directly onto a lightly greased and floured baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut out two front/back house pieces. On one piece, score window and door. , Roll out second portion of dough. Cut out two 8-1/2-in. x 6-in. rectangles for roof. , Roll out third portion of dough. Position house side pattern on dough; cut out two pieces. On each piece, score two window outlines. Cut out one 2-3/8-in. x 1-3/8-in. rectangle for left side of chimney and a 1-3/8-in. x 7/8-in. rectangle for right side of chimney. Roll out scraps to cut out patterns for sides of chimney; sides and roof of porch; and front, sides and roofs of dormers. Score dormer window outlines., Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes; place patterns over baked dough and trim. Cut out door and windows completely. (Set aside door cutout; discard window cutouts.) Cool on wire racks., To make icing: Prepare only one batch of icing at a time. For each batch, in a large bowl, combine 4 cups confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and 6 tablespoons water. Beat on low speed for 5-10 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Place a damp cloth over bowl and cover tightly between uses., To assemble frame of house: Place front and sides of house and fronts of dormers on a waxed paper-lined flat surface. Cut a small hole in a corner of a pastry bag; insert star tip #16. Fill two-thirds full with icing. Pipe curtains in the house and dormer windows. Outline frames of windows and doorway with round tip #3. , For shutters, roll out 10 red gumdrops to 1/16-in. thickness; cut each into a 1-1/8-in. x 3/8-in. rectangle. Roll out four red gumdrops for dormer shutters; cut each into a 7/8-in. x 1/4-in. rectangle. Attach house and dormer shutters with a dab of icing on each side of windows. , Using tip #16, pipe decorative trim on the front and back rooflines and peaks of the house, taking care to avoid the edges. Let dry completely., Pipe icing along base and one side of front wall and the adjoining side wall. Place at right angles to each other on foam core board and position with front of house 6-1/4-in. from one narrow side of board; prop with small cans. Pipe icing along inside and outside edges for added stability. Repeat with second side section and back. Let dry completely. , Cut 3-1/2-in. pieces from the straight end of four large candy canes (set aside curved ends for another use). Pipe icing along each outside corner of house with star tip #20; press straight candy cane pieces into each corner. Let dry completely, about 4 hours. , For dormers: Insert tip #16 into pastry bag; fill two-thirds full with icing. Pipe icing along one side of front of dormer and one adjoining side wall. Position at right angles to each other and place on waxed paper; pipe icing along inside edge for added stability. Hold in place until secure. Repeat with second side. Repeat for second dormer. Let dry completely with front side up., To assemble roof: Generously pipe icing along top edges of house. Position roof pieces so there is a 5/8-in. overhang in front and back. Pipe icing along the joining edges. Prop bottom of roof pieces with cans until roof is completely dry. , On right roof piece, position one dormer 1-1/2 in. from left side, 1-1/2 in. up from the bottom and above the lower window, aligning so dormer front is perpendicular to board. Pipe dots of icing to mark the position of bottom dormer corners. Pipe icing onto back edges of dormer; attach to roof. Hold in place until secure, about 1 minute. Repeat with second dormer. Let dry completely. , Attach dormer roofs with icing so there is a 1/4-in. overhang in front. Cut two 2-in. straight pieces from candy canes. Pipe icing along top edge of dormer roofs; press straight candy cane pieces into each. Let dry completely. , For chimney and door: Spread chimney pieces and door with icing; dip into multicolored nonpareils. With tip #3, pipe a dot of icing on door and attach red-hot for the handle. Let dry. Pipe icing along left edge and bottom of door; position door so it is ajar. , Using tip #16 and icing, attach chimney pieces to plain side of roof, positioning the back chimney piece 1-1/2 in. from back edge of roof and working clockwise with remaining pieces. Pipe icing around top of chimney and along chimney seams. Cut one 5-in. piece and one 1-1/4-in. piece from the straight ends of two candy canes. Pipe icing along top edge between roof pieces; press straight pieces into icing., For porch: Place porch roof smooth side down on a work surface. To attach sides, pipe icing along the long side of each triangle and position against porch roof. Invert to dry. , For porch support posts, cut two 2-3/4-in. straight pieces from candy canes. Insert each into a leaf-shaped spearmint gumdrop; position 1 in. from house and 3 in. apart on each side of doorway. Secure gumdrops with icing. Let dry. Attach porch roof to posts and house with icing; prop with small cans and let dry., To decorate roof: With tip #20, pipe two rows of icing along bottom of chimney side of roof. Press five different colored halved gumdrops into icing in a row; repeat until one horizontal row is finished. Begin the second row with the second color from row one. Repeat nine times, slightly overlapping each row until one roof piece is covered with a diagonally patterned design., On dormer side of roof and starting at bottom edge, repeat procedure for gumdrop shingles. Attach gumdrops to the dormer and porch roofs in the same pattern as roof of house. Pipe icing onto sides of porch roof. Let dry., For finishing touches: Using round tip #7, pipe icing icicles. Sprinkle with edible glitter. , To make trees, use a serrated knife to carefully score and cut ice cream cones to desired heights. Tint a portion of icing with green food coloring. Using leaf tip #67 and beginning at bottom of ice cream cones, pipe icing in rows; sprinkle with edible glitter. Place on waxed paper to harden. Using tip #7, pipe snow on the trees and sprinkle with edible glitter. Set aside., For curved path, using tip #20 and beginning at the door, pipe icing in a zigzag pattern. Press chocolate rock candies 1/8 in. apart onto pathway. Position candy corn, point side up, along both sides of path. Working in small sections, frost base with icing for snow and sprinkle with edible glitter. , For each corner fence, use tip #7 and white icing to attach two miniature candy canes to board. Arrange trees on base along with green gumdrops, rock candy suckers and remaining leaf-shaped gumdrops for bushes; secure with icing. For smoke, pull and stretch the cotton ball; attach with icing to inside of chimney.