Cookie Houses Recipes

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Mix the eggs and vanilla with a fork in a small bowl.
• Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer on low speed until the butter has picked up the sugars, about 30 seconds. (If using a hand mixer, beat about 2 minutes.) Increase the speed to medium, and beat until slightly creamy, about 1 minute (about 3 minutes with a hand mixer), stopping halfway through to scrape the bowl.
• Reduce the speed to low, slowly add in the egg mixture and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture a heaping cup at a time, in 3 additions, stopping a few times to scrape the bowl and beaters (if using a hand mixer, increase the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning). Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium (higher with a hand mixer), and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 2 minutes (about 5 minutes with a hand mixer).
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together. Divide the dough into 3 even pieces, each about 13 ounces. Shape each piece into a 6-inch square and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• While the dough chills, cut templates for the house from paper:
• 1 base, 8 by 8 inches
• 1 roof, 5 3/4 by 6 1/2 inches
• 2 slanted side walls, both 5 inches wide, one 4 inches high on the left and
• 3 inches high on the right, the other 3 inches high on the left and 4 inches high on the right, with optional windows cut out
• 1 front wall, 5 inches wide by 4 inches high, with a door cut out
• 1 back wall, 5 by 3 inches
• To roll, cut and bake the cookies and house: Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (have extra parchment on hand). Take 2 of the dough pieces out of the refrigerator, and let them soften until just pliable but still cool and firm, about 15 minutes.
• Dust a piece of parchment with flour. Dust one square of dough with flour, and roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick (no thicker) and 9 to 10 inches square. Lift the dough occasionally to make sure it isn't sticking to the parchment. Cut out cookies with cutters; transfer to a prepared baking sheet, leaving 1 inch between them. Freeze while you cut the rest of the dough. Reserve the scraps for the house pieces. Take the last piece of dough from the refrigerator to soften.
• Dust the parchment and the second piece of dough with flour. Roll the dough about 1/4-inch thick and 9 to 10 inches square. Lay the base template on top, and use a pizza cutter or a very sharp knife to cut out the base. Peel off the scraps from the sides and reserve. Pick up the parchment with the base on it, put it on an unlined baking sheet and freeze while you finish cutting the other house pieces.
• Dust a third piece of parchment and the third piece of softened dough with flour. Roll the dough to about 1/4-inch thick and 11 by 7 inches. Put the roof and the front wall templates on top, and use the pizza cutter to cut the pieces. Transfer the pieces to the last prepared baking sheet, leaving 1 inch between them. Cut out a door from the front wall. Combine the scrap pieces with the reserved scraps, and gently knead together on the parchment; flour, roll to 1/4 inch thick and about 8 by 9 inches and cut out the remaining walls. Transfer the pieces to the baking sheet, leaving 1 inch between them. Cut out windows from the walls. Freeze for 10 minutes before baking.
• Bake the house pieces until golden brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Rotate the pans front to back and bottom to top halfway through the baking time. Let cool completely on the baking sheets on a cooling rack, about 30 minutes.
• While the house pieces cool, dust the cookies with sanding sugar if using, and bake until very light golden brown, about 16 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to completely, about 30 minutes.
• To assemble the house: Put 1/3 cup royal icing in a pastry bag fitted with the larger pastry tip. Place the roof browned-side up on a work surface with one of the short sides facing you. Pipe a thick 5-inch line of frosting along the short side 1 inch in from the edge. Let the icing harden while you build the rest of the house. (This will prevent the roof of the house from sliding off.)
• Put the base on a large platter or board on which it will be displayed. Next, assemble the house using the royal icing as glue and making sure to turn the walls lighter-sides out: Hold up one of the side walls and pipe a line of icing along the bottom and up both sides. Set it down while you hold up the back wall and pipe a line of icing along its bottom edge. Stick these two pieces together on the base with the icing, pressing them gently together so they adhere. Hold the pieces for a few seconds, until they can stand on their own. Repeat with the other side wall and the front wall, pressing all four walls together.
• Reserve the royal icing in the pastry bag. Whisk water about 1 teaspoon at a time into the rest of the icing to thin it slightly to the consistency of molasses. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with the smaller pastry tip.
• To decorate the house: Decorate the walls as desired: Use the thin icing for piping lines and decorations and for decorating the cookies. Use the thick icing to glue heavy pieces of candy to the sides and roof of the house. To make a grassy yard, spread a thin layer of icing with a butter knife around the base of the house. Press some of the coconut grass into the icing. Put some coconut grass inside the house (you don't need to ice inside). Decorate the yard as desired. Fill the house with candy and cookies (make sure the icing has set).
• Set the roof on top, lighter-side up (don't attach it), and decorate as desired.
• Combine 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar and the meringue powder with a fork in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. (Alternatively, use a hand mixer and medium bowl.) Add 3 tablespoons of water, and mix on low speed until smooth and thick, with a consistency like caulk. (If using a hand mixer, beat about 3 minutes.) If the icing seems a bit loose, mix in a tablespoon of confectioners' sugar at a time until thickened. Transfer to a clean bowl, and lay a damp piece of paper towel on top. Cover tightly until ready to use.
• Toss half the coconut and 3 drops food coloring with a fork in a medium bowl until the coconut is uniformly green. Add the remaining coconut, and toss gently to combine. Cover tightly and set aside.

Steps:

• Cookie house:
• Print and read through Mid-Century Modern Cookie House Guide, which contains templates and step-by-step assembly instructions.
• Working one at a time, roll out disks of chilled dough into ¼"-thick rectangles between a sheet of parchment paper and plastic used to wrap dough-this will eliminate the need for flouring. (In order to achieve a consistent thickness, try using ¼" bands around your rolling pin.) You should have six 8½x11" rectangles. Stack rectangles, keeping parchment and plastic wrap intact, on flexible cutting boards to keep them flat and save space. Chill dough in freezer at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
• Template pieces on pages 10-15 of the printout guide will be cut from the 6 pieces of prepared dough. Save all scraps, gathering and re-rolling between used (but clean) parchment and plastic wrap. Repeat process to cut pieces from the last template, page 16. Gather scraps one last time and re-roll dough, keep in the freezer in case you need to make a replacement piece. Remove plastic from dough.
• Using scissors or an X-Acto knife and ruler, cut out template pieces, keeping each page's pieces together. Arrange as many cut-out template pieces as will fit on each rectangle of dough, puzzling together as needed. The templates are meant to optimize this step. Working with one rectangle of dough at a time and chilling remaining dough in the freezer, carefully cut out shapes with a sharp chef's or paring knife. For round items, use a 1"-, 2"-, or 3"-diameter biscuit or cookie cutter (jars in equivalent sizes will also work). Leave paper cutouts on each cookie to keep track of what's what and transfer to a cutting board or baking sheet. Transfer to freezer and chill while you continue to cut out remaining pieces (stack as needed). Chill all dough in the freezer 20 minutes (leave templates on top).
• Place racks in middle and lower half of oven; preheat to 325°F. Remove dough from freezer, remove templates, and gently peel away parchment underneath each piece, pulling gently down and away to avoid distorting shapes. Divide dough cutouts between 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 1" apart. Place similarly sized items together to ensure even baking. Bake, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until edges are golden brown, 15-17 minutes for small pieces, 20-25 for medium pieces, 25-30 minutes for large pieces. Watch carefully to avoid overbaking or underbaking; a firm but not overly browned cookie is ideal for constructing house.
• As soon as each baking sheet is removed from oven, lay each template pattern piece on its coordinating cookie again and trim as needed with a sharp knife to get clean edges. If the cookies cool too much they will crack when trimmed. If you need to trim a cold cookie, pop it back in the oven for a few minutes to warm it up, or microwave in 10-second intervals to soften. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool.
• Tree royal icing:
• Mix powdered sugar and meringue powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on low speed, adding 1 Tbsp. water at a time up to ⅔ cup and incorporating completely and scraping down sides of bowl before adding more, until the consistency of pourable cement. Continue to beat until sugar is fully hydrated and stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
• Fill a pastry bag fitted with #234 tip with about 1 cup of royal icing (a small portion makes it easier to pipe and control the royal icing) and close with a rubber pastry bag tie or kitchen twine. Transfer remaining icing to an airtight container. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly against surface to remove most air bubbles. Cover with lid, label as royal icing for trees, and chill.
• Do ahead: Icing can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
• All-purpose royal icing:
• Working in 2 batches to avoid overwhelming your mixer, beat 2 lb. powdered sugar and ¾ cup meringue powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, adding 1 Tbsp. water at a time up to 14 Tbsp. and incorporating completely and scraping down sides of bowl before adding more, until the consistency of thick batter and soft peaks form. (Icing should flow easily but keep its shape. If the formula is too dry, the components may not adhere well.)
• Fill a pastry bag fitted with a #6 piping tip with about 1 cup icing and close with a rubber pastry bag tie or kitchen twine. Transfer 2 cups icing to an airtight container, cover, and label icicles. Wrap well to prevent drying out since this will be applied near the end of construction. Transfer remaining icing to another airtight container and cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly against surface. Cover with lid, label as all-purpose royal icing, and chill. (You can top off this container with second batch of icing.)
• Make second batch of icing with remaining 2 lb. powdered sugar and ¾ cup meringue powder and transfer to airtight containers and label as you did with the first batch.
• Do ahead: Icing can be made 2 weeks ahead. Keep chilled.
• Glaze:
• Whisk powdered sugar and corn syrup in a medium bowl, adding 1 Tbsp. lemon juice at a time, until combined. Glaze should be thick but pourable (you can thin with a bit of water if needed). Transfer 1 Tbsp. glaze to a ramekin or small bowl. Barely dip the tip of a toothpick into food coloring and mix into glaze in ramekin. Dip a fresh toothpick into ramekin with teal glaze and add to glaze in bowl; mix well to tint. Repeat process, gradually adding color until you have a soft shade of celadon. This technique is helpful when you want to create pale, subtle colors and prevents oversaturation of the entire quantity of glaze.
• Do ahead: Glaze can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.
• Ready to build your house? For techniques and construction details, see the printable Mid-Century Modern Cookie House Guide.