Gingerbread Cabin Recipes

Steps:

• Gingerbread: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in spices and salt. Add eggs and molasses; mix well. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined. Divide dough in half, shape into 1-inch-tall rectangles, and wrap each piece in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two flat baking sheets with parchment; set aside. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough 1/4 inch thick. Roll firmly with a faux-bois paint roller, or press with a rolling pin over a faux-bois impression mat. (Dough should be chilled and firm to maintain clean template shapes; if too warm, refrigerate about 10 minutes.) Cut into template shapes using a pizza cutter or a sharp paring knife: 2 roof pieces (each 8 by 7 inches); 1 floor piece (7 by 6 inches); 2 wall pieces (6 by 2 inches); and 1 pentagon wall piece for open cabin (7 by 7 by 2 inches), or 2 for a closed cabin. Transfer roof pieces and side walls to one prepared baking sheet; transfer floor and pentagon wall to second prepared baking sheet. Brush away excess flour with a pastry brush. Freeze 30 minutes.
• Bake gingerbread until crisp and slightly darkened around the edges, about 30 minutes, banging sheets on the counter halfway through baking. Let cool 15 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks and let cool completely. If cookies become misshapen, they can be trimmed with a small serrated knife to match template while still warm.
• Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water until smooth. Brush a thin layer over faux-bois treatment. Let dry completely, about 30 minutes. Alternatively, if a white faux-bois treatment is desired, make a glaze by whisking together sugar and milk. Brush over faux-bois texture and let dry completely.
• Royal Icing: Beat confectioners' sugar, meringue powder, and scant 1/3 cup water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low speed until smooth, about 7 minutes. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container at room temperature overnight, with plastic wrap pressed directly on surface; stir before using.
• For assembly, icing should resemble thick buttercream (an offset spatula stuck into the icing should stand up). If too thin, beat icing 2 to 3 minutes more, or add more sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Transfer half of the thick icing to a piping bag fitted with a 1/4-inch tip (such as Ateco #802) for assembly. To remaining icing, add water 1 teaspoon at a time until icing falls back into itself in a ribbon. Transfer thinned icing to a piping bag fitted with a 1/16-inch tip (such as Wilton #2) for decorating.
• Fireplace: On backside of pentagon wall piece (side without faux-bois treatment), lightly score chimney shape into gingerbread with a paring knife. Working in small sections, fill in chimney area with thinned royal icing and place candy stones onto icing. Let dry completely, about 1 hour.
• Break candy canes into two 3/4-to-1-inch pieces; attach to inside of fireplace with icing. Using tweezers, attach chocolate-covered sunflower seeds as flames around candy-cane logs. Let dry completely.
• Antlers:Using thinned icing, attach pretzel pieces to raw almond. Let dry completely, then attach to fireplace with icing.
• Cabin:Place floor piece on parchment-covered board, faux-bois-side up, with 7-inch sides facing front and back, and 6-inch sides facing left and right. Use a line of the thick royal icing to adhere side walls to the outside edge of floor piece, faux-bois-side facing in. Pipe another line along back edge of floor and up side edges of walls; adhere fireplace wall to floor and side walls, faux-bois-side facing out (fireplace facing in). Remove excess icing with the tip of a butter knife or a small offset spatula, if desired. Let harden completely, using cans or T-pins to support walls (see Cook's Note), at least 1 hour.
• Once walls are completely dry and solid to the touch, attach one roof panel at a time using lines of icing, with 7-inch side facing upward and 8-inch side hanging over walls. Hold roof piece firmly against walls (or secure with pins -- see Cook's Note), then let dry 15 minutes before attaching second roof piece (make sure tops of roof align with top point of pentagon piece). Pipe a line of icing down center of roof to hold pieces together. Let dry completely, at least 1 hour.
• Using a Microplane grater, shave ends of pretzel rods to fit outsides of cabin (or cut with a small serrated knife). Attach rods to cabin using icing. Attach candy stones to roof with icing to create a chimney. Using thinned icing, decorate cabin with "snow." Let dry completely before moving.
• Rug:Pull apart strands of licorice. Wind one strand around itself to start a spiral pattern. Continue with remaining strands, sticking candies against each other using a dab of water to make a circular rug. Using thinned icing, decorate with dots; let dry completely.
• Buttercream Trees:In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on low speed until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and beat until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add food coloring and beat until well combined. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star tip (such as Ateco #27).
• Starting from bottom and working up, pipe branches onto miniature ice cream cones by holding piping tip against cone, adding and releasing pressure in a quick motion, and then pulling piping bag away from the cone. Decorate with nonpareils. Let dry completely. (Makes 3 miniature trees.)
• Skis:Use scissors to cut sticks of gum in half vertically. Snip corners of one end into a point. Decorate with thinned icing to resemble ski bindings.
• Candy-Cane Logs:Break candy canes into 1-inch pieces. Stack into a pyramid and glue together with thinned icing.

Steps:

• Make the gingerbread dough: Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
• Combine the butter, shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the egg, molasses and vanilla and beat on medium until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sifted flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined into a smooth dough, about 1 minute. Form the dough into a flat square, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until just firm, about 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Meanwhile, make templates for a gingerbread house. Gather several sheets of stiff paper; a manila folder works well. For the wall panels, cut a rectangle that measures 4 by 7 inches. For the front and back panels of a house with a peaked roof, cut a template that is 6 inches wide at the base, 4 inches to the roofline and 4 1/2 inches slanted to a peak. The template for the roof panels should measure 4 1/2 by 8 inches.
• Roll and cut the gingerbread: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the dough and cut into 3 equal pieces (a pizza wheel is handy for this). Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the other pieces refrigerated, roll the dough into a rectangle 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Using the templates, cut out the front and back of the house and remove the scraps around the cutouts. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, cutting out 2 roof pieces and 2 side pieces. (If the dough gets too soft while rolling, return it to the refrigerator for 15 minutes before proceeding.) Discard the dough scraps or reroll to make cookies. Chill the dough pieces on the baking sheets for 15 minutes.
• Bake the gingerbread: Bake the dough pieces until crisp almost all the way through (the very center will still be a little soft), 30 to 35 minutes. Cool the pans 10 minutes on a rack, then remove the house pieces to the rack to cool completely. Assemble and decorate the gingerbread panels as desired.

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:

• Dough: In a large saucepan, cook the sugar, shortening and molasses on low, until shortening is melted and sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add the cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough can be formed into a ball. , Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; knead until even in color and smooth (not crumbly or dry), adding more flour if needed. Form into a log. Cut into five equal pieces; wrap in plastic. Cut patterns out of paper or cardboard., Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly grease the foil. Lay a damp towel on counter; place prepared pan on towel (to prevent slipping). Unwrap one portion of dough. Using a very lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough directly on baking sheet to a 15x10-1/2-in. rectangle about 1/4 in. thick. Position patterns at least 1/2 in. apart on dough as shown. Cut around patterns with a sharp knife or pizza cutter; remove patterns. Remove dough scraps; cover and save to re-roll if needed. , Bake at 375° for 10-14 minutes or until cookie springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven; immediately replace patterns on dough. Cut around the edges to trim off excess cookie. Cool 3-4 minutes or until cookies begin to firm up. Carefully remove to a wire rack; cool Repeat with remaining dough and patterns., Icing and Assembly: In a large bowl, beat the sugar, meringue powder and 3/4 cup water on low until blended. Beat on high for 8-10 minutes or until stiff peaks form, adding additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Place a damp paper towel over bowl and cover tightly until ready to use. , To assemble frame of the house, test your cookie pieces to make sure they fit together snugly. if necessary, file carefully with a serrated knife or an emery board to make fit. Fill decorating bag two-thirds full with icing. Beginning with the front of the house, squeeze a 3/8-in. wide strip of icing onto the bottom edge of the front piece. Position on the cookie base, 3 in. from the front edge of the base. Prop it upright with spice jars for 2-3 minutes or until icing hardens; remove jars., To add the sides, squeeze icing on lower edge of one side piece and side edge of the front piece. Align pieces at a right angle, making sure they are as tight as possible. Repeat with the other side., To add the back,squeeze icing on the bottom and side edges of the back piece; position with the other assembled pieces. For added stability, squeeze icing along the inside edge of all pieces and corners., To assemble the roof, working with one side at a time, squeeze icing on the upper edge of the slant of the front and back pieces on one side. Also squeeze icing on the adjoining side piece. Carefully place roof piece on the slants so that the roof's peak is even with the pints of the front and back. (There will be an overhang of 1/2 in.) Repeat with other side of the roof., To decorate, add a chimney if desired (see photo for assembly). Decorate the house with remaining icing, candies and cookies of your choice.