Salted Caramel Gingerbread House Recipes

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:

• Spread the sugar in a medium skillet. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and 1/4 cup water. Set the skillet over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar melts, about 2 to 3 minutes. Once the sugar has melted, stop stirring and cook, swirling the contents occasionally, until the sugar syrup is a deep amber color, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Lightly coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed bakingsheet with cooking spray. Line with parchmentpaper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on shortsides; spray paper.
• In a large pot over high heat, bring cream,corn syrup, sugar, butter, and molasses to a boil,stirring until sugar has dissolved. Continue tocook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently,until mixture reaches 248 degrees (firm-ball stage)on a candy thermometer, about 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla, salt, and spices. Immediately pour onto prepared sheet, without scraping pot. Let stand, uncovered, 24 hours at room temperature (do not move pan).
• Generously coat a large cutting board with cooking spray. Lifting it by the parchment overhang, invert caramel onto the cutting board; use a sharp knife to loosen parchment, and remove. Cut into 1-by-1 1/4-inch pieces. Wrap each in cellophane or waxed paper.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line 10 muffin cups with paper liners., Whisk together first nine ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together egg, milk, oil, molasses and extracts. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened., Fill prepared cups two-thirds full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 15-18 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; cool completely., For frosting, beat confectioners' sugar, butter, extract and enough milk to reach desired consistency. Spread over cupcakes. Drizzle with caramel syrup before serving.