Gingerbread House recipe

Back in 2013, after my Year 1 examinations, I was looking for a Gingerbread House recipe. I found this one, which looked really promising. In the author's own words: It has no leaveners that would make it puff up and distort the shapes, and it's firm so it can support lots of decorations. It also uses no expensive spices and has only five ingredients.

This recipe is one of my favourites!

Gingerbread Recipe: 

From Barbara Rolek, recipe here

• 2 cups light corn syrup (or dark corn syrup for a darker house)
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar (or dark brown sugar for a darker house)
• 1 1/4 cups margarine
• 9 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• 
  
• PREPARATION
• Note: This recipe can easily be increased, if you want to make it a project for several kids by doubling or even tripling the ingredients. Instead of measuring out the flour, for a double recipe, use 1 (5-pound) bag plus 1 cup flour. For a triple recipe, use two (5-pound) bags plus 2 cups flour.

1. Before you begin the actual recipe, print out this pattern. Cut it out and transfer to light cardboard and cut again. 
2. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat corn syrup, brown sugar and margarine until margarine has melted and sugar has dissolved completely. Stir until smooth. 
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add syrup-sugar-margarine mixture, making sure it's cool enough for the kids to squish the dough until it's smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl. 
4. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest at least 30 minutes at room temperature. This is a good time to wash up the dishes and get your baking pans, rolling pin and pattern pieces ready. 
5. If the dough is too hard or unmanageable, you can microwave it for 20-30 seconds. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough 1/4-inch thick onto a sheet of parchment cut to fit your baking pan. Edgeless pans or those with only one edge are the best. View these steps for rolling and cutting gingerbread. 
6. Lightly flour the cardboard patterns and place them on the rolled-out dough, leaving a 1-inch space between pieces. Try to fit as many as you can without crowding. For clean edges, cut with a pizza wheel. Remove and reserve excess dough. 
7. Grab the opposite edges of the parchment paper and transfer to the baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until pieces are firm and lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely before removing from pans. Reroll dough scraps for the remainder of the pieces.

*By varying the time in the oven, a darker/lighter colour would also be achieved. Note the window design on the third picture. 
*A variety of sizes for the houses is made by choosing 1 or 2 or 4 pages/sheet when printing.

                                           Icing Glue Recipe
                                       From Barbara Rolek, recipe here

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound sifted confectioners' sugar or more as needed
• 1/2 cup pasteurized egg whites (3 large egg whites)
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• 
  
• PREPARATION

1. Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and combine. Scrape down sides. Turn the mixer to high and beat until thick and very white. Mixture will hold a peak. This should take at least 7-10 minutes.
    
2. When finished, cover with plastic wrap, making sure it touches the royal icing so a crust doesn't form. Royal icing dries out quickly, so make sure it is covered all the time. Otherwise there will be lumps in the icing and they will never pass through an icing tip.
    
3. I prefer white icing, but you may tint it by using a small amount of paste food color. For 1/4 cup tinted icing, dip the tip of a toothpick into desired color, then into the icing, and stir well. Repeat until desired color is achieved. For strong colors, such as red, royal blue and dark purple, use 1/8 teaspoon color to 1/4 cup icing

*If it's too thin, add more confectioners' sugar and keep on whipping.