Gingersnaps Cookies, Gingerbread House

Marilyne

Here is a very good gingerbread recipe. The dough can be used in many ways, cookies, Christmas decorations or gingerbread house.

Gingersnaps Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup sugar, white
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vinegar
1 tablespoon baking soda, (do not use baking powder)
1 big tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups of flour, you will add after the mixture cools a bit.

Instructions
Boil molasses until it foams up. Put aside. In a large metal bowl, cream shortening, sugar, then add egg, salt, vinegar, soda and ginger. Mix well then add to the mixture the hot molasses. Let cool.

Stir in about 4 cups of flour with a large spoon.

Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters or gingerbread house pattern.
Bake at 325 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes. Bottom burns easily.

When cool, decorate the cookies. Use white icing and add chocolate chips, candies, etc....

Variations:
Gingerbread Christmas decorations: Before you bake you can make a hole in the top of the gingerbread people and then you will be able to hang them. The cookie decorations can be stored in a metal tin and kept for a few years. Do not eat theses. Store metal tin in your linen closet.

Gingerbread house: Double the recipe if you are making a large gingerbread house.

Check the internet for a pattern or make yourself a gingerbread house pattern from cardboard to use as a pattern. Decorate when cool. Use white icing and add chocolate chips, candies in plastic wrappers, etc....

Note:

To make a gingerbread house, use light cardboard and cut your basic house parts. Make sure they all fit together. 

Then use the cardboard pieces as a pattern to cut the dough. Do not make windows and doors too complicated when you start as the dough expands as it bakes. Bake house pieces. Use a sharp knife to trim the house pieces if some pieces are too distorted after baking.

Make Royal icing to glue baked house pieces together and form your house. 

Let dry for a few hours or overnight and then decorate. Small houses are much easier to do. Look on the web for Royal icing recipe or buy ready made icing tubes, do not use gel icing.

An icing recipe with cream of tartar usually makes a nice icing for decorating gingerbread houses.

Gingerbread House

Gingersnaps Cookies decorated