More on Gingerbread Houses

It's time for making holiday Gingerbread Houses. Starting your house around Thanksgiving allows time for the bread to dry and to take assembly and decorating in steps. 



Below are instructions for making a Gingerbread House from scratch. For photos of Gingerbread Houses, see the previous post. If you need a pattern, email me about getting one at larulew@gmail.com. 

Thanks to the Kovac clan for introducing me to this tradition!

HOW TO MAKE THE DOUGH:
5 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3 teaspoons ginger
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup Grandma’s Unsulphured Molasses

Sift together flour, soda, salt, nutmeg and ginger. Melt shortening in saucepan large enough for mixing dough. Add sugar and molasses, mix well. Gradually stir in 4 cups flour mixture. Work in remaining flour mixture with hands. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Form each portion into a ball.

HOW TO ROLL, CUT AND BAKE:
1. Place each ball on ungreased sheet. Place a damp towel underneath baking sheet to prevent sliding. Roll into a rectangle 1/4-inch thick. Tip: if gingerbread is too crumbly, add a few drops of water at a time until it is softens and holds together.

2. Lay pattern of house on dough, with front and back walls on first rolled portion of dough; two sides end to end on second portion; and roof on third portion. Cut through dough on all lines of pattern with pointed knife. Do not remove windows or doors. Remove all excess dough from around sides of pattern; reserve. Tip: to keep your original pattern sheet in tack and to also make sturdier templates for use on top of dough, Xerox your pattern into smaller parts; lay them on top of a manila folder or other cardboard; and trace and cut your pattern from the cardboard.


3. Roll out excess dough 1/4-inch thick. Use to cut out Santa Claus, chimney pieces, and easels for trees. If desired, any remaining dough may be used for fence, flagstones and gate.


4. Bake in moderate oven (375° 13 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven. While hot, with point of knife, retrace outline of windows and door. If necessary, cut house edges to straighten. Do not remove from baking sheets until cold. Remove with spatula: remove windows and doors. Tip: use your window and door pieces for a fence, walkway, etc.

Tip: You should let your gingerbread pieces dry out and harden for about one week before you start assembling the house. Place them in a cardboard box on drying racks or separated by pieces of cardboard. Do not put them in an air-tight container.


HOW TO ASSEMBLE AND DECORATE THE HOUSE:
1. Have Ornamental Frosting prepared. (Recipe is below, along with an alternative recipe.) Use cake decorator or paper cornucopia to put together and decorate house (pastry bag with tips). If desired, a portion of the frosting may be colored with vegetable food coloring to decorate house, Santa Claus and trees (you can also use colored sugar).

2. Have display board ready (bread board or tray) approximately 26 inches 16 inches.

3. Join the 4 walls by applying frosting to the edges. Hold in place a few minutes to set. When wall are firm, attach roof, one side at a time, chimney pieces and door in same fashion. When frosting is firm, decorate roof, chimney, window and door. Decorate Santa Claus before attaching to roof.

Tips:
- decorate the walls of the house before assembling, and let dry
- if you’d like to put a Christmas tree inside the house, do so before putting the sides and roof on
- make sure you put icing on the bottom of the wall pieces
- I like to let the walls dry for a day or so before putting the roof on
- The frosting dries like cement, but can be dissolved with water for cleanup

4. Decorate trees with frosting festoons, small cinnamon and silver candies. Arrange trees with easel backs around house in small mounds of frosting, holding until set. (If made, place cookies for flagstone, fence and gate in small mounds of frosting around house.)

5. Cover area surrounding by making more frosting and spreading that for snow.


Ornamental Frosting Recipe
2-1/2 to 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


Sift together confectioners’ sugar and cream of tartar; add egg whites and vanilla. Beat with an electric beater or wooden spoon until frosting holds its shape. Cover with a damp cloth when not in use.

Decorating Frosting Recipe (a no egg-white alternative)
This recipe uses Meringue Powder for those who would rather not use raw egg whites.

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon meringue powder
4 cups powdered sugar (Confectioners 10X)
1/2 cup warm water

Beat water, meringue powder until foamy. Add sugar gradually until all sugar is incorporated. Then beat, on highest speed, for at least 5-7 minutes. Icing should stand in 3-4 inch peaks on spatula knife. If icing begins to fall slightly after lengthy use, simply rewhip.

Tip: Meringue powder can be bought at a bakery supply story, or Joann’s Fabrics.

Supply List (in addition to recipe ingredients)
- Cookie sheets
- Drying racks
- Rolling pin
- Flour Sifter
- House pattern made from instruction sheet
- Display board (bread board or tray) approximately 26 inches 16 inches
I just ordered some good trays from United States Plastics Corp., www.usplastic.com. Once on their website, look for the White High Impact Styrene Tray 17-3/4" x 25 -1/2" x 1"
Pastry bag and tips. A large cutting board or piece of plywood will also work.
- Candy to decorate house
If you want to use Necco Wafers for the roof, you can find them at most dollar stores like Dollar Tree. It takes four 2-0z. packs to do one roof.

The following can be found at Joanne Fabrics:
- Wilton Meringue Powder
- Wilton 8-Icing Colors Set
- Wilton 8-Icing Colors Set
- Wilton Basic Decorating Set

Making a Gingerbread House from Scratch

There's something strange about a gingerbread house that comes in a kit.  Thanks to my husband's family, I was introduce to making traditional gingerbread houses from scratch.  It's not that hard -- it just takes time and patience.

Here are some photos of houses made over the years from a pattern published in the 1950s by the Duffy-Mott Company.

And a fun part of the Kovac family tradition takes place after the house is complete and it's done it's job of decorating the house for the holidays.  That part is better watched than described!

Clogging at the Kent Folk Festival

Every year for quite a while I've had the pleasure of teaching clogging at the Kent Folk Festival. This year I taught two classes - beginning and intermediate - and had a great group of enthusiastic learners.

I always get requests for where to learn more, but unfortunately there's not a lot of options for traditional clogging (vs. contemporary) in this area.  But those who are bound and determined can contact me for private lessons in Chardon.

Other options are to buy a DVD.  Though I don't own any clogging instructionals, I do know and can recommend dancers Sandy Silva, Evie Ladin and Ira Bernstein.  You can find their products at Elderly Instruments.

Options for dancing to live old-time music are the Shindigs in Kent (at Professor's Pub from 7-10 pm on the first Sunday of each month), and during the summer at Monday night jams on Chardon Square (bring a step-a-tune for that one).

Welcome to Fun Traditions!

I grew up watching my family create an amazing array of useful and ornamental objects.  My grandmother, born in Appalachia in 1883 when families made most everything they needed, was impressively proficient in all the domestic arts.  Her practical and creative talents continued with my father's generation as evidenced in the family stories, items in service around the house, and relics found in the old family mill.

My mother grew up in Calcutta, India, but quickly adapted to life in America and the Appalachian family she married into as a war bride.  As a child I was lucky to wear her hand knit sweaters and hand sewn outfits. She spent hours doing beautiful ceramics, crocheting, decoupage and more. Anything that catches her fancy she is able to do beautifully. Perhaps most impressive to me was when she took up basket weaving and the first one she made was a perfect and artful creation.

In more recent years, I've been lucky to experience my husband's family traditions in Chardon, Ohio. Paul's mother, Caroline, reminded me of my grandmother.  She was a professional cook having run a family restaurant for years.  And she loved flower arranging, nature, herbs and creating fun experiences for her children Carol, Fran and Paul.

Despite a busy work schedule, I enjoy continuing some of the fun traditions from both the Lewis and Kovac families.  And my hope is to enrich my children's lives with fun experiences, and to share some of these traditions with you through this blog.