It only took me 10 months to get this recipe up, but here it is, just in time for the Halloween Gingerbread house making fun. This stuff will make walls so sturdy you can drill right through them without fear of breaking them.
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| I forgot to cut a notch for lights, so we just drilled, baby, drilled! |
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Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 cups whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2-1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1-1/3 cups light or dark molasses
- 9 cups all-purpose flour
Preparation:
Line 12 x 15-inch rimless baking sheets with parchment paper.
(I just cook it on the back side of a jelly roll pan because (a) I am cheap and (b) I am thrifty. See pictures below.)
In a small bowl, whip cream and
vanilla until it holds soft peaks. Set aside.
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| Homemade vanilla. Yum. |
In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar,
baking soda,
ginger, and
cinnamon.
Beat in the
molasses and whipped cream mixture until well-combined.
With mixer running, gradually add flour, beating until completely mixed.
(I use an old-school Bosch. It handles this recipe with no trouble at all.)
Lightly flour a pastry board or mat. Roll out a portion of the dough
until flat, but not so thin that you cannot pick it up without it
tearing. Drape it over the rolling pin and move to the prepared baking
sheet.
Continue rolling the dough to an even thickness on the baking sheet.
This is easily achieved by placing two equally thick wooden strips on
either side of the baking sheet to support the rolling pin. An even
thickness is important. Lower areas will bake darker in color and be
more brittle. You will need about 2 cups of dough for each 1/8-inch
thickness, about 4 cups for each 1/4-inch slab, and about 6 cups for
each 3/8-inch slab.
Bake two sheets of dough at a time.
After 20-30 minutes (depending on thickness of slab), position your
gingerbread house
pattern cut-outs as close together as possible on the sheet of cookies.
Cut around the pattern with a sharp knife, remove the pattern, and
separate the scrap pieces (may be baked later to eat.
Mely's note: We just eat 'em while they are warm and soft!!!! A big glass of milk and you could almost consider it a meal.
Almost.)
Return house
pieces to the oven, swapping their rack positions, and continue to bake.
Bake until fairly firm in the
center. The temperature and time will vary with the thickness of the
slab. For 1/8-thick slabs, bake in preheated 300 F. oven for about 1
hour; for 1/4-inch slabs, bake at 275 F. about 1-3/4 hours; and for
3/8-inch slabs, bake at 275 F. about 2-1/4 hours.
While the pieces are baking, any remaining dough may be rolled out for
cookies or additional decorative gingerbread house pieces.
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| The darker color of these was because they were made with blackstrap molasses. |
When pieces are finished baking, loosen gently with a flat spatula and
let them cool on the sheet another 5 to 10 minutes before moving to a
rack to cool completely.
At this point, you may wrap the
gingerbread house pieces airtight in plastic wrap and store up to one month. Or proceed to assemble and decorate your house or
cookies using icing cement (below).
Yield: about 9 cups dough, or 4-1/2 slabs 1/8 inch thick, 2-1/2 slabs
1/4 inch thick, or 1-1/2 slabs 3/8 inch thick. Each full slab is 10 by
15 inches.
