Story
behind this recipe, from Nancy: Recipe taken from a magazine around 1974 to
bake gingerbread houses for Xmas gifts to give to family members. It became a tradition to do so every year. This tradition was picked up by our oldest
daughter Ginny. The funny part is we
have had to form a Xmas Gingerbread Recipe club to see that Ginny will have the
recipe every year. For the last 20
years Ginny calls me the week before Xmas because she can't find her copy of
the recipe. Every year I have had to
either fax, mail or email her the recipe.
This last Xmas I gave all her children (now in the late teens and early
twenties) a Xmas Card with the recipe included with the saying they were now a
member of the Xmas Gingerbread House Recipe Club. The requirement was the week before they all have to send Ginny a
copy of the recipe since she will have lost the one she received last year by
that time. So now everyone that gets
the recipe book has to send the recipe to Ginny a week before Xmas. Ha!
Into
a large bowl: Mix:
3 ½
cups all purpose flour
1
3/4 cups sugar
2/3
cups shortening
1
tablespoon Ground ginger
1
tablespoon cinnamon
2
teaspoons double acting baking powder
1 ¼
teaspoon salt
1
teaspoon vanilla extract
1 8
oz container sour cream
2
eggs
Mix
at low speed, until well blended:
Beat ingredients until well mixed.
Constantly scraping bowl. Knead
in 2 ½ cups all purpose flour to make a soft dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap
and refrigerate 2 hours or until dough is not sticky and of easy kneading
consistency.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Take from the batch of dough half and set
aside in plastic wrap. On a lightly
floured surface, with floured hands, knead the other half of the dough until
smooth. On a greased and floured
17" X 14" cookie sheet then with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll
dough about ¼ " thick. (For easier
rolling place cookie sheet on a damp cloth to prevent it from slipping). With a sharp Knife cut out patterns. Remove scrapes from around the pattern
pieces and off the pan... Placing back in plastic wrap for other pattern pieces
like trees, steps, and different things for use with your house.
Preparing
egg glaze:
Mix
well with fork.
2
eggs
2
tablespoons water
Brush
dough on top lightly with glaze mix; bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brown and
very firm when touched with fingers.
Watch closely so as not to burn.
Remove from cookie sheet and cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Cool completely before assembling.
Use
a Royal Icing mix to glue parts together.
Decorate with colored Royal icing and white Royal Icing for snow. Use candies for decorating. Just use your imagination and have fun. We always cooked several types of cookies
and placed inside the house before placing the roof on. They have a special treat not only eating
the delicious gingerbread, but finding the cookies inside really adds to
Xmas.
Nancy
King got this recipe from her friend Bessie - I bet it'd be great on Mable's
Cat-Head Biscuits!
8
cups figs chopped
6
cups sugar
2
small boxes strawberry Jell-O
Bring
to hard boil, reduce heat, boil 25 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into sterilized Jars placing caps and
rings on while hot. They will seal with
popping.
§
"I doubt whether the
world holds for any one a more
soul-stirring surprise than
the first adventure with ice-cream."
~Heywood
Broun
§