It's always a good time for gingerbread, especially when the days grow short and the full moon hangs in the spooky, creepy, cloudy night sky. Here's the beginning of my Halloween haunted house of doom, far from done and now waiting for a gang of dancing witches, cats and bats. Are you getting the urge to whip up a Halloween scene? Follow along for the next few weeks and we'll share some tips and tricks that can help you get it done -- fast and easy.
I always start with a simple house pattern, since most of the fun for me is in figuring out the wacky decorations. Check out the free Bob Vila house patterns here and scroll to the second paragraph for all the links. Any of these patterns will do and if you want to make the same house I did (pictured above) just leave a comment and I'll share the pattern. It's super simple since I whipped it up myself.
Recipes
I've used this dough recipe year-after-year. If I don't have all the spices on hand, I substitute by using whatever I have ... cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, whatever. This recipe is dependable, uses basic ingredients and dries rock-hard for a strong structure.
Gingerbread Dough:
2 c. molasses or honey
1 c. vegetable oil
1 1/4 c. white granulated sugar
3 large eggs
8 c. flour
2 T. ground allspice
1 1/2 t. ground ginger
1 T. baking powder
Directions:
Combine above ingredients, mixing well. Put dough into plastic bag or tightly-sealed container and chill overnight in fridge. The next day, get the dough out of the fridge and let it sit a while to get close to room temp. Roll dough on the back of a cookie sheet and cut dough to fit the pattern of your structure. Carefully remove dough that remains between the pieces. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Let pieces cool completely before you start the assembly process.
Hints:
If you are like me, you want to start making your house the same day you whip up the dough. I've done it. Didn't see any difference in the outcome, but I'd say the dough works best after at least a couple hours in the fridge as it sticks together better.
Here's the scoop on molasses. Most jars I have purchased have only a cup-and-a-half in them. I typically use the molasses from the jar and fill in the rest with any corn syrup or honey that I have lying around.
Finally, a caution about flour. Trying to be creative, I have substituted whole wheat flour with disastrous results. The gingerbread pieces looked flaky and grungy. They puffed up in an awkward way. Not good!
Start mixing up your dough and we'll be back with more Halloween gingerbread instructions later in the week!
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