{"id":16356,"date":"2012-12-04T17:13:38","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T23:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=16356"},"modified":"2012-12-04T17:16:13","modified_gmt":"2012-12-04T23:16:13","slug":"gingerbread-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2012\/12\/gingerbread-house\/","title":{"rendered":"GINGERBREAD HOUSE and MINT PUFFS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Inspiration for the Gingerbread House<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Sugar Plum fairies danced in their heads; the smell of Gingerbread cooking in the oven filled the air with aroma of the Gingerbread House baking.\u00a0 Gum Drops, candy sticks and chocolate windows and doors.\u00a0 House is made of Gingerbread.\u00a0 Make it your own by using whatever candies you like from Necco wafers to candy canes.\u00a0 This Gingerbread House will take the center position on your table for all the festivities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It will be sure to impress and delight all who break a piece off and take it home.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Royal icing holds it all together<\/p>\n

GINGERBREAD HOUSE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

INGREDIENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Cup Shortening<\/p>\n

1 Cup Molasses<\/p>\n

3 Cups Pillsbury\u00ae All-purpose flour<\/p>\n

1\u00bd Teaspoons Baking Soda<\/p>\n

\u00bd Teaspoon Salt<\/p>\n

\u00bd Teaspoon Ginger<\/p>\n

\u00bc Teaspoon Nutmeg<\/p>\n

\u00bc Teaspoon Cloves<\/p>\n

DIRECTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a large bowl, combine shortening and molasses, blend well.\u00a0 Add all remaining cookie ingredients; mix well.\u00a0 Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours for easier handling.<\/p>\n

Heat oven to 350\u00b0; on well-floured surface, roll dough to \u00bc inch thickness.\u00a0 Cut with floured knife.\u00a0 Place pieces on a greased cookie sheet.<\/p>\n

Bake at 350\u00b0 for 6-9 minutes or until set.\u00a0 Cool for 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.\u00a0 Make sure before assembly that pieces are completely cooled.<\/p>\n

Gingerbread House Frosting<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

INGREDIENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00be Cup Water<\/p>\n

1 Envelope Unflavored Gelatin<\/p>\n

\u00be Cup Sugar<\/p>\n

\u00be Cup Powered Sugar<\/p>\n

\u00be Teaspoon Baking Powder<\/p>\n

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract<\/p>\n

DIRECTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a 2-quart saucepan, combine water and gelatin; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in sugar; bring to a full rolling boil.\u00a0 Reduce heat to medium; simmer 10 minutes without stirring.\u00a0 Temperature should read 220\u00b0 on candy thermometer.\u00a0 Remove from heat.\u00a0 Add powdered sugar; beat with electric mixer at low speed until foamy.\u00a0 Add baking powder and vanilla; beat on low speed for 5 minutes or until glossy and of spreading consistency.<\/p>\n

If using this icing for assembly, which you can it will take approximately 2 hours to set up.\u00a0 I use a shoe box to support my house until the sides are dry and then place the roof on top.<\/p>\n

Icing can be tinted and used on cookies too! <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Inspiration for the Mint Puffs<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a great little favor is a great item for weddings or wedding showers, refreshing and minty; these little puffs of decadent mint are fun for Holiday Parties and for Weddings.<\/p>\n

They are so delicate and pretty.\u00a0 Melt in your mouth; a pleasant surprise.<\/p>\n

A pastry bag will help you form these perfectly.\u00a0 A plastic zip-loc bag can be used cutting one corner off in place of a pastry bag<\/p>\n

So this year when baking the cookies for the Holiday add this recipe to the list.\u00a0 It will sure to be a hit.<\/p>\n

Peppermint Puffs<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

INGREDIENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

2-3 Tablespoons Thoroughly Crushed Peppermint Candies<\/p>\n

3 Egg Whites<\/p>\n

Pinch salt<\/p>\n

1 Cup Sugar (use superfine if you have it)<\/p>\n

1 Teaspoon White Vinegar<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

DIRECTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Put egg whites into a standup mixer, add a pinch of salt. Start the mixer on low, gradually increasing the speed to medium until quite foamy and soft peaks can just begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Egg white bubbles should be small and uniform.<\/p>\n

Increase the speed to medium high and slowly add the sugar, a little (1-2 teaspoons) at a time. Continue to whip egg whites and sugar for a few minutes, then add the vinegar. Increase the speed to the highest setting and whip the egg whites until they are glossy and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, about 4 to 5 minutes.<\/p>\n

Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the crushed peppermints. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. If you are using parchment paper, you can put a dollop of the meringue mixture in the corners of the pans before placing the parchment paper on them, to help secure the parchment paper in place (pastry chef’s trick. Use a pastry piping bag (can make one with a plastic freezer bag with the corner cut off) to pipe mounds (1 \u00bd inches wide) onto the lined cookie sheet.<\/p>\n

Put the cookie sheets in the 300\u00b0 oven, close the door. Wait for one minute only, then turn the oven OFF<\/span><\/strong>. Do not open the door for another 3 hours. You can leave them in the oven overnight. The meringues will gently cook in the residual heat of the oven. When done, the meringues will be lightly crisp on the outside and light and airy on the inside.<\/p>\n

If they are still a little chewy after 3 hours, just let them dry out for a few more hours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inspiration for the Gingerbread House   As Sugar Plum fairies danced in their heads; the smell of Gingerbread cooking in the oven filled the air with aroma of the Gingerbread… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16356\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}