Gingerbread frames

8 Frames

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
-Robbie Shelton
1 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
¾ cup Sugar
¾ cup Honey
¼ cup Butter or Margarine
⅓ cup Lemon Juice
6 cups All-Purpose Flour
¼ cup Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Ground cloves
½ teaspoon Ground Allspice
2 larges Eggs
Red or Green Paste Food Coloring (optional)
24 4-inch Peppermint Sticks
Assorted Candies
16 6-inch Candy Canes
***DECORATOR FROSTING***
2 cups Sifted Powdered Sugar
1½ tablespoon Meringue Powder
3 tablespoons Water

Directions

An adult will need to make the gingerbread and cut the frame shapes, but children as young as four years old can decorate and assemble the frames.

Make a template by cutting a piece of cardboard into a 5-inch X 7-inch rectangle. Center and cut an opening 2¾-inches X 4 ¾-inches for the picture. The dough is edible, so you can bake any scraps left over from making the frames.

COMBINE first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan (both sugars, honey and butter); bring to a boil, stirring until sugar melts. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Pour into a large bowl, and cool to room temperature.

COMBINE flour and next 6 ingredients (baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and allspice). Stir 2 cups flour mixture and eggs into sugar mixture. Gradually add remaining flour mixture, mixing well. (Dough will appear dry.) Shape dough into a ball; knead on a floured surface until smooth, adding paste food coloring, if desired.

ROLL half of dough into ¼-inch thickness on a lightly greased cookie sheet. (Placing a damp towel under cookie sheet will keep it from slipping as you roll.) Using template, cut out 1 frame front (with opening) and 1 back; remove excess dough and set aside.

BAKE frame pieces at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until firm. Loosen gingerbread with a spatula, and let cool 1 minute on cookie sheet. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat procedure with remaining dough.

TO ASSEMBLE FRAMES: Spoon Decorator Frosting into a decorating bag or a heavy-duty, zip-top plastic bag; snip off end or small corner of zip-top bag. On the back of each cutout frame, pipe frosting on three sides.

(Leave 1 side open for inserting photograph.) Push 3 peppermint sticks into frosting. Pipe frosting on top of peppermint sticks, and attach solid frame back. Let dry.

DECORATE frames with frosting and assorted candies, as desired. Let dry.

TO MAKE STAND: Carefully attach 2 candy canes to back of each frame with frosting (the hook of the cane will be the bottom of the stand that supports the frame). Let dry before standing. YIELDS: 8 frames.

DECORATOR FROSTING: Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl; beat at high speed with an electric mixer 10 minutes or until stiff peaks form. cover with a damp cloth to prevent drying. YIELDS: 1 ½ cups.

This recipe is from CHRISTMAS WITH SOUTHERN LIVING 1994 pg. 128-29.

Posted to MM-Recipes Digest by "Robert Ellis" <rpearson@...> on Nov 13, 1999

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