Thatched gingerbread house 02 - country living

1 house

Ingredients

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Directions

8. Heat oven to 350'F. Cover 3 large baking sheets with aluminum foil. Roll out gingerbread dough, one half at a time, to a 10-inch square, ⅛ inch thick, on foil-covered sheets. Leaving ½ inch between pieces, cut out the following: One gingerbread front (pattern 9), one 6-by 2-inch rectangle for gingerbread side, 7 gingerbread window frames (Pattern 10), 2 chimney sides (pattern 8), and 3 front-door overhang supports (pattern 11). For fence pieces make a 3½-inch by 1 ¼-inch rectangle and an 8-inch by 1 ¼-inch rectangle. For front door, make a 3-by 2-inch rectangle. Fo front stoop, make a 2-inch by 1 ½-inch rectangle and for window boxes, make four 1-¾-by-¾-inch rec- tangles. Remove trimmings; reroll, if necessary. Using knife, score gingerbread front, side, chimney sides, fence pieces and front stoop to resemble stone. Score door and window boxes to resemble wood.

9. Bake gingerbread pieces 12 to 15 minutes or until firm and golden brown. While still wann, measure against patterns and trim off excess caused by expansion during baking. Trim ¼ inch off ends of one front-door overhang support. Cool gingerbread on flat surface.

10. Prepare 2 recipes Royal Frosting. Use meringue powder if frosting is to be eaten. Turn house frame on side; spread some Royal Frosting on bottom edges of frame. Set house frame in position on base.

Holding house by roof, frost front, back, chimney and sides of house; press gingerbread pieces onto frosted cardboard frame. Press all window frames into place except the front left, allowing a little frosting to extrude inside frame. Press window boxes in place under front and back windows.

11. Generously frost roof, front-door overhang and side-window overhang. Split shredded-wheat biscuits and, working from bottom to top, press them in place on front-door overhang and roof. Press one half biscuit in place on side-window overhang. Break off tufts of shredded wheat for side of overhang. Set house aside to dry several flours. Smoothly frost sides of chimney extension; set aside.

12. When pieces are dry, prepare the third recipe of Royal Frosting.

Measure out ½ C; cover tightly and set aside. Spoon remaining frosting into decorating bag fitted with adapter and ¼-inch round tip. Pipe swirls of frosting at side eaves of house, front-door overhang, and side-window overhang. Press the shorter gingerbread door-overhang sup- port, with open ends against the house, to the left under front-door overhang. Press another support to the right under overhang; with remaining support beneath it. Hold until support feels secure.

13. Pipe a border of frosting along bot- toms of roof, overhangs, and along peak of roof. Set gum bears into frosting on roof. Pipe mat on front-door stoop. Frost gum bear onto left side of porch. Pipe swirls of frosting on top of chimney; press chimney extension into frosting, closed end up. Pipe swirls of frosting on top of chimney extension; set gum drop into place.

14. Place ¼ C of reserved frosting into a custard cup; stir in cocoa. If mixture is too stiff, add 1 drop water. Replace ¼-inch open tip on decorating bag with small writing tip. Wash ¼-inch open tip and place on small decorating bag; fill with cocoa frosting. Pipe a double border of cocoa frosting at edges of chimney. Pipe a single row around top of chimney. With white frosting, frost backs of remaining front left window frame and window box. Press into place on gingerbread front. Pipe doorknob onto front door, snow drift at top of door, icicles at roof edges and along eaves, and swirls at top and base of chimney extension.

15. Pipe frosting along edges of fence pieces; set up as pictured.

Pipe icicles along top of fence.

16. Color 1 T remaining frosting with red food coloring. Color remaining frosting green. Place green frosting in small pastry bag with leaf tip. Pipe garlands of leaves over door, second-floor window, and down left front comer of house. Press candy cane into comer garland. Pipe leaves at base of candy cane for support. Pipe small evergreen tree at remaining comers of house and fence. Pipe leaves into window boxes.

17. Remove writing tip from decorating bag of white frost- ing. Wash, dry, and fill tip with red frosting. Replace on bag of white frosting. Pipe red dots onto green leaves. Set house aside several flours or overnight to dry,

18. If desired, display cottage on cotton batting, to illuminate, set a Christmas-tree light in stand-up holder in hole in house base with cord running from back of house through cotton batting or covered by a fold of cloth. If desired, set artificial trees around house and sprinkle coarse salt over batting to resemble snow dfifts. Sift confectioners' sugar over trees and roof of house. Country Living/Dec/91 Scanned & fixed by DP and GG

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