Sunday, December 11, 2011
Whether your gingerbread house is a mansion or of more modest dimensions, or you just want to enjoy a piece of gingerbread to eat, here are some recipes to get you started.
Chef Stephan Schubert's Gingerbread Dough Mix and cream together the brown sugar, shortening, salt, flour and molasses. Add in remaining ingredients and chill dough overnight. Roll out, cut into shapes and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before house construction. * Dough can be used to make gingerbread men to hang for decorations on the Christmas tree. See related article on Gingerbread Traditions for Young and Old Martha Washington's Soft Ginger Cake (18th Century recipe updated by Suzanne Corbett) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add molasses, ginger, and cinnamon and blend well. Beat flour into mixture; then mix in baking soda water and eggs. Butter a foil or …
Big or small, plain or fancy, gingerbread houses capture the imagination of young and old.
Gingerbread has been a tradition throughout Europe for centuries, especially in Germany. “Gingerbread houses are what Christmas is all about for me,” said Stephen Schubert, executive pastry chef at River City Casino, who was raised in Hamburg, Germany. “My family always made gingerbread houses together when I was little. It was such fun and a big attraction for us when we were kids. Christmas without gingerbread wouldn’t be Christmas at all.” Schubert continues his family’s tradition of making gingerbread houses with his kids at home and at work, where he recently constructed, with his team of bakers, a gingerbread house that weighs in around 800 pounds, of which 500 pounds is gingerbread. “When you make a gingerbread house, no matter how …
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Parents display the courage to be stewards of sweet houses and sugar-filled offspring in the name of tradition and warm holiday memories at the Community Center.
A brave crew of some 15 children and their parents worked hard for a couple of hours Saturday at Crestwood's Community Center in Whitecliff Park, jiggering slabs of baked gingerbread into small standing houses. When it was clear the houses were steady, children covered them with all kinds of sweets. Then, there were yards and fences of marshmallows to be made--to corral wild Gummi Bears. "There was a lot of candy," said mother of two Regina Cleary. She emphasized " a lot." Joe, 5, and Elizabeth, 4, darted around the lobby while the family prepared to tote the two holiday houses out through the rain and into the car. "This is our second year," Cleary said. "It's really a nice family traditon." Dad John Cleary carefully balanced two …
