Gingerbread

Every year for the past 4 (I think!) we have made gingerbread houses. It is a lot of fun & is something the kids talk about and look forward to all year. I got this recipe from friends who make incredible gingerbread constructions (Noah's ark, lighthouses, etc...) every year. It is very dependable and makes yummy cookies, too.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup molasses
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup cold water
1/3 cup shortening
7 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon

Combine first four ingredients. Stir in the remaining ingredients until well blended. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. (I've even made the dough up to a week ahead of time.)

Heat oven to 350F. Roll dough 1/4" thick on floured surface. Cut with floured cookie cutter or knife or pizza wheel, etc...Place about 1" apart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake until no indentation remains when touched, about 10-12 minutes. Cool before using for construction.

For icing glue, beat together 4 egg whites and 4 cups of powdered sugar until smooth. If you're building houses, you may need to support the structures (canned vegetables work well for this) until the icing hardens.