Gingerbread Christmas Cottage

Have a magical afternoon with your family creating this sweet little cottage. It is a fun kid-made surprise to bring to Grandma's house, too! —Blanche Comiskey, Franklin, Wisconsin

1 ServingsPrep: 30 hours + standing Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling

Ingredients

DOUGH:
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup dark molasses
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
ICING AND ASSEMBLY:
16 cups confectioners' sugar, divided
12 tablespoons meringue powder, divided
2 teaspoons cream of tartar, divided
1-1/2 cups warm water, divided
14 red spice gumdrops
8 large candy canes (6 inches), divided
Multicolored nonpareils
1 red-hot candy
18 leaf-shaped spearmint gumdrops, divided
About 150 multicolored spice gumdrops, halved vertically
Edible glitter
10 ice cream sugar cones

2 of 5

Gingerbread Christmas Cottage (continued)

Ingredients (continued)

Green paste food coloring
30 chocolate rock candies
21 pieces candy corn in Christmas colors or green gumdrops
8 miniature candy canes (about 2-1/4 inches)
10 green spice gumdrops
4 green rock candy suckers
1 large cotton ball
Pastry tips—star tips #16 and #20, round tips #3 and #7, and leaf tip #67
Pastry bags
Foam core board (20 inches x 16 inches x 1/2 inch)
Small cans for propping

Directions

In a large bowl, combine shortening and water. Add brown sugar and
molasses; mix well. Combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices;
beat into molasses mixture until blended. Divide into three
portions; chill overnight.
Trace the full patterns onto waxed paper; cut out. Trace the
remaining (halved) patterns onto waxed paper as directed on the
patterns; cut out.
With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll one portion of dough to
1/8-in. thickness directly onto a lightly greased and floured baking
sheet. With a sharp knife, cut out two front/back house pieces. On
one piece, score window and door.
Roll out second portion of dough. Cut out two 8-1/2-in. x 6-in.
rectangles for roof.
Roll out third portion of dough. Position house side pattern on
dough; cut out two pieces. On each piece, score two window outlines.
Cut out one 2-3/8-in. x 1-3/8-in. rectangle for left side of chimney
and a 1-3/8-in. x 7/8-in. rectangle for right side of chimney. Roll
out scraps to cut out patterns for sides of chimney; sides and roof
of porch; and front, sides and roofs of dormers. Score dormer window
outlines.
Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for
2 minutes; place patterns over baked dough and trim. Cut out door
and windows completely. (Set aside door cutout; discard window
cutouts.) Cool on wire racks.
To make icing: Prepare only one batch of icing at a time. For each
batch, in a large bowl, combine 4 cups confectioners' sugar, 3

3 of 5

Gingerbread Christmas Cottage (continued)

Directions (continued)

tablespoons meringue powder, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and 6
tablespoons water. Beat on low speed for 5-10 minutes or until stiff
peaks form. Place a damp cloth over bowl and cover tightly between
uses.
To assemble frame of house: Place front and sides of house and fronts
of dormers on a waxed paper-lined flat surface. Cut a small hole in
a corner of a pastry bag; insert star tip #16. Fill two-thirds full
with icing. Pipe curtains in the house and dormer windows. Outline
frames of windows and doorway with round tip #3.
For shutters, roll out 10 red gumdrops to 1/16-in. thickness; cut
each into a 1-1/8-in. x 3/8-in. rectangle. Roll out four red
gumdrops for dormer shutters; cut each into a 7/8-in. x 1/4-in.
rectangle. Attach house and dormer shutters with a dab of icing on
each side of windows.
Using tip #16, pipe decorative trim on the front and back rooflines
and peaks of the house, taking care to avoid the edges. Let dry
completely.
Pipe icing along base and one side of front wall and the adjoining
side wall. Place at right angles to each other on foam core board
and position with front of house 6-1/4-in. from one narrow side of
board; prop with small cans. Pipe icing along inside and outside
edges for added stability. Repeat with second side section and back.
Let dry completely.
Cut 3-1/2-in. pieces from the straight end of four large candy canes
(set aside curved ends for another use). Pipe icing along each
outside corner of house with star tip #20; press straight candy cane
pieces into each corner. Let dry completely, about 4 hours.
For dormers: Insert tip #16 into pastry bag; fill two-thirds full
with icing. Pipe icing along one side of front of dormer and one
adjoining side wall. Position at right angles to each other and
place on waxed paper; pipe icing along inside edge for added
stability. Hold in place until secure. Repeat with second side.
Repeat for second dormer. Let dry completely with front side up.
To assemble roof: Generously pipe icing along top edges of house.
Position roof pieces so there is a 5/8-in. overhang in front and
back. Pipe icing along the joining edges. Prop bottom of roof pieces
with cans until roof is completely dry.
On right roof piece, position one dormer 1-1/2 in. from left side,
1-1/2 in. up from the bottom and above the lower window, aligning so
dormer front is perpendicular to board. Pipe dots of icing to mark
the position of bottom dormer corners. Pipe icing onto back edges of

4 of 5

Gingerbread Christmas Cottage (continued)

Directions (continued)

dormer; attach to roof. Hold in place until secure, about 1 minute.
Repeat with second dormer. Let dry completely.
Attach dormer roofs with icing so there is a 1/4-in. overhang in
front. Cut two 2-in. straight pieces from candy canes. Pipe icing
along top edge of dormer roofs; press straight candy cane pieces
into each. Let dry completely.
For chimney and door: Spread chimney pieces and door with icing; dip
into multicolored nonpareils. With tip #3, pipe a dot of icing on
door and attach red-hot for the handle. Let dry. Pipe icing along
left edge and bottom of door; position door so it is ajar.
Using tip #16 and icing, attach chimney pieces to plain side of roof,
positioning the back chimney piece 1-1/2 in. from back edge of roof
and working clockwise with remaining pieces. Pipe icing around top
of chimney and along chimney seams. Cut one 5-in. piece and one
1-1/4-in. piece from the straight ends of two candy canes. Pipe
icing along top edge between roof pieces; press straight pieces into
icing.
For porch: Place porch roof smooth side down on a work surface. To
attach sides, pipe icing along the long side of each triangle and
position against porch roof. Invert to dry.
For porch support posts, cut two 2-3/4-in. straight pieces from candy
canes. Insert each into a leaf-shaped spearmint gumdrop; position 1
in. from house and 3 in. apart on each side of doorway. Secure
gumdrops with icing. Let dry. Attach porch roof to posts and house
with icing; prop with small cans and let dry.
To decorate roof: With tip #20, pipe two rows of icing along bottom
of chimney side of roof. Press five different colored halved
gumdrops into icing in a row; repeat until one horizontal row is
finished. Begin the second row with the second color from row one.
Repeat nine times, slightly overlapping each row until one roof
piece is covered with a diagonally patterned design.
On dormer side of roof and starting at bottom edge, repeat procedure
for gumdrop shingles. Attach gumdrops to the dormer and porch roofs
in the same pattern as roof of house. Pipe icing onto sides of porch
roof. Let dry.
For finishing touches: Using round tip #7, pipe icing icicles.
Sprinkle with edible glitter.
To make trees, use a serrated knife to carefully score and cut ice
cream cones to desired heights. Tint a portion of icing with green
food coloring. Using leaf tip #67 and beginning at bottom of ice
cream cones, pipe icing in rows; sprinkle with edible glitter. Place
on waxed paper to harden. Using tip #7, pipe snow on the trees and

5 of 5

Gingerbread Christmas Cottage (continued)

Directions (continued)

sprinkle with edible glitter. Set aside.
For curved path, using tip #20 and beginning at the door, pipe icing
in a zigzag pattern. Press chocolate rock candies 1/8 in. apart onto
pathway. Position candy corn, point side up, along both sides of
path. Working in small sections, frost base with icing for snow and
sprinkle with edible glitter.
For each corner fence, use tip #7 and white icing to attach two
miniature candy canes to board. Arrange trees on base along with
green gumdrops, rock candy suckers and remaining leaf-shaped
gumdrops for bushes; secure with icing. For smoke, pull and stretch
the cotton ball; attach with icing to inside of chimney. Yield: 1
gingerbread house.

Print Options

Include these items:

Gingerbread Christmas Cottage

Ingredients

Gingerbread Christmas Cottage (continued)

Ingredients (continued)

Directions

Gingerbread Christmas Cottage (continued)

Directions (continued)

Gingerbread Christmas Cottage (continued)

Directions (continued)

Gingerbread Christmas Cottage (continued)

Directions (continued)