Preheat oven to 375F. Combine sugar and Crisco in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, syrup, and vanilla. Beat until well blended and fluffy. Combine 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add gradually to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix until well blended. Divide dough into 4 quarters. Spread 1 tablespoon of flour on large sheet of waxed paper. Place 1/4 of dough on floured paper. Flatten slightly with hands. Turn dough over and cover with another large sheet of waxed paper. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out with floured cutter. Transfer to ungreased baking sheet with large pancake turner. Place 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with granulated sugar or colored sugar crystals, or leave plain to frost when cooled. Bake one baking sheet at a time at 375F for 5 to 9 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Place sheets of foil on countertop. Remove cookies to foil to cool completely, then frost if desired. Makes 3-4 dozen
Gingerbread Houses and Treats
By Martha Stewart
Tips for perfect gingerbread:
* Make the dough smooth and pliable -- not too soft or hard. Always chill dough before rolling.
* When making cookies, roll the dough on a lightly floured board. Brush off excess flour with a soft brush. Lift with flexible metal spatula to parchment-lined cookie sheets for baking.
* Bake carefully. Do not allow gingerbread to darken. Cook until hard and dry.
* Cool well in a dry place before icing. If humidity softens the gingerbread, place baked pieces in a 115-degree oven until dry.
* Ice all elements of houses separately, while pieces are lying flat. Assemble houses after decoration is complete. Experiment with Royal Icing (recipe below). Icing for coating must be smooth and lump-free. Piping icing should be a bit thicker.
* To assemble houses, start with four sides and apply icing to all corners. Next, stick fronts and sides together. Apply more icing "glue" to inside corners to reinforce. Dressmaker straight pins can be inserted carefully at corners to secure fronts and roofs to sides. (Remove with pliers after all "glue" dries completely.)
* Keep your gingerbread in a dry, cool place, out of direct sunlight. A house should last for weeks, cookies until they are discovered and eaten.
Gingerbread for Houses and Mansions
By Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1/2 pound margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups unsulfured molasses
3 eggs
8 to 9 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Directions:
Cream margarine and sugar until smooth. Add molasses and eggs. Beat until smooth. Sift 3 cups of flour with the baking soda, salt and spices. Gradually beat into the sugar mixture. Add 5 to 6 cups more flour, beating until just mixed. Dough will be heavy and stiff. Form into two flat rectangles, wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease edgeless baking sheet with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Roll out dough directly on the baking sheet to 1/8-inch thick. Place the largest pattern piece on rolled dough and cut neatly around edges with a sharp, small knife. Carefully remove scraps and press together into a ball. Reserve scraps for small pieces of house. Continue rolling and cutting until all pieces are done. Bake pieces 10 to 15 minutes, until done but NOT BROWNED. Carefully remove baked pieces from sheet and place on rack to cool. Make 3 batches for medium house.
Royal icing "glue"
Ingredients:
3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 egg whites
Fresh lemon juice or water
Directions:
Beat sugar with egg whites until thick and smooth. Correct consistency with additional sugar (to thicken) or lemon juice or water (to thin). Icing decorations can be simple piping or dots, or complex lines atop a shiny undercoat of a softly or brightly tinted hue. Hint: The roof can be shingled with white Necco wafers.
Melissa's Gingerbread Cookies
By Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
6 cups sifted all-purpose flour
Royal icing
Ingredients:
1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 large egg white
Food coloring
Directions:
Place the molasses, sugar, ginger and cinnamon in a double boiler over medium heat. When the sugar has melted, add the baking soda and stir. When the mixture bubbles up, remove from heat. Place butter in a large mixing bowl. Add the hot molasses mixture and stir well. Let mixture cool to about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, then add the eggs. Gradually add the flour, 1 cup at a time, while beating. (This is best done in an electric mixer, but you can use a wooden spoon.) Chill dough in flat rectangles. Wrap in plastic wrap. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line thick baking sheets with parchment paper. Place chilled dough on a well-floured board and roll out until 1/4 to 1/8-inch thick. Cut into shapes, place shapes on the parchment-covered baking sheets and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until firm to the touch. While cookies are still hot on tray, use a bamboo skewer to make small holes in tops of cookies (1/2 inch from edge). This will enable you to hang the cookies on your tree. Let cool on racks before icing. To make icing, beat sugar with egg white until thick and smooth. Use food colorings sparingly, adding bit by bit until desired color is attained. Icing decorations can be simple piping or dots, or complex lines atop a shiny undercoat of a softly or brightly tinted hue. Makes 3 to 4 dozen
Gingerbread gift tags
By Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1/2 pound unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses
6 cups all-purpose flour
Directions:
In an electric mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in ginger, cinnamon, cloves, pepper and salt. Beat in eggs and molasses. Add flour and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Divide dough into thirds, press to flatten and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour. Heat oven to 350 degrees. On well-floured parchment paper, roll out dough to 1/8 inch. Cover with another sheet of parchment and place dough in freezer to firm, 15 minutes. Remove from freezer and cut into desired shapes. Using a spatula, transfer shapes to a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Do not move shapes again; if the dough becomes too soft to work with return it to the freezer until firm.) If desired, use alphabet cookie cutters to cut out initials from the centers. Make an 1/8-inch hole for the ribbon. (A No. 7 round pastry tip works well for this.) Cover cookies with a sheet of parchment paper and place a second baking pan on top of the cookies. Transfer to the oven and bake until lightly browned, about 35 minutes for a single pan in center of oven, or 40 to 45 minutes with two pans in oven. If using two pans, rotate them twice between shelves. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Do not remove top pan until cookies are cool, about 20 minutes. Makes 30 to 40
Heat oven to 325°F. Mix coconut, sugar, flour and salt in bowl. Stir in egg whites and almond extract until well blended. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased and floured cookie sheets. Bake 20 minutes or until edges of cookies are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets. Cool on wire racks. Makes 2 dozen
