Gingerbread Dough & Frosting

This recipe is awesome for making a gingerbread house.  It's not THAT yummy to eat, but it's still pretty soft like a cookie if you want to eat it!

(this dough makes enough for 2 pretty decent sized houses.  Half the recipe if only making 1)

DOUGH
2 Cups Molasses
1 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Milk
Bring Molasses and Butter  to boil, and then let completely cool.  When cool add Milk

Sift together
6 Cups Flour
3 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
1/4 Cup Sugar
2 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon

Add molasses mixture to dry ingredients.
Let cool in refrigerator at least 1 hour.

Roll out dough 1/8inch thick ONTO TIN FOIL (this is so it doesn't lose it's shape when you transfer it to your pan).  Cut the shape of your house, using a pizza cutter.  Remove extra pieces.  Do this for all your house pieces.
Bake at 350 for 7-9 minutes.

FOR WINDOWS- We like to use Jolly Ranchers or Life Savers for windows because when they melt they're see through.  You can use any hard candy.  Little circle peppermints are fun too because they're holiday ish.  To put windows in, before you bake your pieces, cut out the windows.  You can use cookie cutters or whatever you have.  After you bake it once, let it cool for a few minutes, then add your candy into the window spots.  Put it back in the over for another 5 minutes until it's all melted.  It will peel off of the foil just fine.

After you remove it from the oven let cool about a minute.  Then remove the piece from the pan, leaving it on the foil.  Let it cool on a cooling rack.  Remove from the foil when you are ready to put the house together.  I like to bake mine and let them sit out all night so they harden and are completely cool.

ICING FOR PASTING
1-2 Cups of Granulated Sugar

This is a trick my mother taught me, but it's a little harder than using royal icing.
Place the sugar in a large skillet over the stove on low heat.  Let it melt.  Don't let it burn.  Just keep it hot.  If it starts to smoke, turn the heat down.  Place the edge of your first piece of house in the melted sugar and very quickly attach it to the other piece.  Do this to all sides.

Attaching the roof can be very tricky.  Using a spoon, spoon the melted sugar onto the edges and carefully place your roof pieces on.

OR if you're not going to eat your house or enter it in a contest, just hot glue it together like we do! HAHAH

ROYAL ICING FOR DECORATING
2 Pounds Powdered sugar
6 Egg Whites
1/2 tsp Cream of Tarter

Beat sugar, egg whites, and cream of tarter until thick and fluffy.  If your frosting seems super runny, just add a little more powdered sugar until you get a thicker consistency that will work better.  Keep covered with a damp towel at room temperature.  Be sure to keep it covered and air tight so that it doesn't harden.
 Use for decorating, either with spoons or frosting bags.  I like to put mine in a frosting bag.