Gingerbread House

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups dark molasses
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• Frosting, either store-bought or homemade
• Brightly colored candies such as gumdrops, licorice, peppermint sticks, etc.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix 5 cups of flour, the ginger and baking soda in a large bowl. Set aside.

Cream shortening and sugar in large bowl with mixer. Add molasses and lightly beaten eggs. Blend well. Gradually add dry ingredients. Knead in remaining flour, if necessary. Chill dough 1 hour for best rolling results.

Lightly grease cookie sheets. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick directly onto cookie sheets. Cut patterns, removing excess dough. Chill 10 minutes before baking. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes.

Let cookies cool.

Next, to assemble house, you will want to make a simple cardboard house to use as your base to help hold the house together. Begin applying cookies to the cardboard using your frosting as glue. Once cookies cover the entire house you can decorate with colorful candies such as gumdrops, peppermint sticks and licorice.