The BEST Gingerbread House Recipe & Royal Icing Glue

GINGERBREAD

1 cup shortening or butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/3 cups molasses

4 eggs

8 cups flour (may not need it all, but I usually do)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp all spice

1 tsp clove

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

You can make the dough one day and keep it wrapped in cling wrap in the fridge overnight, but let it come back to room temperature before rolling it out. Gingerbread dough is a stiff dough, and when it's cold, it's pretty much impossible to roll out. It's easiest to work with in the few hours after you make your dough.

1.  Cream together shortening & brown sugar

2.  Mix in the molasses and eggs

3.  Add in 6 cups flour and spices

4.  Gradually add in the remaining flour until no longer sticky

5.  Roll dough 1/8” thick *see cutting tip

6.  Place 1” apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet

7.  Chill at least 15 minutes in fridge

8.  Bake at 350 degrees 18-20 minutes.

9.  Let cool 5 minutes on sheet pan then move to cooling rack or towel to completely cool

*CUTTING TIPS:

Don't roll out the dough on the counter and then move the pieces. Instead, roll out the dough directly on the pan or on parchment paper, then lift away the excess.

ROYAL ICING

2 lbs. powder sugar

1 tsp cream of tartar

5 egg whites or 1 cup egg whites

Mix all together with electric mixer for about 5 minutes on HIGH, until thick and stiff. Keep covered with moist cloth and plastic wrap until ready to decorate.

GINGERBREAD GLUE – QUICK DRYING

3 TBL meringue powder

1lb. powder sugar

4-6 TBL COLD water

Mix meringue & sugar together

Add water slowly, START with 2 TBL

You want it very thick – a knife should drag through and leave a clean path

IF TOO THICK – add a tiny amount of water

IF TOO THIN – add more sugar

YOGURT (COLD START)

INGREDIENTS 

52oz ultra pasteurized, ultra high temp, or shelf stable milk such as Fairlife milk (whole or chocolate), or Costco organic whole milk 

Half of a 5.3oz Chobani plain or vanilla yogurt (freeze the other half for your next batch) 

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS 

7oz Sweetened Condensed milk (freeze the other half for your next batch) or 16 oz Natural Bliss Coffee Creamer 

1-2 cups heavy cream or half & half milk 

2 TBL Vanilla or other extract flavorings (optional) Add in after yogurt finishes chilling process. 

INSTRUCTIONS 

1) Pour milk, yogurt and optional ingredients (not vanilla) into Instant Pot liner. 

2) Whisk well. Mix will bubble and foam up 

3) Lock the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the valve to sealing, not venting. 

4) Press the Yogurt button to 8:00hrs/Normal. You can increase incubation time (up to 24 hours) by pushing the + button and it will result in a more tangy yogurt. 

5) The Instant Pot will beep. Display will read 0:00 and will count UP to the 8:00 hours. When finished, the Instant Pot will beep and display YOGT. 

6) DO NOT STIR until fully chilled and/or strained. 

7) Remove the Instant Pot liner, cover, and chill in the fridge for 12-15 hours. 

8) After chilling yogurt, stir 1 spoonful of yogurt into a bowl. It will thin out. If a thicker yogurt is desired, you will need to strain. 

9) Add vanilla or other extract flavorings if using 

STORE 

Yogurt will keep in the fridge for to 2 weeks. 

TOPPING IDEAS 

Honey 

Fruit 

Granola 

1-2 tsp jello powder (diy Gogurt) 

Jam 

Dip apples or graham crackers in it. 

Freeze into popsicles for the kids. 

NOTES

Yogurt must contain live/active cultures (listed in the ingredients or on the label) 

Make sure it is FRESH, NOT OPENED YOGURT. Once opened, your yogurt begins to weaken and will not culture properly. You can freeze leftover yogurt to use as future starters. 

What is the difference between Fairlife milk and a regular ‘ol milk? Fair life has been ultra-pasteurized, which basically means it has been boiled already which is why the cold start method works. Fairlife milk also has 50% more protein, 50% less sugar, 30% more calcium than regular milk. Fair life milk also has added the Lactase enzyme which makes this milk LACTOSE FREE!

ROOT BEER FLOAT PIE

•¾ cup good quality root beer

•½ cup milk (any kind)

•1 (4-serving size) box instant vanilla pudding mix (sugar free may be used)

•1-2 Tbsp root beer extract (start with one Tablespoon and add more if you prefer a stronger root beer flavor. If you want a really light root beer flavor, only use a couple teaspoons and adjust from there)

•1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip Free, thawed

•1 prepared graham cracker crust

•Cherries and whipped cream, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1.In a large bowl, whisk together the root beer, milk, root beer concentrate and pudding mix for 2 minutes or until mixture thickens. Fold in the Cool Whip until mixture is uniform and combined.

2.Pour the mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust and freeze for approx. 8 hours or overnight. Once frozen, cut into slices and garnish with whipped cream and cherries, if desired. Store pie in freezer.

BACON CHEDDAR GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Serves 8-10

1 (10 1/2 ounce) Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 - 1 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped (about 4 tablespoons)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 TBL soy sauce

24oz frozen green beans, cooked  or (3 14.5oz) cans any green beans, drained

1 1/3 cups French's French fried onions

 

Stir the soup, milk, half the cheese, 2.5 TBL bacon, black pepper, soy sauce beans and half the onions in a 2-quart baking dish.

 

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling and the beans are tender (for softer beans bake a little longer). Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, onions and bacon.

 

Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

BETTER THAN CINNABON CINNAMON ROLLS

They're easy to make and can be prepared the day before and left to rise overnight in the refrigerator.

Servings 12 Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

Cinnamon Roll Dough:

1 cup milk warm (105 degrees F)

½ cup + 1 TBS granulated sugar divided

1 TBS yeast

2 large eggs room temperature

6 TBS butter melted

1 tsp vanilla

4 to 4 ½ cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 ½ TBS cinnamon

6 TBS butter softened

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter softened

2 cups powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

Make the Cinnamon Roll Dough:

Warm milk in the microwave milk for 45-60 seconds. It should be warm but not hot to the touch (about 105 degrees F).

Place milk into the bowl of your standing mixer, then add 1 TBS sugar and 1 TBS yeast to the warm milk. Stir and let it sit (proof) for five minutes or until it becomes foamy.

Add the ½ cup sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla to the mixture in the bowl of your standing mixer. Use a dough hook to stir until combined.

Add 4 cups flour, salt and cinnamon and stir the dough hook, starting on low and increasing to high.

Knead dough in the standing mixer until a large ball is formed. The dough should be smooth and only slightly tacky to the touch. If the dough seems too sticky and is not forming a ball, add more flour 1 TBS at a time until a smooth ball is formed.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead with your hands until it is smooth and elastic (about 3-5 minutes). Form it into a ball. OR – KNEAD IN KITCHEN AID ON SPEED 2 FOR 2 MINUTES.

Grease a large bowl and place the dough inside.

Cover the bowl with a warm, damp towel and put the bowl in a warm place to rise.

Let the dough rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

Make the filling:
While the dough is rising, make the filing. In a small bowl, combine butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until mixture is homogenous (uniform throughout). Set aside.

Assemble Cinnamon Rolls:

Sprinkle a large work surface with flour.

Gently press the gas out of the dough and form it into a rectangle.

Roll the dough into a 24x12” rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick.

Spread the filling all over the dough using greased hands or a greased spatula. This process can seem difficult but it gets easier as you spread it.

Roll up dough & cut into 12 equal sized rolls MEASURE FOR EVEN SIZE ROLLS!!!

Line a 9x13 inch glass baking dish with parchment paper and lightly grease. Then place rolls in 4 rows of three, evenly spaced.

Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Bake Cinnamon Rolls:
Once rolls are doubled in size, bake them in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. (original recipe said to cook 18-20 minutes but mine were still doughy.  I ended up cooking mine for about 28 minutes).

Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:

While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Do NOT chill the frosting. Keep it at room temperature until the cinnamon rolls are baked.

Once the cinnamon rolls have bene removed from the oven, spread the cream cheese frosting on them while they are still warm.

Let cool and serve warm.

TO MAKE AHEAD:

After the cinnamon rolls have been assembled in a baking dish, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and cover with a tea towel or aluminum foil and place them in the refrigerator.

In the morning, remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature and finish rising (this takes about 30-40 minutes).

Then bake according to recipe instructions.

Cracker Barrel's Broccoli Cheddar Chicken

 4-6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

1 cup Milk

1 Can of Cheddar Cheese Soup

1TBL dried chopped onion

Salt & Pepper to taste

8 oz of chopped broccoli (fresh or frozen)

6-8 oz of cheddar cheese – shredded

1 cup of crushed Ritz cracker (28-30 crackers)

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Place chicken in greased casserole dish

3. In a bowl whisk milk, soup, onion and salt & pepper

4. Pour soup mix over the chicken

5. Put broccoli on top of chicken

6. Sprinkle on cheese then cracker crumbs

7. Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes (until juices run clear)

BIG BATCH RICE KRISPY TREATS

1 ½ sticks real butter (12 tablespoons)

22-24 cups mini marshmallows (divided)

12 cups rice krispie cereal

1 tsp Vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Butter or spray with non stick spray, a Jelly Roll Pan and set aside.

In a very large mixing bowl add rice krispies and 6-8 cups mini marshmallows, set aside.

In a LARGE stock pot over medium heat melt the 12 TBL of butter and add 16 cups marshmallows. If you feel your pot isn’t large enough, add half the marshmallows at a time and let them melt down a bit before you add the rest. Melt completely and stir in vanilla and salt.

Once melted, quickly pour over cereal/mallow mixture and stir well until all cereal is coated. Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Spray your hands with non-stick spray (or rub with a little butter) so you can gently press down mixture to the edges of the pan.