Gingerbread

For me, it is just not quite Christmas without making gingerbread.  I love the years when my husband have time to make our own gingerbread house but unfortunately this is not one of those years.  This recipe has never failed in the past for gingerbread houses, much better than the store bought kits.  It also works well for making Christmas tree ornaments, especially if you double up on the spices.
If you happen to have any leftover cuttings from making a gingerbread house or scrap dough bake it, I will post a great Maple Gingerbread Ice Cream my husband makes.

Gingerbread

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp gingerbread spice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup molasses

1. Sift together the first 4 ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Cream together the butter and the sugar until they are light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg and molasses.
3. Add the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture and mix until well-combined.
4. Form the dough into two balls and flatten into discs.  Chill for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350.
6. Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut into desired shapes if you are making cookies.  For a gingerbread house roll it out onto a pan.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.  For a house, cut the gingerbread while it is still hot into your desired shapes for the house.
8. Decorate and enjoy.

Royal Icing

2 egg whites

5 cups icing sugar

1. In a large bowl, lightly whisk egg whites.
2. Gradually beat in the icing sugar.  The icing should be smooth and stand in firm peaks.

*Be careful not to over whip your icing because it will crack when it dries.