GingerbreadAutumn
Carpenter
of
Country Kitchen SweetArt, Indiana Layout
& Editing by Diane Shavkin NY
Gingerbread
Recipe 1/4 cup
butter 1/2 cup
brown sugar 1/2 cup
molasses 2 1/2 to
3 cups flour sifted 1 teaspoon
cinnamon 1 teaspoon
ginger 1/4 teaspoon
nutmeg 1/3 cup
water
Blend butter
and brown sugar until creamy. Beat in the molasses. Add 1 cup flour, cinnamon,
ginger and nutmeg and blend. Add the remaining flour alternately with 1/3 cup
water. It may be necessary to knead the last cup of flour by hand as the dough will
be very stiff. Form the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Let set
for 20 minutes before rolling. Preheat oven to 350°.
Pattern
for the Halloween Trick-or-Treat bag. (This pattern can be used for
other holidays as well. See the picture at the end of this demonstration
which shows the different holiday and occasion designs that can be made.)
Roll out
dough evenly on baking parchment paper and cut out 2 of each using bag
pattern. (Rectangle side pieces may be widened to hold larger treats.)
A ravioli/
pastry roller works wonderfully for cutting out cookie dough from a pattern.
The small straight edge on the wheel allows even control. The jagged edge
on the wheel is perfect for the bag's finished edge on top.
Slide parchment
paper onto cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until brown. Allow
bag pieces to cool. Mix up a batch of royal
icing. Color a small amount brown and reserve the rest. Place tip #18
in a pastry bag and fill with brown royal icing. Assemble the cookie bag
with the brown icing. Allow the icing to harden for several hours.
Print off
"Trick or Treat" pattern and blow up or decrease to your desired size to
fit on the box.and place parchment on top of the word.
Outline
"Trick-or-Treat" with black royal icing. Allow to set up for 20 or 25 minutes.
Thin down
royal icing with a bit of water to make "run sugar/ color flow icing".
Check the consistency of the icing. It should smooth itself within 15 seconds.
Fill in "Trick-or-Treat" with thinned down orange royal icing. Allow
to set up for several hours.
"Glue"
letters to the box using royal icing. Pipe ghosts, using a #3 tip, on the
letters and bag. Allow ghosts to dry completely. When dry, paint eyes with
a fine paint brush and black food color.
Close-up
picture of the front of the bag with more ghosts added.
