Gingerbread Lighthouse
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Gingerbread Lighthouse |
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Create a gingerbread house with a nautical twist. Here are the recipe and directions from the December 2003 Coastal Living Magazine,
You'll need some design and construction materials, but nothing too fancy.
To make a base for your lighthouse, a 16- by 18-inch or
in an article written by Amy Bissinger.
equivalent sheet of plywood or stiff, thick cardboard works well.
You'll also need parchment paper, zip-top bags, and a hammer (for crushing those Lifesaver hard candies).
Royal icing piped around edges keeps window in place on walkway piece.
Place candy rocks on frosted lighthouse walls. Coat 1 wall at a time with icing, or icing will dry before candy can be inserted.
Gingerbread Lighthouse Assembly Instructions:
Prepare base by wrapping thick cardboard or piece of plywood (at least 16 by 18 inches) in white parchment paper.
(You can also use a large cutting board.) Set aside.
Prepare Gingerbread recipe. (see recipes below)
After preparing gingerbread pieces, remove them from parchment and brush off
excess flour. Fill a pastry bag or plastic zip-top bag with royal
icing or melted chocolate. Pipe icing along the edges of the lighthouse walls and
place walls together in a pentagon shape on prepared base.
Hold or prop the walls in place until lightly set.
Allow lighthouse walls to dry completely before proceeding.
Set large round walkway piece on a flat surface. Pipe icing on edges of
lighthouse windows and place together to form a circular or pentagon shape in
the middle of the gingerbread circle. Pipe icing along tops of windows
and top with small circle. Let harden.
Pipe a thick circle of icing along the edge of walkway. Place pretzel pieces
upright along the perimeter of the walkway to form
railing posts. Hold or prop pretzel pieces in place until hardened.
Using royal icing or melted chocolate, pipe dots on top of pretzel pieces
and top with long rope of black licorice for railing. Pipe icing on roof and
top with nonpereils or almond brickle.
Pipe icing on top of lighthouse walls and set walkway piece on top.
Let harden. Pipe icing around windows and along outside edges of window pieces.
Make "icicles" along edge of walkway by piping icing in a
downward motion. Spread icing on walls of lighthouse and place chocolate
candy rocks on walls, leaving about 1/4 inch on corners. Coat 1 wall at a time
with icing, or icing will dry before candy can be inserted.
Place red licorice twists in icing down the edges of lighthouse walls. Pipe
icing around edges of door. Place door partially opened in doorway;
let harden. Use green and red licorice or candy-coated chocolate
pieces to fashion a wreath. Attach with a dot of icing.
To make water, spread crushed blue or green hard candies on parchment or
greased foil. Bake at 350� for 5 to 7 minutes until melted. Let cool.
Spread remaining Royal Icing on base and arrange candy water, rock candy,
chocolate-covered pretzels, candy lobsters, and candy fish. Store in a cool,
dry location as excess humidity will cause any gingerbread structure to collapse.
Copy and cut paper templates, and prepare the base while dough is chilling.
Click the links for the 'Roof' template and the 'Walls' template. Printer friendly, for your convenience.
Gingerbread Recipe:
1 cup butter, softenend
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup unsulphured molasses
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Crushed yellow hard candies (about 1/4 cup)
1 to 2 batches Royal Icing
1 (12-ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate morsels, melted (optional)*
Stick pretzels, cut in half
Black rope licorice
Chocolate nonpereils or almond brickle
Candy rocks
Red licorice twists
Crushed blue, green, or white hard candies
Rock candy
White chocolate-covered pretzels
Candy lobsters, fish
* NOTE: Melted chocolate can be used to attach lighthouse walls together
instead of Royal Icing.
Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric mixer until creamy;
gradually add brown sugar, beating well. Add eggs and molasses; beat well.
Combine flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Add to butter
mixture gradually, beating at low speed until blended. Shape dough into 3
flat disks. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Roll 1 portion of dough onto
a large sheet of parchment paper to 1/8-inch thickness. (Place a lightly
damp paper towel under parchment to prevent parchment from moving.) Lightly
dust rolled dough with flour to prevent template from sticking. Place
template on dough and cut with a knife or straight-edged utensil; remove
excess dough. Place on baking sheet.
mixture gradually, beating at low speed until blended. Shape dough into 3 flat
disks. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Roll 1 portion of dough onto a
Bake at 350� for 10 to 14 minutes. Slide parchment paper to cooling rack;
cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough and templates.
For window panels (See wall template and illustration above), bake separately at 350� for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven and spoon crushed candy into center. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes until candy has melted and gingerbread is firm. Cool on parchment on a wire rack.
Royal Icing Recipe:
Constructing the lighthouse may take 2 batches of icing. Prepare the second recipe only after running out�
the icing will dry out if prepared too far in advance. Keep bowl of icing covered with a damp dishtowel to prevent drying.
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons meringue powder
6 to 8 tablespoons warm water
Beat ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer until blended. Beat at
high speed 4 to 5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. If icing is too stiff,
add additional water, 1/4 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency.
Makes 3 cups.
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