Gingerbread Recipes for Gingerbread Houses & Cookies via Sweet Lisa's

'Tis the season, but when you get tired of shopping, take a break with your family, and enjoy some leisurely holiday baking. Sweet Lisa’s Exquisite Cakes has mastered the art of gingerbread (as you can see above), and they have been kind enough to share their recipes for Gingerbread Cookie Dough as well as a special (slightly more structurally sound) Gingerbread for Houses. It's a fine line when it comes to gingerbread.

If you decide to embark on a house of your own, please share it with CTbites and send us a photo. 

GINGERBREAD COOKIE DOUGH

1 cup (8 oz)       Butter

1 cup (7 oz)       Sugar

1 ¼ cup            Molasses

2                      Eggs

5 cups (25 oz)Flour

1 tsp.                Baking Soda

1 tsp.                Salt

1 tsp.                Ground Cloves

1 tsp.                Ground Nutmeg

2 tsp.                Ground Cinnamon

2 tsp.                Ground Ginger

350’ oven

Cream butter and sugar.  Add molasses and eggs, mix well and scrape sides down.

Combine all dry ingredients and slowly add to creamed mixture.  Remove from machine, gather into a ball, flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour.

Roll dough on lightly floured surface, ½” thick.  Cut into desired shapes, bake on parchment lined sheet pans, 12-18 min.

GINGERBREAD FOR HOUSES

¾ cup (6 oz)      Shortening

1 ¼ cup (8 oz)Sugar

¾ tsp.               Salt

4 tsp.                Ground Ginger

2 tsp.                Ground Cinnamon

1 tsp.                Ground Cloves

1 tsp.                Ground Nutmeg

¾ cup               Molasses

¼ cup (2oz)       Water

4 cups (20oz)    Flour

400’ oven

Cream shortening and sugar.  Add spices.  Combine molasses with water and add to creamed mixture.  Mix well and scrape sides.  Add flour and mix into dough.

Remove from machine, gather into a ball, flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour.  Roll dough on parchment paper using very little to no flour.  Cut patterns using pizza cutter.  Remove excess dough and transfer parchment onto sheet pans.

Bake 18-22 min.

Sweet Lisa’s Exquisite Cakes is a custom design cake, cookie and treat shop that specializes in creating highly-personalized, artistic, edible masterpieces for weddings, birthdays, bar/bat mitzvah’s, showers and more.  Using fresh, local ingredients, the team of eight pastry chefs and 3D designers is led by owner and head pastry chef Lisa Maronian, who started the shop 25 years ago with her husband, Stephen.  Located in Greenwich, Connecticut, Sweet Lisa’s has received numerous accolades from Moffly Media, Serendipity magazine, the New York City Hotel Show, Les Dames D’Escoffier and Connecticut Chef’s competition.  For more information, visit www.sweetlisas.com.  The shop can also be found on Facebook (Sweet Lisa’s Exquisite Cakes) and Instagram (sweet_lisas_cakes).