Starting the Gingerbread Castle

The Thanksgiving Point Gingerbread Festival is right around the corner (Nov. 12) and I've been going like mad trying to get my castle done.

I used Loreta Wilson's gingerbread dough recipe again from her site Ultimate Gingerbread, but I changed the mixing instructions a little. The first time I used her dough was in 2007 for my Gingerbread Outhouses. The dough is awesome, and makes your house smell so good!

Loreta's Favorite Gingerbread Dough
Printable Recipe (original recipe)

5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups mild molasses
2 eggs, beaten

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and run the mixer for a few seconds to mix everything together.

2. In a small sauce pan, heat the shortening over medium heat until it's half way melted; remove the pan from the heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the molasses and eggs. While whisking, slowly add the molasses-egg mixture to the melted shortening. (I've found a fork is better than an actual whisk for this). Whisk until well combined.

3. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the molasses mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and mix on medium-low for 2 minutes.

This dough is very soft, and needs to be refrigerated until it can be handled more easily. You can wrap it in plastic or put it in a bowl and cover the bowl with plastic. The dough can sit in the fridge for 2 or 3 weeks. The picture below is 2 1/2 batches of the dough. I ended up using 8 1/2 batches for all of my pieces (that doesn't include the 3 batches I had to redo because one day the dog ate half a batch of raw dough (and threw it up in the car), another day the dog stole off the counter and ate 11 pieces for the towers, and another day I screwed up the two biggest pieces and had to remake them--it's all an adventure, right?)

To use the dough, let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Scoop out a piece of dough about the size of an orange (or bigger if you're cutting a big piece), and knead it for a few seconds. Then:

1. Heat your oven to 350. Wipe your counter with a damp cloth and immediately lay a piece of foil on the damp area--this keeps the foil from slipping around as you roll out the dough. Liberally sprinkle the foil with four.

2. Roll the dough to about 1/8-inch thick (I go a little thicker on big pieces to give them more strength against snapping). Sprinkle the dough with more flour. Lay your pattern on the dough and carefully cut the piece out. A pizza cutter is the best way to cut long straight lines. **This next part is important** Remove the excess dough from around your pieces. Pick up the foil, and lay it (with the gingerbread pieces on it) on a baking sheet. This keeps the pieces from distorting during transfer to the baking sheet because you don't move them individually.

3. Bake the gingerbread for anywhere from 10-25 minutes, or until nicely browned, depending on how big the piece is. Keep in mind that you're not making cookies, so you don't want the pieces to be soft after they cool (they will be soft coming out of the oven). It will take some practice to know how long is long enough. If the pieces are soft after they cool you can put them back in the oven for 5 minutes.

**I bake roof pieces until they are very dark, so they are hard as rocks and I won't have to worry about any sagging.**

4. Lift the foil off the baking sheet and let the gingerbread pieces cool completely on the counter. To keep the corners and any short ends from lifting or bending up, immediately after putting the foil/pieces on the counter, lay a cutting board on top of the hot gingerbread and press lightly for several seconds.

If the edges have distorted at all during cooking, use a sharp knife to straighten them out immediately after you take them out of the oven. Or you can use a belt sander (Ahhh...power tools!) to straighten the edges of hardened pieces.

5. If you're really good at planning ahead, it's good to let the baked pieces sit for a few days to dry and harden.

Next I'm going to add the sugar windows and start icing the outside walls. Check back soon!

Note: to make cookies, add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder to the dry ingredients.

Raspberry-Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Sometimes things that seem too good to be true, aren't.

My sister brought me these cookies a few days ago. She recently moved, and after unpacking box after box, and eating out constantly, she had the need to bake something (we know how that is, huh?). She and my 2 year-old nephew baked these bars and they were amazing! Not only did they taste fabulous, but the recipe is incredibly easy, too. Too easy to taste so good? Nope.

Because this recipe has so few ingredients, good quality jam is important. The recipe calls for seedless raspberry jam; my sister used Black Raspberry Smucker's Spreadable Fruit, which was awesome because it's really thick and yummy. I don't recommend using a cheap, store-brand jam, which will have a thinner consistency.

Raspberry-Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Printable Recipe (original recipe on Allrecipes)

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup Black Raspberry Spreadable Fruit (Smucker's)

1. Heat your oven to 350 and spray a glass 8X8 pan with non-stick spray.

2. Combine the brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats in a medium bowl. Rub in the butter using your hands or a pastry blender to form a crumbly mixture. Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the jam to within 1/4 inch of the edge. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top, and lightly press it into the jam.

3. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into bars. For nice looking bars, use a plastic knife, and wipe the knife on a paper towel after each cut.

Makes 12 bars

Spinach-Artichoke Tart

My husband's company throws a pot luck several times a year, and (as long as I know about it) I always make something for him to take. He took this spinach-artichoke tart to the latest potluck, held the day before Halloween. The tart was supposed to be in bar form on puff-pastry, but I was in a hurry (never good), and I tried to thaw the puff pastry in the microwave. Bad, bad, news. Lucky for me I had some pie crust in the fridge, and was able to use the spinach-artichoke mixture to make a couple tarts instead. I was told they were a hit at the potluck ;)

Spinach-Artichoke Tart

Printable Recipe

1 pkg refrigerated pie crust (2 crusts, I prefer Pillsbury)

1 15-oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (not marinated)

1 9-0z pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed, and squeezed dry

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2/3 cup light mayonnaise
2/3 cup light sour cream

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Soften the pie crusts according to the package directions. Heat your oven to 400 deg, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients (except the pie crust...I know, I know, but I have to say it just in case). Mix well to combine everything evenly.

3. Place 1 pie crust on each baking sheet. Divide the spinach-artichoke mixture evenly between the two pie crusts, and spread it evenly, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge.

4. Starting anywhere, fold the edge of the pie crust up and over the filling, crimping as you go around the whole crust.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges and bottom of the tart are golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or room temperature.

Each tart makes 8 appetizer servings.

Pumpkin Bars: Cooking with Alicia & Annie

It's time for another Cooking with Alicia & Annie post! Considering the time of year, I decided to go with pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. I really wish these were scratch-and-taste pictures. Yum. Yum. Yum! I took plates to several friends, which was a very good thing. As it was, I ate way too many of these delicious morsels.

I didn't change as many things as I did with the Peach Crisp (I almost re-wrote that recipe), but I did decrease the amount of sugar by 1/4 cup, and the oil by half. I just could not in good conscience put a whole cup of oil in the batter. I also decreased the amount of nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, which are pretty strong spices. The measurements for the cream cheese frosting were a little off, so I changed those, too.

Pumpkin Bars (Adapted from Alicia's Recipes)
Printable Recipe

for the bars:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 15-oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup oil

for the cream cheese frosting:
1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
4-5 cups powdered sugar (start with 4, and add up to 1 more cup if needed)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 teaspoons milk

1. Heat your oven to 350. Line a 10x15-inch baking sheet with foil, with the short ends folded over the sides, and spray the foil with non-stick spray.

2. Combine all of the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix on low until everything is combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix on medium for 2 minutes.

3. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking sheet and spread it evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

4. While the bars are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add 4 cups of the powdered sugar, and mix on low until it's mostly combined. Add the vanilla and 2 teaspoons of the milk. Mix on low for 60 seconds; scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix on medium-low until the frosting is very smooth and creamy. If it seems too wet add a little more powdered sugar; if it seems like it is too thick and will be hard to spread, add another teaspoon of milk. Be careful, though; cream cheese frosting is gooey by nature, so it can be tricky to know when you have the right consistency. If in doubt, try spreading some on the bars.

Makes about 36 bars.

Perfect Steamed Rice

Maybe it's just me, but why is rice such a tricky thing to make? I've had to change the way I make rice depending on where I live (California, Germany, North Carolina), and Utah has been no exception. When we moved here in 2002, not only did all of my cookies turn out like frisbees (more on that adventure someday), but my rice was never right. It was overcooked or undercooked, no matter what I tried--more water, less water, more time, less time. I turned to the internet, and kept finding instructions that included rinsing and soaking the rice before cooking it. Nooooooo! Please don't make me rinse and soak my rice! I finally gave in, and my rice has been perfect since.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I only soak white rice (long grain, basmati, etc.). I didn't have the same problems with brown rice, and found that soaking it didn't change my results in any discernible way. I do rinse the brown rice, though, to get rid of any "floaties".

Oh, and I have to take issue with the whole 1 part rice/2 parts water deal. I don't think that ratio has ever worked for me, regardless of where I've lived. You may have to experiment to get the perfect ratio for where you live, but please do experiment. Don't settle for soggy rice. For me here in Utah, the perfect rice-to-water ratio is 1 part rice/1 1/4 parts water (brown rice is 1 part rice/1 1/3 parts water).

Perfect Steamed Rice
Printable Recipe

1 cup long grain white rice
1 1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon olive or canola oil

1. Measure the rice into a medium pot. Add enough water to cover the rice by an inch, gently swish the rice and water, and pour off the water. Repeat 4 or 5 times, or until the water is almost clear (picture on the right).

2. Add enough water to cover the rice by an inch and let it soak for 20 minutes.

3. Drain the rice well (I use a fine metal sieve). Add the water, salt, and oil to the pot. Bring it to a boil over high heat, cover the pot, turn the heat down to low, and simmer for 20 minutes--don't lift the lid. For anything.

4. After 20 minutes the rice should look like this. If there is any water still left in the bottom of the pot, taste a few grains of rice. If the rice is done, leave the lid off and simmer off the rest of the water. If the rice isn't quite done yet, replace the lid and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender.

I've found the best tools for fluffing steamed rice are chopsticks. They fluff and separate the rice without making it clump onto the fork or spoon, and they don't break the delicate grains (especially important with very long-grained basmati rice).

1 cup dry rice makes about 2 cups cooked rice.

I almost always make more rice than we need for dinner so I can freeze the extra for later. I measure it out in 1/2 cup measurements (1/2 cup rice = 2 WW points) in zip-top bags, and then freeze the bags. Once frozen, 30 seconds or so on High heat in the microwave and you're in business :) Having frozen rice ready to go can make quick lunches or dinners that much easier.

Salmon Chowder

This is a variation on my Mom's clam chowder. She doesn't enjoy cooking--she never has--but clam chowder is something I remember her making often. It's also one of the only things I remember her teaching me how to make. It's an easy, delicious soup I'm already teaching to my oldest daughter--got to pass it on :)


Salmon Chowder
Printable Recipe

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 8-oz bottle clam juice
32 oz (4 cups) chicken broth (I used homemade I had in the freezer)
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (I use 2%)
1 6-oz fillet salmon

1. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat for 2 minutes; reduce the heat to medium. Add the oil and let it heat for 10 seconds. Add the onion, celery, and salt, and cook until the onion has started to soften, about 5 minutes, stirring often.

2. Add the potatoes, clam juice, chicken broth, and thyme. I put my broth in straight from the freezer (I defrosted it in the microwave just long enough to be able to get it out of the zip-top bags and break the blocks in half) and let it melt in the pot. Bring it all to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the potatoes are just barely tender, 15-20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, make the white sauce: Melt the butter in a small pot. Add the flour, mix it into the butter, and cook the mixture for 2 minutes (it will be very thick and pasty), stirring constantly to keep it from burning.

4. Add the milk and whisk it into the flour until there aren't any lumps. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is very thick. A drizzle should sit on top of the sauce and take a long time to melt back into the rest of the sauce (see the picture).

5. Add the salmon to the pot with the potatoes and onions. Simmer until the salmon is cooked through, 5-8 minutes, and break it up into bite-sized pieces with a wooden spoon (we like big, juicy pieces).

6. Add the white sauce to the big pot and stir it in to combine it well.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Thanks, Mom :)

Gingerbread House Festival 2009

I got an email yesterday from the lady in charge of the Thanksgiving Point Gingerbread Festival held in Lehi, Utah. The festival is a charity event that benefits Utah's Learning for Life and PTA programs. People and organizations make and donate gingerbread houses (plus other big-ticket items), which are then auctioned off (there's a big, super-fancy, super-expensive dinner involved), and the money donated to the programs. She was checking in to see how things were going with me...she really wanted to see if I was still planning on doing a house this year.

I made my first real gingerbread house for the 2007 festival. I was working as a journalist for The Valley Journals at the time, and I made the house on behalf of the paper. They have a running contest called "Where do you read YOUR journal?" People take pictures of themselves in different places reading their local edition of the journal (there are 13 editions), submit the pictures, and someone is the winner. While trying to decide what kind of house I would do, I thought about the contest, and the first thing that came to mind was the bathroom (hee, hee), and that led me to the outhouses.

The best part about my house was watching people as they walked by at the festival. They'd stop and look...then look harder...then laugh... My favorite was the little old man who really got a good chuckle out of it :) And there was the Den Mother, who called all her little Boy Scouts over to see... "Boys! Come see the outhouses!"

I learned about gingerbreading as I went, which was very fun and very stressful. I found an incredible resource on the web called Franky's Attic, that had recipes, pictures, and how-to articles; there's no way I could have pulled it off without it. The website is now called Ultimate Gingerbread, but it still has all the same awesome information. She also has many, many patterns that you can download (they were free back them, but she's since gotten smart, and now charges for them). I used one of her patterns for the barn my daughter made for the same festival (see below).

I ended up not participating in the 2008 festival because we thought we were going to move and we all know how everything stops when you're trying to buy a house and sell a house and get ready to move all your stuff...I was able to help them write an awesome press release, but that was about all I could do.

So now it's 2009, and it's almost time for the festival. It's a month away, and I'm getting ready to start on my house, get my 13 year-old daughter started on her design, and help my 6 year-old daughter and 7 year-old nephew with a team-effort gingerbread train. Right now I think I'm a little (read "a lot") crazy, but I'm going to do it anyway :) I'll probably have several anxiety attacks by the time we're done, but it's all good, right? Oh, did I mention I agreed to make 2 wedding cakes for next month, too? How many anxiety attacks did I say?

Stay tuned for updates and pictures of the process. If you've never seen a big gingerbread house constructed you're in for a treat :)

I made little Valley Journal's replicas out of fondant. You need reading material while in the loo.

Each stall had a pair of little feet peeking out from under the doors.

One of the greatest things I learned from Loreta at Ultimate Gingerbread is how to make bushes and shrubs. Rice-Krispie treat, made with corn flakes, tinted green....how awesome is that?! Don't they look so realistic? The holes in the back were for light blubs.

A view from the top.

Full frontal. Boo-ya! To be honest, it just about killed me. My baby (now a strapping 2 year-old) was about 5 months old, and my husband had to go out of town on a business trip the week of the festival. I had many very late nights finishing up.

This is the barn that my daughter, who was 11 at the time, made for the festival. She is horse-crazy to her very core, which is reflected in her amazing fondant horses. And before you ask, yes, she did almost everything herself (with guidance from me, of course) and we've got process pictures to prove it :) She won 3rd place in her age category, 11-17 year-olds. Awesome!!

Fondant horses, Rice-Krispie-treat-shrub-and-chocolate-covered-pretzel fence to keep the critters where they're supposed to be, and some lovely Tootsie-Roll window boxes in front of butterscotch candy windows.

Every barn needs a hay loft.

She was so happy when it was done :) And I was so proud of her.

The barn set up at the festival.