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Gingerbread Wall Dough

For us, building the house is at least a three-day job. Day one is for drawing the templates, and making and baking the dough. Day two is for construction. Day three is for decorating. When the kids were young, though, we often spread the joy over a week or more.

The following recipe for dough comes from the 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking. The thing to remember about the dough is that you are not going to eat it. OK, maybe a few bites out of the bowl, but that's it. Precision in measurement is not critical; having every ingredient is not really that important either. The only two things that matter are to use butter -- shortening stays soft longer -- and don't overdo the water. If you do and it sticks as you try to roll it out, another fistful of flour will fix it.

This recipe makes enough for a good-size house and a few good men to stand guard. You can halve it, double it or do what you need to make it work.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together:

1/2 cup butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

Beat in:

1 cup dark molasses

Sift together:

7 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon salt

Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three parts, alternating with up to 1/2 cup water. I use a standing mixer with a dough hook at the end. If you don't have one, turn off the hand mixer and use a spoon before your motor burns out. The dough is firm.

At this point, you can rest the dough in the fridge for a day or two. Just wrap it well and bring it to room temperature before you try to roll it out.

Flour the board, your hands and the rolling pin generously as you work the dough. If it sticks, mash it up, add some flour, and try again. There's really no such thing as too much flour, and if there is, a drop of water will make it right again.

Do your best to make the walls the same thickness. When I remember, it helps to do the final roll right on parchment or waxed paper for easy transfer to the cookie sheet. And if they bake up looking really wacky, re-cut the hot dough right out of the oven.

Bake on waxed paper or parchment for 10 to 30 minutes. It really doesn't matter. Don't let them burn but leave them until they're no longer tasty looking. Remove from oven and peel the paper off while the walls are still warm.

Cool for several hours. Re-bake if for some reason the dough is short of rock-hard.

Edible Concrete Frosting

You will need to make two, maybe three batches. The recipe can double, but it can also harden up before you're done. The egg whites will whip in a sugary bowl, so no need to wash between batches.

2 egg whites

3 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff and shiny. Add the sugar and mix well.

I use a pastry bag to line the seams of the house with frosting. A plastic bag with a corner cut off works, and so does a spoon. Apply frosting generously.

Once the four walls are standing, blow dry until hard. Even then, it's a good idea to let the walls set for a while before trying to put the roof on. If the pitch of the roof is steep, it will slide off a few times. Be patient, be creative and keep the blow-dryer handy.

Decorating Frosting

2 or more store-bought, fluffy white frostings in a plastic jar

That's right. It's embarrassing. But it works.

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