Gingerbread House Recipe

I love love love making Gingerbread houses. We have had this tradition for years. Normally I just go out and buy my houses from the store, but recently, I have begun making my own dough and creating my own. This is pretty simple to make. Enjoy!

1/2 cup margarine (can use butter, but since you won't be eating this, I would save a little money and use margarine)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup corn syrup
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
6 plus cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream margarine and sugar. Add the molasses, corn syrup, ginger and cinnamon. (Don't worry if you are a little bit shy on ginger and cinnamon. This still works great without it. Just a great thing for smell.) Mix. Add salt. Alternate adding water and flour. The dough will be somewhat stiff. Roll out and cut. Baking will depend on thickness. I like to roll mine out to about 1/4" thick. Bake for 30 minutes or longer if needed. Hint: I like to bake mine a little longer to give it that extra strength you will need for construction.
Hint: One year I made a castle. I needed to have spires and wanted them made with gingerbread. I wrapped a hollow metal bar with parchment paper. Then, I wrapped the desired dough around the rod. Next, I wrapped the spire with tinfoil a few times to secure it. I cooked this much longer, then after cooling, I took off the tinfoil and put it back in the oven for another 15-30 minutes to dry out more. I also tried this wrapped around a rolling pin. This was a bit more difficult because the pin is solid and also made out of wood. I had to cook this much longer and it was a bit more difficult to get off.
Hint: You can use crushed hard candy to make your windows. Before assembling, just fill the desired holes with the crushed candy and return to oven until it melts.
I am still learning more and more on making gingerbread. I am excited to try new things. Enjoy!