In which Madi's Mom Makes....Pumpkin Gingerbread



Madilynn's first Gingerbread House

I have always loved October.

Dont get me wrong, Christmas is nice, Thanksgiving is just fine...but give me jack-o-lanterns! Give me pumpkin pie! Give me little ghoulies and ghosties and all the amazing creativity that comes along with All Hallows' Eve.

Even in Arizona October means the air is getting crisper (yes, ok, that means its 90 instead of 120...but believe me. It's fall) and and leaves are changing colors. And with all this comes...you guessed it. The pumpkins.

I <3 Pumpkins.

Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin soup. Pumpkin cheesecake. Pumpkin risotto. Pumpkin cookies. And, of course, Pumpkin Gingerbread.

Most people have never had this amazing concoction.

I'm not even sure it's a "thing" in the wider world.

But in my house, October brings haunted gingerbread houses. These are not your storebought December monstrosities, dear friends.

These houses are colorful. Flavorful.

Covered in candy.

And I am going to share my super secret recipe with you.


Pumpkin Gingerbread

6 to 7 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking POWDER
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs ground ginger

4 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp cloves

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 stick softened butter

1 egg

8 tbs cooked, mashed pumpkin (make your own! Pick your own can help http://www.pickyourown.org/pumpkincooking.php)

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup molassess

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, spices and salt.

2. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and pumpkin until it's all fluffy. Then slowly add in the molassass, and the egg.

3. Now for the testy part. Add about half the flour mixture, and add the rest slowly until its thick and dough-like. It should be kneadable. So, knead it!

4. Wrap and refrigdgerate it at LEAST two hours. Let me repeat. AT LEAST TWO HOURS. Overnight if possible. If you don't, your house will fall apart.

5. Roll out your dough to about 1/4 or 1/8 inch thick (thicker for weight bearing walls works well) and cut out your pieces. It helps if you have a template. I always make a cardboard mock-up...if it stands up as cardboard, it will stand up as gingerbread.

6. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges just begin to darken. This will be about 4-8 minutes for small pieces, and 11-15 for larger pieces.

7. Pull out your sheets (hopefully they didnt warp!) and slide off the cookies onto paper towels to cool. While the cookies are still warm, replace your temples and recut the patterns, just to trim up any stray edges!

Now you're ready to put it together. Ive found royal icing works best, and that if you set the walls for 12 hours before putting on the roof, the whole house is sturdier. Once it's all dry and together. Go crazy! Decorate with candy corn, orange and brown M&Ms, peach rings, gummy worms, and any other candy sweet, creepy, and crawly!

This year's house is still drying. When my baby cousins come by Monday to decorate, I'll be sure to post pictures!

UPDATE:

Check this out! My four best helpers came by, and we actually got more candy on the house than in our mouths. The kids (and their mom) added ghosts, gravestones, and gumball jack-o-lanterns--sweet! I think the house looks, well, good enough to eat :) Thanks everyone for making this a super-memorable year!