Best 7 Cape Cod Gingerbread Cottage Recipes

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Are you looking for a sweet and festive recipe to bring holiday cheer to your home? Look no further than the Cape Cod Gingerbread Cottage! This iconic dessert is a labor of love, but the results are worth it. With its intricate gingerbread walls, candy decorations, and fluffy white icing, this cottage is sure to be the centerpiece of your holiday table. Whether you're a seasoned baker or a beginner looking for a challenge, we've got you covered with our comprehensive guide to making the perfect Cape Cod Gingerbread Cottage.

Let's cook with our recipes!

CAPE COD GINGERBREAD COTTAGE



Cape Cod Gingerbread Cottage image

Complete your winter wonderland scene with a beautiful gingerbread house. You don't have to be an expert baker-or architect-to create this cozy cottage. Just follow the plans to make holiday magic for all to enjoy. -Taste of Home Test Kitchen

Provided by Taste of Home

Categories     Desserts

Time 6h10m

Yield 1 gingerbread house.

Number Of Ingredients 29

1 cup shortening
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup dark molasses
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
ICING AND ASSEMBLY:
16 cups confectioners' sugar, divided
12 tablespoons meringue powder, divided
2 teaspoons cream of tartar, divided
1-1/2 cups warm water, divided
1 silver dragee
2 cups chocolate rock candies
105 mint Andes candies
Edible glitter
Green, blue, red, brown and black paste food coloring
Light bulb-shaped sprinkles
7 ice cream sugar cones
5 colored nonpareils
70 pretzel sticks
Cookie cutters--boy, girl and dog
Pastry tips--round tips #3 and 7; leaf tip #67
Pastry bags
Foam core board (21 inches x 19 inches x 1/2 inch)
Small cans for propping

Steps:

  • In a large bowl, combine shortening and water. Add brown sugar and molasses. Combine the flour, salt, baking soda and spices; beat into molasses mixture until blended. Divide into three portions; chill overnight., Enlarge patterns by 115%. Trace the full patterns onto waxed paper; cut out. Trace the remaining (halved) patterns onto waxed paper as directed on the patterns; cut out. , With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll one portion of dough to 1/8-inch thickness directly onto a lightly greased and floured baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut out two 8-1/2-inch x 5-1/2-inch rectangles for front/back house pieces. Set aside scraps., Roll out second portion of dough. Cut out two 8-1/2-inch x 6-inch rectangles for roof. , Roll out third portion of dough. Position house side pattern on dough; cut out two pieces. Roll out scraps; cut dormer and chimney pieces. Using cookie cutters, cut out a gingerbread boy, girl and dog., Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes; place patterns over baked dough and trim. Cool on wire racks., To make icing: Prepare only one batch of icing at a time. For each batch, in a large bowl, combine 4 cups confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar and 6 tablespoons water. Beat on low speed for 5-10 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Place a damp cloth over bowl and cover tightly between uses., To assemble house: Place front of house and fronts of dormers on a waxed paper-lined flat surface. Cut a small hole in a corner of a pastry bag; insert round tip #3. Fill two-thirds full with icing. Outline doorway and frames of windows. Pipe a dot of icing on door and attach a silver dragee., Using round tip #7, pipe icing along base and one side of front wall and the adjoining side wall. Place at right angles to each other on foam core board and position with front of house 9 inches from one long side of board; prop with small cans. Pipe icing along inside and outside edges for added stability. Repeat with second side section and back. Let dry completely. , Spread one side of large chimney piece with icing. Press chocolate rock candies 1/8 inch apart onto icing. Repeat with small chimney pieces; let dry. Spread icing on back of large chimney piece; center on right side of house. Prop with cans; let stand until set., For dormers: Using round tip #7, pipe icing along one side of front of dormer and the adjoining side of dormer. Position at right angles to each other and place on waxed paper; pipe icing along inside and outside edge for added stability. Hold in place until secure. Repeat with second side. Repeat for second dormer. Let dry completely with front side up. Attach dormer roofs with icing; let dry completely., To assemble roof: On one roof piece, position one dormer 1-1/2 inches from side edge and 1-1/2 inches from bottom edge. Pipe dots of icing to mark the position of bottom dormer corners. Pipe icing onto back edges of dormer; attach to roof. Hold in place until secure, about 1 minute. Repeat with second dormer. Let dry completely., Using icing, attach Andes candies to roof in rows, beginning with bottom row. Slightly overlap each row until one roof piece is covered, leaving a 1-1/2-inch square section of roof around chimney uncovered. Repeat procedure with second roof piece. Cut Andes candies to fit dormer roofs; attach with icing. Let dry., Generously pipe icing along top edges of house walls. Position roof pieces so there is a 5/8-in. overhang in front and back. Pipe icing along the joining edges. Prop bottoms of roof pieces with cans until roof is completely dry. , Pipe icing along edges of small chimney pieces; attach to roof and large chimney piece. Pipe icing inside chimney seams and around top of chimney. Attach Andes candies shingles around chimney, cutting to fit if necessary. Pipe icing along the joining edges of roof; press Andes candies onto icing., For finishing touches: Using round tip #7, pipe icing snow along roofline, on roof and around chimney and dormers; pipe icing icicles. Sprinkle with edible glitter. Tint a portion of icing with green food coloring. Using round tip #3, pipe a thin green line along front roofline of house; add light bulb sprinkles. Repeat for dormers. , To make trees, use a serrated knife to carefully score and cut ice cream cones to desired heights. Using leaf tip #67 with green icing and beginning at bottom of ice cream cones, pipe icing in rows; sprinkle with edible glitter. Place on waxed paper to harden. Pipe wreath on door. Using leaf tip #67, pipe snow onto trees; sprinkle snow with edible glitter. Set aside., Tint a small amount of icing blue, red, brown and black. Decorate wreath, gingerbread people and dog as desired with colored icing; add nonpareils for eyes. Let dry., For path, using round tip #7 and beginning at door, pipe an 8-inch x 2-1/2-inch icing rectangle. Press chocolate rock candies 1/8 inch apart onto pathway. Working in small sections, frost board with icing and sprinkle with edible glitter. Add trees and gingerbread family to landscape, leaving room around perimeter for fence., To make fence, arrange two pretzel fence posts on a waxed paper-lined flat surface. Using round tip #3, pipe a dab of icing on pretzel fence posts and attach two horizontal pretzels. Repeat, forming two fences with two sections each for front yard and one fence with seven sections for back yard. For sides of yard, make two fences with six sections each, but eliminating the end fence posts. Let dry completely. Position back fence piece on board; attach with icing. Prop with cans until completely dry. Attach one side and front fence; prop and let dry. Repeat on other side. Pipe snow on fence; sprinkle with edible glitter.

Nutrition Facts :

GINGERBREAD COTTAGE



Gingerbread Cottage image

This charming gingerbread cottage tastes as good as it looks, thanks to the subtle molasses flavor in this easy dough. -Linda Railey, Des Moines, Iowa

Provided by Taste of Home

Categories     Desserts

Time 1h15m

Yield 1 house.

Number Of Ingredients 17

Gingerbread Cottage patterns on page XX:
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 large egg
2/3 cup molasses
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
ROYAL ICING:
3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons warm water
3 tablespoons meringue powder
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Coarse sugar

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 300°. Cut out patterns for cottage walls and roof., In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and spices. In another bowl, whisk together egg, molasses, oil and brown sugar; gradually beat into flour mixture, mixing well. Press evenly into a well-greased 17x12x1-in. pan. Bake until golden brown and top springs back when lightly touched 25-30 minutes., Immediately top gingerbread with patterns; cut with a knife. Cool completely on a wire rack (gingerbread will harden as it cools)., For icing, beat confectioners' sugar, water, meringue powder and cream of tartar on low speed until blended; beat on high until stiff peaks form, 4-5 minutes. (Keep unused icing covered at all times with a damp paper cloth; if necessary, beat again on high speed to restore texture.) Transfer icing to a pastry bag or food-safe plastic bag fitted with a pastry tip., Pipe icing along base and edges of front wall and one side wall. Position at right angles to each other and place on a cardboard base; prop up with small jars. Repeat with back wall and a second side wall; let dry. Remove jars., For roof, pipe icing along peaked edges of front and back walls; position roof pieces. Let dry. Decorate as desired with remaining icing and coarse sugar.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 210 calories, Fat 5g fat (0 saturated fat), Cholesterol 8mg cholesterol, Sodium 126mg sodium, Carbohydrate 40g carbohydrate (28g sugars, Fiber 0 fiber), Protein 2g protein.

SNOW-SWEPT GINGERBREAD COTTAGE



Snow-Swept Gingerbread Cottage image

This recipe is used to make our Snow-Swept Gingerbread Cottage.

Provided by Martha Stewart

Categories     Food & Cooking     Dessert & Treats Recipes     Cookie Recipes

Number Of Ingredients 6

All-purpose flour, for dusting
Molasses-Gingerbread Cookie Dough
Caramel Syrup for Gingerbread House
Royal Icing for Gingerbread House
Clear rock candy
Sanding sugar

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out gingerbread dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Chill until firm, about 1 hour. Lightly dust top of dough with flour. Place templates on top, and cut out shapes with a paring knife. (Use a small utility knife to cut out the windows.) Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
  • Working with one piece at a time, frostchimney shapes with royal icing; sprinkle withrock candy while still wet (leave all but toppart of one side free for attaching to house).Set aside to dry.
  • To make windows, line a baking sheet with a Silpat. Make caramel syrup. Place a gingerbread section on prepared sheet, flat side down; pour caramel syrup into window spaces. Let syrup cool and harden on baking sheet before turning over and decorating.
  • Using a pastry bag with a fine plain tip (No. 1),pipe royal icing around windows and doorsand down side edges of house. While icing isstill wet, sprinkle with sanding sugar. Gentlyshake off excess sugar, and let dry.
  • Pipe windowpanes, door-frame details, and Christmas-tree edging with the #1 tip. Switch to an open-star tip (No. 16) to accent the corners of the windows and doors.
  • When decorations have dried, assemble house, roof, and chimney pieces, following our step-by-step how-to. When assembling chimney, attach two side pieces to front at the base, then attach sloped sides; finish with top two side pieces. Brush edges at top of assembled chimney with caramel; secure top piece in place. To attach chimney, pipe icing on side without candy; quickly press onto house, holding firmly until set. Use the No. 16 tip to create shingle pattern on roof and eaves.

CAPE COD OATMEAL COOKIES



Cape Cod Oatmeal Cookies image

This recipe has been in my family for many, many years. My late mother heard this recipe given out on the radio one day years and years ago and she made them. They are delicious and I am forwarding the recipe to you because I am afraid it may otherwise become lost over time and I wish to share it with you.

Provided by Lori De Federicis

Categories     Desserts     Cookies     Oatmeal Cookie Recipes     Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipes

Yield 35

Number Of Ingredients 14

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups rolled oats
1 cup white sugar
½ cup raisins
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup melted shortening
½ cup melted butter
1 egg
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon molasses

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  • In large bowl stir together flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir in remaining ingredients.
  • Drop by teaspoon 1-1/2 inches apart on ungreased sheets (Make the cookies small). Bake for 12 minutes or until brown.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 139.5 calories, Carbohydrate 16.5 g, Cholesterol 12.4 mg, Fat 7.9 g, Fiber 0.9 g, Protein 1.8 g, SaturatedFat 3 g, Sodium 73.7 mg, Sugar 8.8 g

GINGERBREAD COOKIE COTTAGE



Gingerbread cookie cottage image

Here's a gingerbread recipe sure to delight youngsters and enchant adults alike; a genuine house of gingerbread

Provided by Jane Hornby

Categories     Dessert, Dinner

Time 45m

Number Of Ingredients 13

650g self-raising flour , plus extra to dust
3 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp ground cinnamon
175g butter , cut into cubes
225g brown sugar
175g black treacle
2 eggs , beaten
2x tubes white ready-to-use icing
2x chocolate flake bars
2x packs white mini marshmallows
200g icing sugar , sifted, plus extra for dusting
coloured lollies, chocolate buttons, sweets
30cm square silver cake board

Steps:

  • Place the flour, ginger, cinnamon and butter in a food processor and pulse until they resemble breadcrumbs (do this in two batches if the bowl is small). Combine the sugar, treacle and egg in a large mixing bowl. Tip in the flour mix and stir, then bring the dough together with your hands. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Cover and chill for at least 1 hr.
  • Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line three baking sheets with non-stick paper. Divide the dough into three and roll out on a floured surface to the thickness of two £1 coins. Using the templates, cut out two each for the roof, sides and two pointed end walls. Lift them onto the baking sheets. Re-roll scraps of dough, then cut out the small trees. Bake for 12 mins or until just firm. Leave to firm up for 5 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
  • To assemble the house, pipe a door on an end wall and a window on a side wall, using the squeezy icing. Pipe icing generously along one long edge of one side wall and stick it to the board. Repeat with an end wall, join the corners with a line of icing, then fix a flake bar to the base as a 'foundation'. Stick the remaining walls together. Use another flake bar to support the other end wall. Fix on the roof pieces, then leave overnight to set.
  • Stick the marshmallows all over the roof, using the decorating icing as glue. Fix chocolate buttons around the door and to cover the corner joins. Pipe icicles along the front edge of the roof using the squeezy icing - start each one with a small pea-sized blob of icing. Pull the icing nozzle downwards and away from the blob - the icing will break off in a jagged 'icicle'. Alternatively, decorate with a line of white chocolate buttons.
  • Mix the icing sugar with drops of water until you have a thick but spreadable icing. Spread this over the board and decorate with the lollipops (fastened to soft sweets), sweets, chocolate buttons and gingerbread trees. Dust lightly with icing sugar for a snowy effect.
  • NOTE: To make the templates draw each shape on card or paper, using the following measurements. Side walls: 16cm x 10cm. Roof walls: 19cm x 12cm. End walls: Total height 18cm to the apex. 10cm tall to the top of the box. Angled line 11cm long.

HOMEMADE GINGERBREAD COTTAGE



Homemade gingerbread cottage image

A step-by-step guide to making and assembling a beautiful gingerbread house complete with snow-capped roof and pretty piping - a great family project

Provided by Sarah Cook

Categories     Treat

Time 1h25m

Yield Makes 1

Number Of Ingredients 12

1kg plain flour , plus extra for dusting
300g cold butter , diced
2 tbsp mixed spice
2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
450g light soft brown sugar
3 large eggs
225g golden syrup
750g icing sugar
400g preserving or pearl sugar
2 egg whites
200g ready-to-roll fondant icing , plus a few ping-pong sized balls, wrapped in cling film, ready for assembling

Steps:

  • MAKE THE DOUGH: Put about half the flour in a food processor with the butter. Whizz until you can't see any lumps of butter remaining (if you don't have a food processor, rub the butter into all of the flour with your fingertips, until it resembles fine crumbs). Tip the buttery flour into your largest mixing bowl and mix in the remaining flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda with a pinch of salt. Stir in the sugar.
  • Whisk the eggs with the golden syrup and stir into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon. Using your hands, knead together into a smooth dough. Use straight away, or chill or freeze until ready to bake.
  • CUT OUT ALL THE SHAPES: Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out a quarter of the dough at a time on a sheet of baking parchment, to the thickness of 2 x £1 coins. Use a small, sharp knife to cut around the cottage templates (see the 'try' section below to print off the template) - remember that each time you'll need 2 x ROOF, 2 x END and 2 x SIDE for one cottage. Remove the trimmings and lift the gingerbread, on its parchment, onto baking trays. Re-roll trimmings to cut out all the shapes you need.
  • BAKE YOUR GINGERBREAD: Bake the gingerbread one tray at a time (so it cooks evenly), on a high shelf in the oven for 8-12 mins, until rich brown and firm to the touch. Give each tray 3-5 mins to cool, then carefully sit the templates back onto the relevant shapes and trim any edges to neaten (step 1, above). Keep these trimmings for nibbles. Use a small knife, or heart-shaped cutters, to cut out any doors and windows you want to have. If you want to fill your cottage with lights, use the end of one of the SIDE templates to cut out a little door in the back END of the cottage.
  • For a roof like ours, roll out remaining gingerbread to about half the thickness of the walls. Use a 3-4cm cutter to stamp out rounds - to fully cover the roofs, you will need about 75 round biscuit tiles. Bake as above, but for 6-9 mins - as they are thinner, they will bake quicker. Let all the biscuits cool completely.
  • DECORATE YOUR GINGERBREAD: Sift 250g of the icing sugar into a bowl, dribble in water, stirring in until you have a thick-ish icing. Tip the preserving sugar or pearl sugar into a shallow bowl and get a couple of cooling racks ready. Dip the round roof tile biscuits into the icing, one by one - covering about a quarter of the biscuit in icing (step 2). It looks nice if they're all a bit higgledy-piggledy. Dip into the preserving sugar to stick, then sit on the cooling racks and leave to dry.
  • Put the egg whites in a large bowl, sift in the remaining 500g of icing sugar, then stir to make a thick, smooth icing. Spoon a little into a piping bag with a very small nozzle. Spoon half of the rest into a piping bag that has a slightly larger nozzle (or spoon into large food bags and, when ready to ice, snip off the corner to turn into a piping bag). Keep the rest covered in the bowl. Use the small piping bag to pipe any icing decorations you want onto the END that is going to be the front of your cottage. Leave to dry.
  • START BUILDING: Arrange the wall biscuits as you are going to assemble them. Swap to the big bag of icing with a medium nozzle to pipe generous snakes of icing along the SIDE edges (3) and stick the walls together. Pipe extra icing where the walls join each other on the inside of the cottage, and support the sides using your icing balls (4).
  • To decorate the roof, scrape any excess icing and sugar from the underside of the roof tiles with a small knife, so they can lie flat. Start at the bottom of one and work along in a row, using the icing in the bowl, spread good-sized blobs of icing on the underside of the top of each tile biscuit to stick (5). Let the bottom row overhang the edge of the ROOF. Continue working up, sticking a row at a time, sitting the row above in the gaps of the row below, so the tiles sit in a diamond pattern rather than straight lines down the ROOF (6). You'll need to cut some of the tiles on the edges to fit - just use a big sharp knife and be brave (you should have a few spares available in case you have any accidents). Repeat to cover the second ROOF, then leave the completed ROOFS with the half-built cottage for a few hrs at least, or preferably overnight, until set.
  • When ready, remove the supports from the cottage and stick on the ROOFS (7). This bit can be fiddly, so you may need an extra pair of hands. Shape your icing balls to support the bottoms of the ROOFS. Hold the biscuits on firmly for a few mins until the icing starts to set (8 & 9). Set again for a few hrs, or overnight.
  • FINISHING TOUCHES: To finish decorating like ours, roll marble-sized balls of the ready-to-roll icing and stick them along the ROOF top - this is perfect for hiding the join. To make the icicles, start with the nozzle at a 90-degree angle to the ROOF and squeeze out a pea-sized blob of icing. Keeping the pressure on, pull the nozzle down and then off - the icing will pull away, leaving a pointy trail. Repeat all around the front of the cottage, covering the gap between the ROOF and roof tiles too, if you like.

GINGERBREAD COTTAGE



Gingerbread Cottage image

This delightful cottage keeps up to 1 week and is very east to do. I will be posting a template on the pictures that can be easily recreated at home with some cardboard and a ruler. you will need a 30 cm silver cake board. From BBC goodfood magazine.

Provided by Wild Thyme Flour

Categories     Dessert

Time 42m

Yield 1 cottage, 8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 14

650 g self-raising flour
3 teaspoons ginger
3 teaspoons cinnamon
175 g butter, cut into cubes
225 g dark brown sugar
175 g black treacle
2 eggs, beaten
2 (120 g) tubes ready to use white icing
chocolate, flake bars
400 g marshmallows, white mini
200 g icing sugar, sifted
2 coloured lolly pops
chocolate, buttons and
candy cane, to decorate

Steps:

  • Place flour, ginger, cinnamon and butter in a food processor and pulse until they resemble breadcrumbs( do this in 2 batches if the bowl is small).
  • Combine treacle sugar and egg in a large mixing bowl. Tip in the flour and stir, then bring the dough together with your hands.
  • Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
  • Cover and chill for at least an hour.
  • Pre heat oven to 180C and line 3 baking sheets with non stick baking paper.
  • Divide the dough into 3 and roll out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using the templates cut out 2 of each for the roof the sides and the front.
  • Re roll the scraps and make christmas trees and 1 gingerbread men.
  • Bake for about 12 minutes or until JUST firm.Leave to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • To assemble the house, pipe a door on the front and a window on the side using the icing.
  • Pipe icing generously along the bottom edges of the pieces and attach to the board, then join all the sides.
  • Use the flake bars to support the inside of the house by laying them behind the walls on the floor of the house.
  • Fix the roof of the cottage and leave to set overnight befor decorating.
  • stick the marsmallows all over the roof, using the ready icing as glue. Fix chocolate buttons around the door and a sweet as adoor knob and use more chocolate buttons to cover the corner joints. Make icicles hanging from the roof by making a pea sized blob and pulling downwards to break off.
  • Mix the icing sugar with drops of water to form a thick spreadable paste and spread on the board to make snow, then decorate with lolly pops ( fastened to sweets), sweets, chocolate buttons and gingerbread trees. Place the gingerbread on the roof or outside the door.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 880.2, Fat 19.9, SaturatedFat 11.7, Cholesterol 99.6, Sodium 1238.4, Carbohydrate 167.8, Fiber 2.8, Sugar 80.6, Protein 10.8

Tips:

  • Use a sturdy gingerbread dough to ensure the house can hold its shape during baking and assembly.
  • Roll out the dough thinly and evenly to ensure uniform baking and a consistent look for the house.
  • Use a variety of cookie cutters to create different shapes for the house, such as windows, doors, and roof pieces.
  • Bake the gingerbread pieces at a low temperature to prevent over-browning and maintain their shape.
  • Let the gingerbread pieces cool completely before assembling the house to prevent them from breaking.
  • Use royal icing to adhere the gingerbread pieces together and decorate the house.
  • Add candy and other decorations to the house to personalize it and make it festive.

Conclusion:

Creating a Cape Cod Gingerbread Cottage is a fun and rewarding experience that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. With careful planning and attention to detail, you can create a beautiful and delicious gingerbread house that will be the centerpiece of your holiday decorations. Be sure to involve the whole family in the process, and make it a memorable holiday tradition. Happy baking!

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