Gluten free rum balls for the holidays

My sister, Joyce Lucich, a fellow Sacramentan, always attempts to create gluten-free treats for me, although she herself is not celiac. When you are celiac or have family members or friends that are celiac you must become resourceful. Taking any recipe and coming up with a plan to make it gluten-free is a must. It isn’t rocket science, but when newly diagnosed this is unfamiliar territory; so tread lightly and yet tread endlessly and fearlessly.  I try to teach this skill to my daughter, Autumn (also a celiac) and to folks in my gluten-free cooking/baking classes.  This is often their only way of not feeling deprived, feeling hopeful and to learn that a gluten-free diet is not such a horrible thing.  Not that I want to make every single thing, every single day from scratch; for me it's half the battle just knowing that I CAN!  That is enough to help me to feel priveleged and not deprived.

My sister, Joyce, pictured here on the right, took her regular recipe for rum balls and transformed it into a gluten-free recipe simply by changing the type of cookies she used. She also slightly adjusted the recipe to accommodate the fact that the gluten-free animal crackers that she bought came in a 10 oz. box while the vanilla wafers she normally uses come in 12 oz.

Did I mention how yummy these rum balls are?! As far as I can tell you cannot taste the difference between the gluten-free rum balls and the regular ones. They are moist, chocolaty, and oh so rummy! It's as if you are taking a bite of a truffle. My sister, Joyce did an excellent job not only making the rum balls but converting the recipe to gluten-free, of course she always does. She has been aptly nicknamed "The Puerto Rican Martha Stewart". Joyce is extremely talented and artistic; not only is she an exceptional cook, her table setting are always unique and spectacular!

Ingredients:

1 (10oz) box of gluten-free cookies ( any cookie similar to vanilla wafers)

1/3 cp powdered sugar

3/4 cp. chopped walnuts

6 oz. of chocolate chips

4 heaping tbsp. Karo Syrup

3/4 cp rum

powdered sugar, additional for rolling



Directions:

Crush cookies in food processor until fine. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Add nuts and stir.

Melt chocolate chips until creamy and stir in Karo Syrup. Mix well. Add in rum and stir well.

Combine chocolate mixture with cookie mixture. Blend well to make sure all of cookie absorbs the liquid.

Refrigerate for at least an hour or more to let the mixture set.

When ready to roll, take out tablespoon-size portions, dust with powdered sugar and roll into a ball. Roll in powdered sugar, one more time. Keep stored in an airtight container.

*Note: Can be kept for a month or more if stored properly.

Festive Gluten Free Cheese Ball

This recipe is based on a Food Network recipe from Paula Deen.  I added Gruyere Cheese to make it a bit more cheesy.  Some of the things I learned while making this dip were to one read your directions a couple days prior to making your recipe.  Two is to assemble it at home.  I had not refrigerated this dip overnight so it was not as solid as it should have been. Last, I put the the dip I had made at home together at my friend Carla's house and unfortunately I had not brought enough almonds.  It still looked like a pine cone, and it tasted phenomial, but it would have so much less stressful if I had followed the direstions I just listed.  Well, there is always next time. 






Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups whole natural almonds

• 1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese

* 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

• 1/2 cup real mayonnaise

• 3 crispy cooked bacon slices, crumbled

• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed

• Salt and pepper

• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion

* 1/3 tablespoon chives, finely chopped

• Sprigs, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Place and spread all the almonds on a cookie sheet or in a shallow pan, pushing the almonds around until they turn color, about 20 minutes.

Mix together the cream cheese and the mayonnaise. Add the bacon, salt and pepper, dill, and onion. Chill overnight.

On a serving platter, make 2 pine cone shapes with the cheese. Begin to press the almonds at a slight angle into the cheese, starting at the narrow end of the pine cone shape.

Do this in rows, continuing to overlap rows until all the cheese is covered. Garnish with fake sprigs, or real ones, or with rosemary.

Serve at room temperature and spread on crackers.

Coquito, the Puerto Rican version of egg nog

Many of our holiday traditions are based around food and drinks. One of my favorites is Coquito. Coquito is a popular Christmas beverage in Puerto Rico.  Coquito, which literally means small coconut, is considered the Caribbean version of American eggnog.  It has similarities to American eggnog, but the use of creme de coco or coconut milk gives it a unique island flavor.

My mother never made homemade coquito that I can remember.  She had to depend on aunts, cousins, and friends to send her the heady concoction from New York, Florida, and even as far way as Puerto Rico.  These coveted bottles were only served on "Nochebuena", Christmas Eve; and only to those fortunate enough to be invited to my mom's house for her special Puerto Rican Nochebuena - Christmas Eve dinner. 

The bottles were any cast off bottles of wine, vinegar, or other alcohol, that have been washed and sanitized.  These bottles would come with all types of decorations hand painted on them.  Often they would have poinstettia's, or the Puerto Rican flag, a coqui which is the islands native tree frog that sings "coqui" instead of a ribbit.

Although the tradition in Puerto Rico is to make Coquito to serve to people who come and bring a parranda. The “parrandas”or “asaltos navideños” especially on Christmas Eve and “Los Tres Reyes."  Las Parrandas” are a unique tradition where a group of friends or family known as the “trulla,” goes unannounced over a neighbor’s house very late at night to sing traditional Puerto Rican Christmas carols composed of six–syllable verse lines. The songs they sing are called “aguinaldos” or gifts. The “trulla” or carolers continue until they are invited inside the home to share in delicious Christmas treats like marzipan, papaya sweets, rice with coconut, and Coquito.  After a while, the “trulla” has even more people in the party and moves on to another block or another home where they eat and party some more. This keeps on repeating until the early hours of the next day.  The “asaltos navideños” remain a tradition of Christmas in Puerto Rico but to a lesser degree, and it is definitely more common in Puerto Rico than among Puerto Ricans in the U.S.

Although we do not go on any parrandas or receive any parrandas at our home in California, my family started a tradition of making Coquito for Christmas.  We make it and hand out small bottles to our friends.  it has now become a reuested item for our friend's holiday celebrations.

8 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1 can coconut milk

1 can cocnut cream

2 cans evaporated milk

2 cans condensed milk

fresh grated coconut (coco rallado)

1 liter white Puerto Rican Rum (Bacardi)

cinnamon sticks

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt

In a bowl add egg yolks, sugar, milk, salt, cinnamon, vanilla and mix well. Add evaporated and condensed milks, rum, and coconut cream and coconut milk.  Add grated coconut and mix well.  You may mix all of the ingredients in a blender. Pour coquito into clean bottles with sealable tops and add the cinnamon sticks to each bottle. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Coquito must be kept refrigerated until served. Serve as a cocktail in a shot glass.

Gluten Free Ham, Cheese and Spinach Quiche

A quiche is a custard in a tart shell according to the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.  Learning to make quiches is a very useful addition to your cooking knowledge because you can use so many different things in the custard filling to vary it.  Follow the recipe and improvise with your fillings as you please.   

Using a pre-made gluten-free pie crust (such as from the Whole Foods Bakehouse) bake it for 10 minutes and then add in the ingredients in layers.

1 pie shell, uncooked

4 eggs

1/2 cup ham, chopped into tiny squares

2 cups light cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 /2 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped fresh

cracked pepper to taste

1/2 cup spinach, sliced in a chiffonade

1 1/4 cup cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  layer the ham on the bottom of the pre-cooked pie shell.  Combine the eggs, cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a bowl and beat to mix thoroughly.  Layer the spniach over the ham.  Sprinkle the cheese over the spinach.  Pour the custard mixture over all.  Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees; then lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes more, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Serve in wedges hot or cold.

Gluten Free Monkey Bread

This is a recipe that I use to make back in the early 1980's when I was teaching preschool.  Of course at the time it was not gluten-free.  For the original recipe all you needed was a can of refrigerator biscuits, butter and cinnamon-sugar.  The children would roll the individual biscuits into a ball, then they would dip it into butter and finally roll it in cinnamon-sugar, place in a bundt pan and bake.

When I looked up where the term Monkey Bread came from I found osome interesting facts on Wikipedia:  Monkey bread, also called Hungarian coffee cake, golden crown, pinch-me cake and bubbleloaf, is a sticky, gooey pastry is served as a breakfast treat.The origin of the term monkey bread is uncertain. Possible etymologies include that the bread resembles the monkey puzzle tree, or the act of several people pulling at the bread is reminiscent of monkey behavior. Recipes for the towering bread first appeared in American women's magazines and community cookbooks in the 1950s. It is made with pieces of sweet yeast dough which are baked in a cake pan at high heat after first being individually covered in melted butter, cinnamon, sugar and chopped pecans. It is traditionally served hot so that the baked segments can be easily torn away with the fingers and eaten by hand.

I also found out  on Food References.com that Nancy Reagan served monkey bread in the White House, especially during the holidays. It was a special, rich monkey bread made with tons of butter—almost brioche. She used a butter-rich dough, cut the dough into balls, rolled the balls in more butter and then stacked then in a ring pan for baking. The recipe was published by the American Cancer Society in 1985.


 The recipe for the gluten-free version is a bit more complicated but my 12 year old Autumn made this batch for Christmas breakfast this year.  We got this recipe from Gluten Free Gobsmacked, which is a terrific website for gluten-free baking.  Autumn does not like cooked nuts so she omitted the pecans.  You can easily adjust this recipe to be dairy free by using coconut, nut, soy, or rice milks to replace the cow's milk.  You can also make this with agave nectar instead of sugar to make a syrup, as well as Earth Balance in place of the butter.
This recipe is very similar to cinnamon rolls, which is why it is often called mock cinnamon rolls.  This monkey bread is best right out of the oven, but can be reheated with excellent results.  The balls should be small around 1/2 the size of a golf ball but Autumn was little impatient and rolled the balls bigger.
Rolling the balls and dipping them is usually Autumn's favorite part of this recipe aside from eating them!

Dough Ingredients

1 1/4 cup low fat milk, heated slightly (as you would for a baby)

4 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon yeast

1 large egg

1 1/2 cup GF Flour Mix

we use:
3/4 cups Featherlight sorghum flour mix
3/4 cup millet bread flour mix from Annalise Roberts or the Food Philosopher.*Note: See recipes for flours below
 (includes xanthan gum, if your mix does not, add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum to recipe)

1 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum (see above note about GF Flour mix)
*add additional 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum for our flour mixes

1 teaspoon gelatin

1/2 teaspoon salt

Dough Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, pour 1/4 cup of the milk. Add 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1 Tablespoon yeast. Set aside in a warm place to proof.

2. Mix together your other dry ingredients with a whisk in a small bowl (GF flour mix, sorghum, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, gelatin, and salt)

3. Heat the remaining milk a little higher and add the 4 Tablespoons of butter to melt it. Pour the butter/milk mixture into your mixing bowl.

4. Mix on low speed the milk/butter with your proofed yeast/milk/sugar. Add one egg. Blend together well on low.

5. Stop the mixer. Add your dry ingredients. Restart the mixer on low. The dough will come together a bit and is a bit heavy.

6. Mix on medium-high for 5 minutes.

7. While the bread is mixing, butter and sugar the inside of your chosen pan.

8. Once done mixing, scrap the dough together.  Refrigerate for at least an hour and then divide the dough into small balls (about 1/2 the size of a golf ball).

9. You’re now ready for rolling and topping your Monkey Bread.

Topping Ingredients

1/2 cup crushed toasted pecan pieces

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 Tablespoon butter, melted


1. Cover your Monkey Bread loosely with plastic wrap (coated with butter). Set aside in a warm place and allow to rise for 40 minutes.

2. 10 minutes before the rising time ends, preheat your oven to 375F.

3. Bake your Monkey Bread for 25-30 minutes (depending on the depth of your pan/bread).

4. When you remove the bread, allow to cool for 3-5 minutes, then dump out onto a serving dish. If the bread is too “doughy” for you, put it into a large baking dish and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Topping Instructions:


1. In a small bowl, combine the pecan pieces, brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix together well.
2. In another small bowl, melt the butter.
3. Working with each of the small dough balls you made, roll each first into the butter bowl and then into the pecan/brown sugar bowl.
4. Place each dough ball into the pan. Allow yourself to push the pieces together a bit but not too much
5. Continue rolling the balls until you have finished either (1) filling your pan or (2) using all the dough balls. (If you have extra dough balls that don’t fit into your pan, coat them as you did the others and fill another small baking dish.)

Rest, Rise, Bake, and EAT!

PLEASE NOTE: These treats need to be enjoyed warm and can be reheated. Some people also like to add a powder sugar-glaze to the top of them before serving.

Featherlight Sorghum Cookie Flour Mix


1 part sorghum flour

1 part tapioca flour

1 part cornstarch

3 teaspoons potato flour (not potato starch)


Annalise Roberts Bread Flour Mix A:
This recipe makes 3 cups


1 cup millet flour, ½ cup sorghum flour, ½ cup corn starch, ½ cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch), ½ cup potato starch.

Christmas salad with a cherry citrus vinaigrette

mixed baby romaine lettuce leaves
pecans, chopped
clementine oranges, segmented
3 carrots, sliced thin
burpless cucumbers, sliced thin
red onions, sliced thin
Feta cheese
dried cranberries
dried cherries
*otptional:  add fresh sliced fruit of your choice.  We normally use sliced pears.

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1/8 cup orange juice
4 tablespoons cherry preserves
2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Add all of the dressing ingredients into a small jar, cover and shake well.  Pour 1/4 of dressing on the salad  and toss.  Let sit for an hour.  Right before serving the salad pour another 1/4 of the dressing onto the salad and toss again.

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Garlic

1 lb. brussel sprouts, halved
6 slices bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1 red onion, sliced
1 to 8 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 cup chicken broth
olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

Cover a large saute pan with a light coating of olive oil.  Carmelize onions nad garlic in the pan.  Add brussel sprouts and saute for a few minutes.  Add chicken broth and cover to allow the brussel sprouts to steam for about 3 minutes.  Season and place the cooked brussel sprouts into a bowl and top with crumbled bacon.

Cherry and Pineapple Glazed Ham

Ham is definitely a Christmas Day treat that my mother enjoyed while I was growing up.  My family has chosen to continue this time honored tradition.  It certainly would not be Christmas without our ham.  We love ham, and we enjoy making our own glazes.  This glaze is reminiscent of the days when folks would place pineapple slices on the top with a marachino cherry in the center, and cloves stuck into the ham all over the top.  In our family we love cherries and the combination of cherries, pineapple, mustard and cloves is exquisite.  Ham's are usually salty enough so we do not add any to the glaze.  This glaze adds the necessary sweetness while remaining savory.  Our favorite combo of sweet and savory; you can't beat it!

ham

pineapple slices

cloves

For Glaze:

1 cup pineapple juice

1 cup cherry preserves

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons brown mustard

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cloves

Boil pineapple juice until it becomes syrup like.  Add remaining ingredients and continue to simmer until thickened. 

Brush onto ham and then place pineapple slices onto the top side of ham.  To keep pineaplle slices in place put toothpicks in the center of the slices.  Baste with glaze every 15 minutes until ham is done.

Sour Cream Cheese Potatoes

Originally my mother-in-law, Vineda had given this recipe to us.  We all loved this dish so much that we made huge trays of this for our wedding reception.  Of course this was prior to our celiac diagnosis and since then we made adjustments to make this recipe gluten-free.  It used to be made with cream of chicken soup and in order to make this gluten-free we add chicken broth with a bit of cream to substitute.  It still taste delcious and it reminds my husband Michael of his mother's home while growing up. 

This dish is creamy, and cheesy with a great texture.  It is a fantastic addition to a ham dinner, a brunch or as a side dish to any meal.  It is quite easy to put together and pop in the oven.

Ingredients:

1 lg. Bag frozen Country style

hash brown potatoes (32 oz.)

1 can chicken broth soup

8 oz sour cream

½ cup of cream

1- 9 oz jack cheese, grated

salt – pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix together.

Put in 13x9 baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and crisp around the edges.

Candy Cane Marshmallows

This is a recipe that I acquired from Martha Stewart.  As always I have to make a few of my own adjustments.  It is one of those recipes that are naturally gluten-free.  It is quite easy to make, it looks so festive, and tastes like a heavenly cloud of peppermint.  My family absolutely loves marshmallows and so we thoght we'd make some this year to hand out for holiday gifts to friends.

You can give out homemade treats that are great in hot cocoa, or straight from the bag. Peppermint marshmallows are easy to make; they get their red swirl from a quick marbleizing technique. Follow the recipe, then package them in small cellophane bags to show off their good looks.

                                                                                       

Ingredients

Makes sixteen 2-inch squares.

• Vegetable-oil cooking spray

• 2 cups sugar

• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

• 4 packages (1/4 ounce each) unflavored gelatin

• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract

• 2 large egg whites

• 2 teaspoons red food coloring

Directions

1. Coat an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray; line bottom with parchment paper. Coat the parchment with cooking spray, and set pan aside. Put sugar, corn syrup, and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring; let mixture come to a boil. Raise heat to medium-high; cook until mixture registers 260 degrees on a candy thermometer.

2. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 3/4 cup water in a heatproof bowl; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Set the bowl with the gelatin mixture over a pan of simmering water; whisk constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in extract; set aside.

3. Beat egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Whisk gelatin mixture into sugar mixture; with mixer running, gradually add to egg whites. Mix on high speed until very thick, 12 to 15 minutes.

Pour mixture into lined pan. Working quickly, drop dots of red food coloring across surface of marshmallow. Using a toothpick, swirl food coloring into marshmallow to create a marbleized effect. Let marshmallow stand, uncovered, at room temperature until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. Cut into squares and roll the squares in sifted powdered sugar to keep them from sticking to each other.  Before serving sprinkly the marshmallows with crushed candy canes for a more festive feature.

Autumn's Gluten Free Chicken Divan

Gluten-free Chicken Divan is one of my children's favorites.  We used to make this dish prior to being gluten-free and once we were diagnosed were able to change the recipe to fit our needs.  This is one of those dishes that I love becasue I can make it the day before, or in the morning while Autumn is at school and my husbnad is at work.  It is a healthy casserole.  I just cook up my chicken and then cut it into slices and I like to use fresh brocolli instead of frozen.  It is relatively inexpensive and makes for great leftovers and packable lunches.  I tend to double the recipe so that we can freeze some and eat the rest.  My recipe is from one of my personal favorite cook books of all times Fanny Farmer.  My Fanny Farmer cookbook was given to me by my sister Joyce, at my wedding shower in 1982; and I have been using it ever since.  Although I will say, that since I have only ever owned a paperback version of it, I have gone through at least 4 copies.  Each time it gets updated so be careful that all of the original recipes are still there.  Hopefully I will get the hardback copy of it for Christmas this year.  One can only hope!

This particular time my 12 year old daughter, Autumn is making the recipe all by herself.  She is pretty adept in the kitchen and loves to cook, and it is is now one of her weekly duties in our home to cook a meal of her choosing.  She did a fantastic job with this recipe.

Gluten-Free Chicken Divan

3cups broccoli, chopped

4 chicken breast, cooked and sliced into bite size pieces

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cups White Sauce (see recipe below)

1/4 cup dry cooking sherry

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup freshlyy grate Parmesan Cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 9 x 13 pan.  Lay the chopped broccoli over the bottom of the baking pan.  Saute the onion in a little olive oil until translucent.  Add the sliced chicken and saute it until cooked through.  Layer the cooked chicken and onion on top of the broccoli.  Make white sauce and add the sherry.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour over the chicken and broccoli, sprinkly with the grated cheese, and bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Gluten free gingerbread houses for Christmas

Ah-h-h, gluten-free gingerbread.  It smells so delicious, and tasted even better, but constructing a gingerbread house was a whole other experience.  While not perfect the kids enjoyed making and decorating them, and that is what is important.  We decided to host a gingerbread house party, and so we invited a few of our celiac friends.  Everyone brought gluten-free candy to decorate.  Although this was our first attempt at making gluten-free gingerbread houses, we learned a great deal with this experience.   Fortunately, we kept plenty of notes for next year.  The main idea I would like to pass on is to give yourself ample time to make the dough, allow time to refrigerate dough (at least 1 hour and preferably 24 hours), when constructing the houses use cardboard forms to help keep the the house from tumbling down, and finally, heaps of patience will go a long way.  Being prepared is key here.  But remeber to have fun with the kids.  We learned that the kids really didn't care a whole lot what their houses looked like, they just wanted to decorate them, and ultimately eat them.  So don't forget to make extra pieces for everyone to enjoy eating while decorating their houses. 

This recipe was adapted from a Joy of Baking recipe. It can be used for gluten-free gingerbread houses or for gingerbread men. Make sure to roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch and use gingerbread forms to cut out house pieces. You can also get templates at Martha Stewart. 


3 cups gluten-free cookie flour (recipe to follow)

1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

2/3 cup unsulphured molasses (We use Brer Rabbit)

*Note: To prevent the molasses from sticking to the measuring cup, first spray the cup with a non-stick vegetable spray (like Pam).



Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups confectioners

(powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

or

Royal Icing Using Meringue Powder:

4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons meringue powder

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1/2 cup - 3/4 cup warm water

Food Coloring (I use Gel Pastes)

Amy’s Featherlight Sorghum flour Mix aka: Gluten-free Cookie Flour Mix

1 part sorghum flour

1 part tapioca flour

1 part cornstarch (arrowroot starch if allergic to corn)

1 tsp. potato flour (not starch) for each cup of flour not starch

Rule of thumb for gluten-free cookies is 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup of cookie flour in ANY cookie recipe.

Gingerbread houses: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until incorporated. Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside while you roll out the dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a floured cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. With an offset spatula lift the cut out cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart.

Bake for about 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of the forms. Small ones will take about 8 minutes, larger ones will take about 12 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies depending on the size of cookie cutter used or 1 gingerbread house.

Place royal icing in a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip (No. 5 or 6). Pipe to outline windows, doorway, and edges of chimney, including top and base. Outline the four joining points of house, sides, and top of roof. Decorate roof: Starting at the top, pipe a horizontal line of icing in a scallop pattern, making curves in even intervals; pipe another scalloped line so the peaks join the scallops above them in the middle. Pipe icicles around edges. Dust roof with confectioners' sugar.