The Gingerbread Book by Allen D. Brogdon

By Betty B. Levin

As the jacket of this newly re-issued book from 1984 announces, it contains “54 cookie-construction projects for party centerpieces and holiday decorations, 7 full-sized patterns, plans for 8 structures, over 100 color photos, recipes, cookie shapes, children’s projects, history, and step-by-step how-tos.”

Beyond that succinct description are the detailed, luscious-looking creations for classic gingerbread houses or the equivalent of today’s McMansions. The book is packed with ideas for table decor, Christmas tree ornaments, Valentines Day, and birthdays, plus it provides the motivation to dream up your own reasons to bake  and decorate these favorite nostalgic goodies. You’ll be surprised at the wide  range of accompaniments: the expected chopped nuts, crystallized ginger and jelled fruit slices to licorice and strawberry laces to name just a few. Three pages  are filled with color photos of these and dozens of other examples.
For year-round fun, chessboards can be made using the patterns given for all the chess pieces starting with the King. For other projects there are also many cookie cutter outlines of animals, flowers, people and even a guitar, among the array that can be copied and used wherever desired. Walls, fences and other necessary elements to build Noah’s Ark or to make Ukrainian Easter Eggs are also detailed. Walls, fences and other directions for building your constructions are complete with measurements.
For the very ambitious, or with a team of helpers if time is short, there is the Circus Train with instructions for each car from engine to caboose, along with the animals and clowns to be placed – all aboard!
The basic recipe for gingerbread dough is given here, but the book provides more than a dozen variations as well recipes for gingerbread cake, sauces, gingersnaps and even gingerbread waffles…and oh yes, eggnog with ginger. It’s a book that will engage all ages and will undoubtedly be handed down from generation to generation. It’s available through bookstores. Author Bragdon has thought of everything to make these projects less frustrating and a lot of fun.

Basic Corn Syrup Gingerbread Dough
9 cups unsifted flour
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ teaspoons of salt
2 cups light corn syrup
1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 ¼ cups butter or margarine

• In large bowl, combine flour, lemon rind, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
• In 3-quart saucepan, stir together corn syrup, brown sugar, and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted and ingredients are well mixed.
• Pour liquid mixture into flour mixture and stir until well blended.
NOTE: Have your plan for what you’ll be rolling, cutting and baking before proceeding with this recipe.
• Form dough into ball and knead until smooth and pliable.
• Roll out dough on foil-lined cookie sheets to ¼-inch thickness using lightly floured rolling pin.
• Cut out cookie pieces, remove and reserve excess dough.
• Bake in 350F-degree oven 12 to 15 minutes or until cookies are firm and lightly browned.
• Cool cookie sheets completely on racks before removing cookie pieces from foil.