Old Fashioned Gingerbread House

For the gingerbread:

In a large saucepan add buttermilk and butter and heat until butter is just melted. Remove from heat and add brown sugar, molasses and egg; mix well. In a medium bowl whisk together 1 cup of flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Add dry mix to wet mix and stir until incorporated. Add flour one cup at a time mixing into a smooth and stiff but flexible dough. Divide the dough in half, place each half in a plastic bag. With rolling pin flatten dough slightly and place in refrigerator for at least one hour.

Create templates for house pieces using rigid cardboard and a utility knife or scissors. You will need 2 matching roof panels, 2 matching gable end walls and 2 matching short side walls. Any additional dough may be used for architectural details, trees or people.

Once dough has chilled preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove one plastic bag from refrigerator and divide dough into two pieces. On parchment paper roll dough out as evenly as possible to a thickness of 1/4 inch in a rectangular shape. Carefully cut out gingerbread pieces with a knife using templates as guides and place on cookie sheets. Remove reserved dough from refrigerator as needed. Use parchment paper to transfer the pieces and be sure they are at least 1/2 inch apart on cookie sheets.

Bake gingerbread pieces for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are just browning. Remove cookie sheets from oven and place on cooling rack. After 10 minutes of cooling run spatula under pieces to remove from the cookie sheet. Allow to cool completely. House pieces may need trimming with a serrated knife for squaring the joined surfaces.

For the icing:

In a large mixing bowl whip the egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy. Add confectioner's sugar gradually while continuing to whisk. Continue until stiff peaks form.

To assemble:

Use a piece of rigid cardboard or a cutting board as the house foundation. Fill a pastry bag or plastic bag with icing and snip off the tip. You may need additional props to keep the house walls up until icing sets.

Pipe a generous amount of icing along the bottom and one side of house wall. Place on support board and hold upright. Pipe another line of icing along the bottom inside edge of house to reinforce the wall. Repeat this process with all 4 sides adding icing where the walls and bottom meet and allow to set completely.

Pipe a generous amount of icing on top of one side wall and up the gable edges of half the house and place the first roof piece carefully. You may need a prop to keep the roof from sliding down. Allow the first roof panel to dry for at least an hour before repeating the process for the other half of the roof. Once all pieces are in place let house set for several hours before decorating.

To decorate: