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Special equipment: printed templates or ruler and triangle, assorted cookie cutters, piping bags with medium and fine tips
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Melt the shortening and butter together in a medium saucepan.
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Let cool.
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Sift the flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl.
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Mix the melted butter into the flour mixture with an electric mixer until sandy.
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Add the corn syrup and vanilla, and mix until evenly incorporated, but still crumbly in texture.
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Press the dough together by hand and divide into 8 equal parts.
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Press into rough squares about 1 inch thick.
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Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
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Place the dough on top of a flour-dusted sheet of parchment.
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Roll a square of dough about 1/4-inch thick and into an 8- by 11-inch rectangle.
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Repeat with all the remaining squares.
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Stack them up and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
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Meanwhile, click here to e-mail a link of the template to your desktop or laptop computer for printing.
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Print the file at 100% on letter size paper and cut out the pieces.
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Remove the top sheet of parchment from the dough.
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Lay the templates on the rolled dough slabs and cut out all the pieces with a long, sharp knife or pizza cutter.
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(You will have a total of 8 cut panels plus 3 extra sheets for cookies.
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Cut out the remaining dough with cookie cutters of your choice.)
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Cut a 3 1/2- by 3 1/2-inch square centered at the base of one of the tall walls then cut that piece in half to make the two barn doors.
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Stack panels on a cookie sheet and chill 45 minutes to set.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position the oven racks evenly.
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Bake the gingerbread shapes until they are a rich tawny brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
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Cool on a rack.
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With a fine kitchen rasp, file the panels to make all the edges straight.
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Thicken about 2 cups of the Royal Icing with either cornstarch and a couple of drops of vinegar, or extra confectioners' sugar, to get the consistency of caulk.
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Fit a pastry bag with a medium round tip and fill it with the thickened icing.
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Pipe a generous amount of royal icing along the bottom and the sides of a short wall.
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Center the wall 3/4 inch from one edge, directly onto the base.
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Use a box or can to help support the walls while they dry.
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Pipe royal icing along the bottom of a tall wall, and stick it to the base with an edge pressed against the icing on the first wall.
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Repeat with the remaining two walls in the same manner until the four walls are up, making an open box with a 3/4-inch border all around the base.
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(The two tall walls will face each other.)
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Allow the icing to dry completely, about 24 hours, before attaching the roof.
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Ice the sloped edges on one side of the house and attach the big roof piece.
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(Line up the top of the roof with the peaks of the tall walls.)
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Use a box or can to prop up the overhang of the roof while it dries in place.
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Attach the smaller roof piece on the other side of the slope (prop it up with a box or can) leaving the same amount of overhang.
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Leave the top open for now.
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The last roof panel is the lid and will go there when all is dry.
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Attach the doors.
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Pipe royal icing neatly on the outside of the seams to secure them, and allow the house to dry for 24 hours.
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Fit tips into piping bags.
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Divide the remaining royal icing into batches and color as desired.
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Fill bags with frosting and decorate the house and roof with icing and candies if using.
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Allow to dry.
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Fill the house with cookies.
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Rest the remaining roof slab on the house to make a lid.
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Enjoy.
