Royal Icing

1. 1

   Beat the egg whites and 1/3 cup of the sugar with a wire whisk or the whisk attachment on your mixer.

2. 2

   Add another 1/3 cup sugar and the cream of tartar and beat 10 minutes longer.

3. 3

   Add the remaining sugar and beat until the mixture is smooth and thick.

4. 4

   The icing can be tinted as desired with food coloring.

5. 5

   To make gingerbread (page 204) house sections, spray the back of a jelly roll pan and a rolling pin with cooking spray.

6. 6

   Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness and place on the back of the jelly roll pan.

7. 7

   Cut out the desired shapes for the walls and roof, then remove the trimmings (you can save and reroll these scraps for cookies or additional house embellishments) and bake for 5 to 6 minutes.

8. 8

   Cool for 2 minutes on the pan before carefully removing to a cooling rack.

9. 9

   Cool completely before assembling the gingerbread house.

10. 10

    Use Royal Icing to glue the gingerbread house together and to decorate the cookies.

No additional tips available.