Materials:
1 sheet poster board or cardboard
gingerbread cookie dough
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
hard candies, crushed
Royal Icing (see recipe below)
votive candles
Steps:
- Cut a pattern on the poster board for the sides if the lantern. Spray the pattern pieces with vegetable spray.
- Cut the sides from the rolled out dough (four sides, figure A). Transfer the rectangular sides to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Cut designs on the side pieces with cookie cutters. Brush dough with egg whites and sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
- Fill the cutouts with crushed candy to the top. Be sure to fill the cutout entirely (figure B).
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until candy melts, giving a stained-glass effect. Cool completely on wire racks, even overnight, if necessary.
- Hot-glue together the long edges of large rectangles with a hot-glue gun (figure C). (Note: These are non-edible.)
- Decorate the edges with Royal Icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip . Let stand overnight to dry. Place over candles.
Royal Icing Recipe
Ingredients:
1 lb. confectioner sugar
3 egg whites at room temperature
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Steps:
Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat for 7 to l0 minutes until the mixture is very stiff. Store in an air-tight container. The icing may be placed into a pastry tube and used for decorating and gluing. The icing will become very hard as it dries .
Guests Brad Kachelhofer
Editorial Coordinator, Southern Living Magazine
Email:
brad_kachelhofer@spc.com
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