Morning ladies, my family wants to make a gingerbread house this Christmas. This may be a dumb question but...is there a different recipe to use for GB houses than there is for the cake type of gingerbread. The GB that is used for houses seems flatter and more stiff. Thanks for any help. NancyLouise

Here is another website with the recipe and a picture. Mine came out this dark too. I used Brer Rabbit Full Flavor Molassess. Another website said not to use Blackstrap because it is too strong. Clare Here is a link that might be useful: Outback Steakhouse Bushman Bread Recipe

posie4U-- here it is You will need some kind of crock (glass or glazed pottery)-- I bought a couple at Walmart year before last - they are clear glass (2 gallons each) with glass lids, sort of like the glass jars they used to have candy in at old timey general stores. Don't know if they still have them. Anyway this is the recipe. Lay crock on its side and pack cucumbers in as tightly as possible. (This recipe is not exact. I have tweaked it some with regard to quantities though, and it still works out fine.) These are the quantities I used for one - 2 gallon crock. Day 1 - Dissolve 2 cups of salt in 1 gallon of boiling water. Pour over cucumbers and let stand 24 hours. Day 2 - Dissolve 1 to 1 1/2 jars of powdered alum (the recipe is old and says a box of alum-- don't think it comes that way anymore - 1 used 1 and 1/2 containers - which were 1.9 ozs. each for the 2 gallon crock of pickles. Day 3 - Drain cukes. Pour fresh boiling water over cucumbers and let stand 24 hours. Day 4 - Drain. Boil together 1 gal. vinegar and about 1 oz. of pickling spice ( put spices in cheescloth or old clean handkerchief and tie up)-- put in pot with vinegar. After you pour the vinegar over the pickles, put the bag of spices in the top of the crock with the cucumbers. let stand for 9 DAYS. After 9 days - Drain cucumbers and slice crosswise. Put a layer of cucumbers and a layer of sugar in large plastic bowls or some type of non-reactive container. Use plenty of sugar so you have enough syrup to cover the cucumbers when you pack them in jars. (I think about 5-7+ lbs. for the 2 gallon crock.) Let the sugar melt and then fill clean jars. (qts. or pints) No need to process. These keep very well for a couple of years in a dark dry place. The amount of pickles you have depends on the size and quantity of cucumbers. But like I said I'm doing a 2 gallon crock and I expect to have probably about 5-7 qts. of pickles. For potato salad, chicken salad, etc. these are the absolute best. Make sure to chill before using. Please excuse the approximate quantities. This is a very old recipe, but I've never had a bad pickle. I will be glad to answer any questions.

Interesting little stove Ann. Sure does look like a 'hottie'! I made the gingerbread tonight and it was interesting. I thought I had a jar of minced ginger but I didn't so I microplaned about 4" of a thick finger's worth of a fresh stem. I know it wasn't 1/2 c and I would be surprised if it even hit 1/4. You can taste ginger but I think I would try it with the full 1/2c sometime. (That might be 4" x 4 at least!) It's a very light cake, much more so than what I'm remembering gingerbread to be like. DH ate a piece but wouldn't cross the kitchen for it. :-) Even with the three sweetners, it wasn't terribly sweet. It's a good enough snack. (We didn't have whipped cream or ice cream so ...) I think I'd make it again but def with the full amount of ginger. I'm open to another recipe though. This one is easy enough for most anyone though. Pics tomorrow.