Campobello church bakes gingerbread houses for display at local restaurant

Submitted by Kelly Henson

Campobello-2At First Baptist Church of Campobello, our vision statement is: “Loving God, Loving Others and Serving for the Glory of God.” As a church family, we are always looking for opportunities to share the love of God with others.

This past Christmas, our ladies were given a unique opportunity to share God’s love in our community. For many years, one of the ladies in our church would have her students make gingerbread houses for display in a local Fatz restaurant. The manager of the restaurant wanted this tradition to continue even after the teacher retired last year.

The retired teacher challenged the ladies of our church to continue this tradition. Some were unsure at first, but with a little guidance the ladies were able to create quite a few gingerbread houses that were on display through the Christmas season. The Fatz manager allowed us to leave information about our church with the displayed houses. We were blessed to be able to help add to the joy of the Christmas season for all of those who came to enjoy a meal at Fatz, and we were able to let them know God loves them, and we love them.

We used the following recipes:

Royal Icing

¼ cup meringue powder
½ cup water

Blend these until fluffy. Add 4 cups powdered sugar; beat these until it is stiff. You can re-blend if it gets weak.

Gingerbread Dough Recipe

6¾ cups flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1½ teaspoons ginger
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups light corn syrup
1¼ cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine light corn syrup, light brown sugar, and margarine in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until margarine is melted. Stir the liquid into the flour mixture. Mix well, using hands to mix as dough becomes stiff. Chill the dough until it is easy to handle. Roll the dough out to a ⅛-inch thickness on parchment paper. Using the patterns you want to use, cut into the required shapes. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Check for air bubbles during baking and poke them with a sharp knife or a toothpick. When baking is done, slide the parchment with the hot cookies onto a large cooling rack. Make sure all pieces lie flat.

Campobello FBC outreach 3