Time: 1 hour 30 min.
Complexity: hard
Quantity: 1 gingerbread house

A gingerbread house isn't just a Christmas treat; it's also a festive attribute whose fairytale-like appearance will evoke a sense of magic and comfort for both children and adults. Building a gingerbread house isn't all that difficult, but it is painstaking work and takes time. It can be more challenging to complete alone, so invite your children and loved ones to help and enjoy the time spent together. The recipe below shows a simple, small house, but you can create your own design using the same technique and dough, assembling it and decorating it with royal icing (the recipe is also below), and various small candies. A gingerbread house lasts a long time, so you can admire your creation before devouring it.

Ingredients:

Cookie

• 110 g of butter at room temperature
• 0.5 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light molasses or dark corn syrup
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. ground ginger
• 1.5 tsp ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 2 cups of flour
• 2 tablespoons of water

Assembly and decoration

• Melted white chocolate or royal icing, recipe below
• Gummies, licorice candies, or mints, optional

Royal icing

• 450 g (3-3/4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
• Protein of 1-2 large eggs or replace with a mixture of 4 teaspoons of dry egg white and 1/4 cup of water
• 1 tsp almond extract, vanilla or lemon juice

Substituting ingredients
Measuring containers used

1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Recipes with similar ingredients

butter, brown sugar, syrup, cinnamon, ground ginger, carnation, premium flour, marmalade, powdered sugar, eggs, almond extract

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Preparation:

Step 1
• Gingerbread house: In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and baking soda until smooth. Then whisk in the flour and water to form a stiff dough. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until the dough is firm.
Step 2
• Preheat oven to 190°C.
Step 3
• Cut out the following templates for the gingerbread house pieces from paper: two 3 x 5-inch rectangles for the front and back of the house. Two 3 x 5-inch rectangles for the roof. Two pieces for the sides of the house, 3 inches wide at the base, 3 inches below the roofline, and sloping to a height of 5 inches from the base. Four small 1.5 x 1-inch rectangles for the roof and sides of the entryway. And one piece 2 inches wide at the base, 1.5 inches above the roofline, and 2.5 inches from the base for the front of the entryway.
Step 4
• Roll out the gingerbread dough to the edges on a large, rimless baking sheet. Place the paper templates on the rolled dough. Using a sharp, straight-bladed knife, cut out all the pieces, leaving them in place.
Step 5
• Bake at 190°C for about 15 minutes, until the dough is firm.
Step 6
• Place the paper templates on top again and cut out the shapes with a sharp, straight knife. Let cool on a baking sheet.
Step 7
• Place royal icing in a piping bag fitted with a fine tip and pipe the icing onto individual sections of the house, adding decorations, windows, doors, etc. if desired. Allow the icing to dry and set.
Step 8
• Assemble the house by gluing the front, back, and sides together at the corners with royal icing. Place something on the house to support it until the icing dries (this will only take a few minutes).
Step 9
• Glue the two roof pieces to the beveled pieces of the house. Then, use icing to glue the sides and roof of the driveway in the same manner. Attach the driveway to the front of the house.
Step 10
• Continue decorating the house by gluing on gummies, licorice candies, or peppermints as desired.
Step 11

• Royal icing:

  
  Mix all ingredients with a mixer until the icing is smooth and runny enough to pipe through a pastry bag fitted with a fine tip. Add more lemon juice if needed.

Votes: 3

Author of the recipe - Beatrice Ojakangas is a food writer.