When you think of the holiday season, what cones to mind? For many people the thoughts of brightly colored, sweet gingerbread houses are a holiday tradition completed year after year. Never built a gingerbread house? It is easier than you think. Your imagination is the key component to building an outstanding house.
Many retailers have gingerbread house kits available for sale. These kits normally include precooked gingerbread pieces and all of the icing and candy needed to decorate. These kits normally cost $10 on up, depending on what is included and the size.
If you would like to go the tradition route and build your house from scratch, you will need to first start with a great gingerbread recipe. Simply Recipes has an easy to follow recipe that anyone can follow.
First gather your ingredients:
- 6 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp) butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup dark molasses
- 1 Tbsp water
Next you will make the batter.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves or allspice and salt in a large bowl, set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until well blended. Beat in eggs, molasses and water until well combined.
- Beat half of the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until well blended and smooth. Stir in the remaining flour. Knead (or use your mixer’s dough hook) until well blended. If dough is too soft, add a little more flour.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours, preferably overnight. You can make it up to 3 days ahead of time. Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before rolling out.
While you are waiting for your gingerbread to set, you will want to make patterns for your pieces of the house. I would suggest using card stock or cardboard to ensure your pieces are the correct size, shape and fit. Making the walls and roof of your house can be done by either printing off a template from online or creating it yourself. If you use cardboard, you may easily place the walls together to ensure you have a snug fit prior to cutting out your gingerbread. If you are looking for some pre-designed house pieces, try King Aurthur Flour or Celebrating Christmas.
It is now time to make your gingerbread pieces.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and get a few flat cookie sheets ready for your pieces.
- Divide the dough in half, placing one half on a large piece of wax paper that has been lightly floured.
- Roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. While rolling the dough, if it becomes sticky, sprinkle with a little bit of flour. If your dough is very soft, you may need to place it in the freezer until it becomes easier to cut and keep shape.
- You will now want to take your pattern pieces and place them on the gingerbread. Cut the gingerbread around the pattern with a small sharp knife. As the pieces are cut they may be placed on the cookie sheets. You may want to keep the was paper under the pieces while they cook to ensure the gingerbread does not lose it’s shape. The dough should be placed on the cookie sheets, one inch apart from each other.
- Bake at 350 degrees until the dough begins to darken around the edges. Remove the sheets from the oven and allow to cool at least 15 minutes on racks prior to beginning to decorate. This is extremely important, as moving them early can cause the gingerbread to break or become weak.
Now, are you ready for the fun part?
Let’s make some icing! I know it sounds scary, but it really isn’t hard at all, and the icing will be used to decorate and hold your house together. I am going to use the recipe from Joy of Baking to show you just how easy it is!
Ingredients:
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 cups confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
Now to make your icing all you need to do is get your mixer and combine the egg whites and lemon juice. After those are mixed well, slowly add the powdered sugar until it is fully mixed and smooth. This icing will need to be used right away as it does harden quickly. This icing can be colored any color that you would like. Paste food coloring works best and keeps the icing from getting too runny. Keep the icing in an airtight container while it is not being used. I like to break the icing up into smaller cups and have lots of colors to choose from.
Ok, now who is ready to put together a gingerbread house? Take some white/uncolored frosting and place it in a resealable bag. Cut off the tip of the bag to make your own pastry bag. Take your first two pieces of the house, preferably the walls and ensure they will fit together nicely. Run a line of icing down the side that will fit together and hold together until the icing has dried and is holding in place. Once the base of your house is put together, allow to sit for 30 minutes to an hour before placing the roof, as the weight could cause the walls to come apart.
If a piece of gingerbread breaks during this process, as I know always does in our house with all of the “little hands” helping, simply piece the gingerbread back together with a small amount of icing.
Ok, so let’s decorate. Let your imagination run wild! You can use anything to decorate the house. Any types of cookies, candy, pretzels, whatever you have! Some of the common things used to decorate are:
- Gum drops
- Candy canes
- Red hots candies
- Licorice
- Cookies
- Mint candy
Use your imagination! If you want to give your house the look of fresh snow, sprinkle with a small amount of powdered sugar. Have fun and create memories, that is what this project is all about.
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