Christmas gingerbread house!

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I know you’re probably over Christmas by now, but I couldn’t go without posting my gingerbread house! It was my first time making one, and I had lots of fun. I used recipes and tips from Cookie Craft, and the finished result was so yummy as well as cute. Seriously though, is there such a thing as bad gingerbread?

Disclaimer: some of these pictures are clearly not taken by me! They’re from my boyfriend and his new DSRL

When looking for templates, I saw this picture and immediately fell in love with the cute little cozy cottage. Here’s the template if you want to save it for next Christmas. Or use it now; gingerbread houses are cute all year round!

Cookie shapes ready for decoration

As you can see, I used the windowpane technique on the walls (and had a little trouble with it!). Basically you cut out a shape, and fill the hole with crushed hard candies (before baking). In my case, the candy bubbled up too much and got all over the cookie. I think it’s important that you crush the candy very finely, and you probably shouldn’t add too much either; the window ‘glass’ will be flat anyway (also, make sure to spray the paper or it will stick!)

Making a mess is pretty much compulsory

I made pretty thick icing for keeping the house together (a bit thicker than piping icing). It turned out great, even though I’m sure I got the recipe wrong. The tables in the book are handy, but can be confusing if you check out one ingredient at a time :P
I was afraid the walls would collapse, but the house was pretty sturdy, even after transportation. And the roof wasn’t even attached to the side walls!

Remember that cans are your friends!

I may write another post with remaining pictures of holiday baking, if you can bear it! And also some news on what the new year may bring! But I’ll give you a preview: I’m leaving for holidays this Sunday. I’ll be spending a few days in Calafate with my family. I’ve never been there, but I can tell you it’s beauuuutiful! You’ll see my pictures soon enough :)

See you next Christmas, Mr. Gingerbread Man! I’m sorry for eating down your house. It was very good though!

Gingerbread

Yield: about a medium house + 18 medium cookies
5 cups flour
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves (I replaced half of the cloves with pepper)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses (I used honey)
 
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, spices and salt, and set aside.
2. Cream butter with sugar until mixture is light and fluffy.
3. Add egg and molasses and mix until well blended.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until the two are thoroughly combined.
5. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions, and roll them between parchment paper until they’re 1/4 in thick. Refrigerate the cookie sheets for at least 30 minutes.
6. Cut the desired shapes, then bake at 350ºF for 16 minutes.

Royal icing

Yield: more than enough for a well equipped house!
1 pound icing sugar
3 tbsp meringue powder
4 tbsp warm water
2 tbsp lemon juice
1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Beat on high for 5 minutes.
3. When done beating, cover the mixture immediately so that it doesn’t dry out.

Note: I made half my icing chocolate by adding some cocoa (you’ll need to add some more water too). Then I turned the remaining white icing into flood icing, and used it to stick sugar to the parchment over the cardboard mat.


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