Holiday Gingerbread House (photos, recipes and suggestions)

Everyone should make at least one of these during some holiday season.

Here are photos of ours:











Confession time. The wife (MHNBPF) did most of the construction and decorating work on this one. I did offer some valuable advice though.

Here are a few details for when you make your house.


Gingerbread House Recipe and Instructions:

This gingerbread recipe is edible, but not the best recipe if your intent is to eat the finished bread. It has no leavening agents that would make it rise (puff up) and distort the shape. It stays flat and compressed. This is needed to make the finished bread more structurally dense in order to support the rest of the house and the decorations.

Mix the dough, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out to the desired size for the piece to be cut. Let the baked house shapes sit for 24 hours before assembling to allow the bread to dry out even more. If you're pressed for time, or have little patience, the baked shapes may be assembled the same day, but they may break, so extra care should be taken is drying for 24 hours is not possible.

Ingredients:

2 cups light corn syrup (or dark corn syrup for a darker house)
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light-brown sugar (or dark brown sugar for a darker house)
1 1/4 cups margarine (not butter)
9 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cloves

Directions:

You will need pattern template pieces for the walls and roof of your house. You should make them before making the dough so that you will have them when needed. If you want a door and windows in your house, draw and cut them into the pattern so the size and placement will be ok. Draw out and cut the template from cardboard and fit it together to be sure you like the shape and size of your house before starting.

In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat corn syrup, brown sugar, and margarine until the margarine has melted and sugar has dissolved completely. Stir until smooth.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and spices. Add the syrup-sugar-margarine mixture and mix until it is smooth. Add a little more flour if needed to make the dough come away from the sides of the bowl.

Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest at least 30 minutes at room temperature. If the dough is too hard or unmanageable, you can microwave it for 20 to 30 seconds.

Heat the oven to 350 F.

Roll out the dough 1/4-inch thick onto a sheet of parchment cut to fit your baking pan. Cookie sheets work very well for baking the pieces.

Lightly flour the cardboard patterns and place them on top of the rolled-out dough, leaving a 1-inch space between pieces. Try to fit as many as you can without crowding.

Cut out the pieces, using the templates as a guide. For clean edges, cut the dough with a pizza wheel.

Remove and reserve excess dough.

Transfer the dough and parchment paper to the baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until the pieces are firm and lightly browned around the edges. Cool the pieces completely before removing from pans so that they will retain their shape and flatness.

Re-roll the dough scraps for the remainder of the pieces.

Assemble and decorate your gingerbread house as you see fit. The walls and roof are “glued together” with Royal Icing (Recipe below). Royal icing is also used for any white decorations and for caulking together any construction gaps (roof line or corners). Application of the icing is best accomplished with a piping bag and a tip, or from a plastic bag with a small portion (tip) of the corner removed. All of the gumdrops, mints, etc are glued in place with the Royal Icing. It can also be used to make snowmen, etc.

Possible decorations:

Necco Candy Wafers, Starlight Peppermints, M&Ms, Sixlet candy balls, Red hots, Skittles, Gumdrops Candy canes, Pez candys.

To make a candy window, Place whole or crushed candy canes or starlight pepper mints on pam sprayed aluminum foil and melt in the oven. Remove and allow to cool. Sugar or butterscotch may also be used. Make the candy bigger than you will need and glue it to the back of the window cutout with a little Royal Icing.


Royal Icing:

Need:

3 ounces egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

In large bowl of stand mixer combine the egg whites and vanilla and beat until frothy. Add confectioners' sugar gradually and mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated and mixture is shiny. Turn speed up to high and beat until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks. This should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired. For immediate use, transfer icing to pastry bag or heavy-duty storage bag and pipe as desired. If using storage bag, clip corner. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Be careful if eating any product that contains raw eggs, as uncooked eggs might make you sick.