A gingerbread house is a novelty confectionery shaped like a building that is made of cookie dough, cut and baked into appropriate components like walls and roofing. The usual material is crisp ginger biscuit made of gingerbread – the ginger nut. Another type of model-making with gingerbread uses a boiled dough that can be molded like clay to form edible statuettes or other decorations. These houses, covered with a variety of candies and icing, are popular Christmas decorations.
Best cake to engage kids by telling them to decor with their favorite chocolates.
ROYAL ICING IS NOTHING BUT CEMENT TO BUILD HOME :) : )
But this time I tried it with melted white chocolate as royal icing, to prepare the proper Royal icing steps i have given below checkout.
Helpful Tips
Allow the baked gingerbread to cool thoroughly before assembling.
Make royal icing ahead of time and keep covered with plastic wrap touching the surface of the icing at all times to prevent it from drying out.
Adjust the consistency of the icing by adding more egg whites if the icing is too dry or more powdered sugar if it is too wet. It should be thick and stiff.
Trouble-Shooting
Icing is too stiff. Add a bit of water, one teaspoon at a time, mixing thoroughly until the icing loosens up a bit. You don't want it too loose, otherwise it takes a very long time to dry.
Icing is too loose. Add a bit more powdered sugar.
House doesn't look picture-perfect. Don't worry; you'll be able to fill gaps and cover errors later with more icing and decorations. A fool-proof assembly method, if you're not going to eat the gingerbread, is to use a glue gun. And remember, perfection is overrated.
Storage
Moisture is a decorated cookie's worst enemy: display the house in a cool dry place.
Cover at night to seal out moisture and dust; lightly drape a clean trash bag over the house and base.
Gingerbread houses can last up to a year, if you choose not to eat them.
NOTE : The dough will be super soft, take required amount of dough and work on it and remaining dough kindly keep in fridge and use when required.LETS GET COOKING:
How to make a Gingerbread House | Simple Gingerbread House
Course : Dessert
Cuisine : Global
Prep time : 5 minutes
Process time : 20 minutes
Total time : 25 minutes
Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 1 cups
Ginger powder - 2 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1 cup at room temperature
Honey / Molasses - 1/4 cup
Egg - 1
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
White chocolate(melted) - for decor the house, in place of Royal icing you can use.
FOR ROYAL ICING:
Egg White - 1
Powder sugar / Confectioners Sugar / Icing Sugar - 3 cups
Water - 1 tblsp
Instructions:
In a bowl add butter(room temperature), Brown sugar, honey or molasses, egg, ginger powder, cinnamon powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla extract.
Beat all the wet ingredients until they combine together.
Now add flour to the wet ingredient and mix well.
Knead them to form a dough. The dough will be super sticky.
Place the dough in cling wrap,keep in fridge and chill for 4 hour or over night.
Now take the chilled dough into rolling board and roll them thick.
Cut out templates as per the picture.
Place the templates on the rolled dough and cut the shapes.
Place them on parchment lined baking tray and bake them in pre-heated oven in 200 degree for 10 minutes.
Even after baking the cookies will be soft. So allow them to cool down they will turn as soft cookies.
Now whip egg white and powder sugar/ icing sugar till thick and fluffy. Add in water and whip till pipeable.
Decorate the house as per image and decorate it.
Enjoy with your kids.
Pictorial :
Gingerbread Houses are made at Christmastime in Germany, the US and other countries around the world.
Gingerbread Houses are intricately linked to the Grimm fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. In the story, two children, Hansel and Gretel get lost in the woods. They come upon a house made of gingerbread covered in frosting and candy. Unfortunately, it’s the house of the wicked witch. She befriends the kids, fattens them up and tries to eat them. Fortunately, Hansel and Gretel escape in the end.
No one knows for certain if making Gingerbread Houses was inspired by the story of Hansel and Gretel, or the reverse, if Gingerbread Houses were already being made and that inspired the tale.
In the US, when people make Gingerbread Houses they don’t usually think of Hansel and Gretel. They mainly associate Gingerbread Houses with the joys of Christmastime.
It’s interesting to see how traditions develop and change around the world.
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