Last week I was posting about how much fun we had creating a gingerbread house with my niece Lilly and her dad. I had many comments about our creation and some even said, “Although impressive and fun, how did this not become a disaster in your kitchen?”. So, in my continued attempt to spread holiday cheer, here is how I did it and how pre-planning made this process so much fun for all whoever involved -adults and kids alike. Do note although this technique will help you create a tasty, edible decoration with minimum mess. This is a slightly more advanced and time-consuming project. It is a bit of a commitment but the results, smiles and memories created are so worth it! As Lilly said, “This is my first gingerbread house ever and I just love it, I can’t wait to give it to my mommy.”
Lily and her completed gingerbread house
Gingerbread house decoration set up
Step 1 Make the dough
This is the recipe I used. I wanted something sturdy but also edible. Note that because it is soft enough to be edible it is meant for the basic house construction not for gingerbread mansions. Working in dry climates also helps, as humidity will soften this dough overtime. I recommend using a strong-stand mixer as the dough is a bit though to mix at the end.
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter or margarine
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 egg
Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the molasses and egg, and then gradually add the dry ingredients. Chill the dough for at least one hour before rolling out.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Roll dough about 1/4″ thick, a little thicker is fine but not thinner as you need sturdy walls. Cut out house pieces. You can find patterns online or make your own. I made my own by cutting 2 4×6 sidewalls. I added small windows to tell them apart from the roof. I measured the first wall and then lifted that cutout piece on top of new dough to trace out the second, so it would match. I did this same process with the front/back walls making them 4 inches high creating a pitch for the roof and adding a cut out for a small window and door to the front panel leaving the back solid. Just make sure that the sides are all the same height and the roof matches the length of the sides. I would recommend not making the pitch of the roof too steep, as it is harder to get it to stay in place at the higher angels. (Some stores even sell cookie cutters for the walls and roof.)
Bake cutouts on parchment-lined cookie sheet with 1 inch space between them until slightly darker in color and crisp on the edges, about 15-20 minutes.
(I rolled out and used all the extra dough to make stars, angels, trees and people for eating and extra decoration.)
Allow to cool on cookie sheet completely before assembling
Step 2 Assemble the house
You will need a strong “glue” to hold things in place. Make this recipe for Royal Icing that will harden solid.
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 4 tablespoons meringue powder
- 4 to 6 tablespoons warm water
- pastry bag or zip top plastic bag with one corner cut off 1/8 inch
In a bowl, beat the confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder and 4 tablespoons water on low until blended. Beat on high for 8-10 minutes or until glossy with stiff peaks, adding more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed.
Remember this frosting must have stiff peaks or it will be too soft to hold the house together. Scrape frosting into a plastic piping bag and use to assemble the house. Feel free to make an additional batch to color for extra decoration. Note, thinner frosting is good for decorating elements but stiff thicker frosting is best for initial house assembly and adding larger candy decorations.
To assemble the house pipe thick layers of frosting along the sidewall edges pushing them together and holding in place with soup cans, bottles or spice jars for extra support while it dries. You can also add a thicker layer of frosting over the initial ones for extra insurance. Allow the four walls to dry well before adding the roof. Allow assembled house to fully dry and harden overnight before decorating.
I lined a piece of cardboard cut so that it is fit within a sheet pan with foil to use as base for the house. This way you can move it and decorate a winter scene around the house as well.
Step 3 Decorate It
The decoration is all about fun and creativity this is where I involve the kids. Repeat, I DID NOT build the house with the kids, I just let them decorate it. The somewhat precise nature and waiting process involved with building the house are not something I recommend doing with children under the age of 8 unless they really love building and they have patience. Here is what I did to make decorating fun, easy and quick to clean up.
In the morning I made an extra slightly thinner batch of frosting and divided it to make colors red, green, blue and white, which I left thicker to add heavy candies. I put all of these in plastic piping bags. Squirt bottle will work too for younger kids who may not work with a bag so well. If they can handle the plastic bags these are great for clean up because you can just toss them out when finished.
For decorations, I pulled out a variety of sprinkles, cookies and candies. There are many items that are perfect for embellishments – think marshmallows, pretzel sticks, seeds, gum, cereals, jelly beans just look through your cupboards and see what fun things you already have; add extra candies if you desire. Use frosting to glue candies in place and paint on other embellishments. Have fun, be creative and remember there is no right or wrong way to decorate a gingerbread house.
The key to success with decorating is to manage the mess. Line your countertops with paper or foil before you begin. Put your house and any cookies on sheet pans with lips and designate these as sprinkle only areas. This way all the extra sprinkles will stay in the pan and not end up on your floors. Put decoration options in small bowls or cups so they are easy to access. For this process disposable items are best for quick clean up. When finished remove the house from your lined sheet pan, toss out the extra collected sprinkles. Save extra candies if desired and then fold the foil or paper on the counter in wards gathering up all the extra messes and toss the whole thing away. All the fun with very little mess. Happy holidays and enjoy!
I would love to see your finished results. Please share your story and success at https://www.facebook.com/ImpressionsFoodstyling
