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Gingerbread House

17/11/2023

The gingerbread house, also known as a gingerbread cottage or gingerbread house, is a classic Northern European Christmas tradition that has become popular around the world. Here’s how you prepare it:

Ingredients

For the spiced dough:

  • 250g of honey
  • 100g of brown sugar
  • 50g of butter
  • 500g of flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg

For the royal icing:

  • 1 egg white
  • 200-250g of icing sugar
  • A few drops of lemon juice

Preparation

  1. Begin by heating the honey, sugar, and butter in a pot until they are well dissolved and combined.
  2. In the meantime, in a bowl, mix the flour with the baking soda, salt, and spices.
  3. Once the liquid mixture has cooled, pour it into the bowl with the dry ingredients and also add the egg.
  4. Knead until you obtain a homogeneous dough, then wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
  5. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  6. Roll out the dough to about 3-4 mm thick on a floured surface and decide whether to use a mold for the various parts of the house or cut them freehand using a sharp knife.
  7. Carefully place the pieces on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the edges begin to darken slightly.
  8. Remove the pieces from the oven and let them cool completely.

For the royal icing:

  1. Whisk the egg white until stiff and begin to add the icing sugar a little at a time.
  2. Add a few drops of lemon and continue to whisk until you obtain a dense and glossy icing.
  3. Transfer the icing to a piping bag for decorating and gluing the gingerbread house pieces.

Assembly:

  1. Use the royal icing as “glue” to join the pieces of the house. Assembling will require patience and delicacy.
  2. Once the structure is solid, decorate the house as you please with the icing and colored candies.

Fun Fact

The gingerbread house became popular through the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm, where the two protagonists discover a house made entirely of sweets in the forest. The tradition of building these houses during the Christmas season reflects the sense of wonder and joy typical of these festivities.

Gingerbread House