How to make a gingerbread house with kids
Prep: 120 min · Cook: 30 min · Makes: 1 house (base about 6 x 4½ inches) · For:
Building a gingerbread house is one of the best Christmas projects to do together. It takes an afternoon, it is a bit messy and very rewarding, and the finished house becomes the star of your Christmas table or windowsill.
Spread it over two days to keep it relaxed: bake the panels on day one, build and decorate on day two when everything is hard and dry.
Tips for a house that stands
- Hard panels, thick icing. That is the whole secret.
- Build on the board you will display it on, so you never have to move it.
- Decorate the walls before the roof goes on, while you can still reach easily.
Decorating ideas
- Icicles piped along the edge of the roof.
- A path of chocolate buttons and a fence of pretzel sticks.
- Trees made from ice cream cones covered in green icing.
Little helpers
Children are in charge of decorating. A grown-up cuts the panels with a sharp knife and holds the walls while the icing sets. Remember small candy can be a choking risk for toddlers.
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- a pinch of salt
- 9 tbsp butter
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
- 7 tbsp honey
- 1 egg
- 1 pasteurized egg white (or 2 tbsp liquid pasteurized egg whites), 2-2½ cups powdered sugar and ½ tsp lemon juice, for the royal icing
- candy, sugar pearls and small cookies, to decorate
- a board or sturdy piece of cardboard covered in foil
- stiff paper or thin cardstock for the templates
Method
- Make the templates from stiff paper: two side walls of 6 x 3¼ inches; two end walls 4 inches wide, 3¼ inches high at the sides and 5½ inches high at the point in the middle; and two roof panels of 6¾ x 4 inches.
- Melt the butter, sugar and honey together in a pan over a low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Let it cool for 10 minutes.
- Mix the flour, baking soda, spices and salt in a large bowl. Add the warm butter mixture and the egg and knead into a smooth dough. Wrap and leave to rest for 30 minutes (not in the fridge, or it gets too hard).
- Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Roll the dough directly onto parchment paper to about ¼ inch thick. Lay the templates on top and cut around them with a sharp knife. Remove the scraps (bake them as cookies or trees).
- Slide the paper onto baking sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes until firm and slightly darker at the edges.
- As soon as they come out of the oven, lay the templates on the warm panels again and trim the edges straight. Let the panels cool and harden completely on the tray, preferably overnight.
- Icing glue: whisk the egg white with the lemon juice, then gradually whisk in the powdered sugar until the icing is very thick, smooth and stands in stiff peaks. Keep it covered with a damp cloth.
- Pipe a thick line of icing on the board and along the edges of the panels. Stand one side wall and one end wall together at a right angle, propped with jars, then add the other two walls. Let it dry for at least 1 hour.
- Pipe icing along the top edges and press on the roof panels, holding them for a few minutes. Let the house dry for another hour or two before decorating it with candy, icing icicles and powdered sugar snow.
Questions
Can I eat the gingerbread house?
Yes, if it has not stood out for too long. After about a week on display it gets dusty and stale, so it is best enjoyed as decoration and the scraps as snacks.
My walls keep falling over. Help!
The icing must be very thick, and the panels completely cool and hard. Prop the walls with jars or pans while the icing sets and be patient before adding the roof.
Is raw egg white safe?
Use pasteurized egg white (sold in cartons) or meringue powder, so the icing is safe for children and pregnant guests.
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