Gingerbread House
It's that time of year again!
Gingerbread House
Last year was a croquembouche.... this year was a gingerbread house. I always seem to want to attempt something that appears difficult. The gingerbread house was actually EASIER than the croquembouche.
Everyone thinks that you need a kit to make a gingerbread house, but I am way too stubborn. First, I didn't see any houses I liked.... then it seemed like cheating to me. Sooo.... I drew out how I wanted it to look and then built it with paper. Then when I rolled out the
dough I used the paper as my "cookie cutter" by placing it on the dough and using a pizza cutter (or pastry cutter) to make the shape (you can use a knife as well). I baked as directed and let them cool. (
)
Here is what all the shapes looked like deconstructed.
It also seemed like a good idea to make the house light up. I cut a hole in the bottom of the cardboard I was building the house on so that I could put lights into it. I actually used the same type of battery pack lights that I did for my ugly Christmas sweater.
When the gingerbread cooled I stood it up using cans and jars.
Then make up the Royal Icing (more on this tomorrow)
Here are some pictures of the process....
Two things to remember when making a gingerbread house when you get to this point. Have your design somewhat prepared and work fast! Royal Icing is great because it really is like glue, but it dries really fast. I don't have a bunch of pictures of my decorating process because I found I had to work so quickly.
Here is what the cut hole looked like from the inside. You can also see how the house is built using the icing.
Then just play a little bit! This is when you can start getting creative.
... My little icing snowman...
... I used my Christmas Tree Macaroons for around the house...
... All lit up...
The Gingerbread House makes for a really fun decoration that you can make now and it will still look great on Christmas. It also makes your house smell amazing!!