Gingerbread houses have been a staple of Christmas baking since the 16th century and they're so fun and surprisingly easy to make! We made an adorable festive little gingerbread village filled with sprinkles for lights and icing for snow. It works out as a delicious treat and an amazing decoration! We find the gingerbread dough to be at its best after refrigerating overnight, or for several hours. We also opted for royal icing as the 'foundation' of the houses.
Kids and adults alike are going to have a lot of fun decorating these cute little houses. And let's remind ourselves, it's not about perfection, it's about having FUN! So what if the houses are not perfect and a little messy - The kids and I had great fun making them and I'm sure it will be a new family tradition...
Why not turn it into a Christmas Themed Party - A Gingerbread House Party...
Anyway without further ado, here's the recipe!
Happy Baking!
The Chai Home 😋
INGREDIENTS
We made 6 mini houses along with a large family of mini gingerbread men
For the gingerbead dough
6x cups of plain flour
1/2 tsp of baking powder
5x tsp of ground ginger
3x tsp of ground cinnamon
2x tsp of ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
170g of butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups of light brown sugar
2x eggs
1x cup of molasses
1x tbsp of water
For the royal icing
2x egg whites
2x cups and 2x 1/3 cups of sieved icing sugar
For the decorating
a handful of your favourite decorations, such as sprinkles or sugar crystals
METHOD
For the gingerbread dough
Add the flour and all the spices to a large mixing bowl and mix together well, then put aside.
Using a freestanding mixer beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add the eggs, water and molasses and beat until thoroughly combined.
Now add the flour mixture and mix together until fully combined.
Flour your work surface and turn out your dough.
Knead by hand for a few minutes until smooth.
Divide the mixture in half and pat into discs.
Wrap each one with clingfilm and pop them into the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Now prepare your house templates using paper / cardboard.
Remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before rolling.
Preheat the oven to 180C
On a floured surface roll out the dough to 1/4 inch in thickness.
You can add a little flour to the surface of the dough to prevent the rolling pin from sticking to it.
Now, using your house templates, place them on top of the dough and using a small sharp knife cut out the patterns (make sure to wipe your knife clean between each cut).
When finished, transfer your cut out pieces of dough to a lined baking tray and bake on the top shelf of the oven for 12 minutes (we find this to be the perfect amount of time as long as your oven has been well preheated).
Rotate the oven tray halfway through to ensure an even bake.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
If any of the shapes have spread out a little during baking then simply put your pattern over the gingerbread and cut to shape using a knife (you will need to do this within the first 10 minutes of taking them out of the oven).
Once completely cooled you can go ahead and begin making your icing.
For the royal icing
Whisk the egg whites and 1 1/3 cup of the sieved icing sugar until smooth.
Now add the remaining 1 1/3 cup of icing sugar to the egg mixture and beat on a high speed until it forms stiff peaks (if stiff peaks do not form then add slightly more icing sugar).
Transfer to a piping bag. The icing is the mortar for keeping your house together.
Line the edges of your walls with a thickish layer of icing, assemble them together and allow to set for a few seconds (this is a 2 person job).
Now ice your walls to the base that they're on. (we used a wooden chopping board)
Repeat the last step with the roof pieces (it can be a little tricky, so patience is key).
You may need to hold pieces in place for a few minutes to prevent them from slipping.
Once the roof is set in place, pipe a thick seam along the top of the roof.
Decorate with toppings of your choice and have fun!
Leave to set for just one more hour, then serve and enjoy!
Merry Christmas!
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