Gingerbread House - Tutorial Part Six

Thanks for hanging in there with me as we create a gingerbread house. We're down to the final step and that's decorating.

I decided to use gum for my roof tiles but before I start tiling the roof I check out the chimney. My plan is to lay the gum tiles and set the chimney on top of that.



After setting the chimney aside I'm ready to begin the roof. I bought one long package of Big Red gum. There's a striped gum on the market but I couldn't remember what it was so I settled on this. I cut each stick into 3 pieces.



Dots of icing will hold them in place. Start at the bottom and work up.



Overlap and stagger each row just like a real roof.



I stopped before I got to the top because I decided to finish off with a row of these Creme Savers.



Both side are finished with the gum. I need to add the chimney before filling in with Creme Savers.



An edging of icing stars will keep the chimney in place.



Creme Savers edge the top of the roof.



The top of the roofline looked a little bare to me so I added a row of red, green and white Gobstoppers! I've had some of this candy for two years. I keep it in a sealed container just for gingerbread season.



I know what you're thinking - that's one REALLY BIG CHIMNEY. I swear those elves are up to no good. They're certainly involved in illegal activities and they're burning the evidence up in the fireplace.

The chimney looked bare. Time for a candy fix. I used icing to attach Necco Wafers but I didn't like the space between the wafers so I added icing stars to fill in. Do you see how things evolve?



I also thought the underside where the roof met the house looked messy, so more icing stars.



The final touch was to add icicles dripping from the roof. Just touch the tip to the edge of the roof, squeeze out some icing, pull down and pull away.



Now find a nice platter or tray to display your house. Tuck a battery operated tea light inside and it will glow through the candy windows.



I used a small heart shaped cookie cutter and some extra gingerbread dough to create the heart shaped walkway stones. The candy cane tree was an after Christmas purchase last year.

I'd like to thank everyone who baked, constructed and decorated along with me and everyone else who watched!

Poke me with a fork......I am SO DONE with gingerbread. I say that every year and when the weather turns cool I find myself dreaming about gingerbread houses once again.

My brain is fried from licking icing off my fingers. I'm off to make myself a martini. You know I have a habit of creating crazy martini recipes. This one's called Pond Scum. Heh, heh. heh. You'll have to wait till tomorrow. I'll also say a thanks to the couple who sparked my love for creating in gingerbread.

Gingerbread House - Tutorial Part Five

Are you ready to start construction? Let's get our gingerbread glue ready.

I use this type of star tip that will spread a good amount of icing.



Slip it inside the bag and fold the top of the bag down. This will make it easier to spoon the icing inside the bag.



Spoon icing into your bag so that it's a little more than half full. Fold the side back up.



Twist the end of the bag shut so that the gooey icing doesn't escape. I used lots of red icing last year which left my bag a permanent shade of pink.



Lay down the four chimney pieces, wrong side up.



Pipe a line of icing along each edge that will connect.



Stand two of the side up and support with cans.



Do the same with the other two sides. Use a narrow spatula or knife to smooth and spread the icing on the inside.



Leave this to dry with the cans as support.



Repeat the process with your house pieces.



I used glasses to support the sides and slipped a large can inside to be safe.



Using the pastry bag I ran a line of stars down the side. This way the main house pieces are glued from the inside and the outside.



When the house is totally dry you can run a thick bead of icing down the roof ridges and across the top of the side wall. Carefully add the roof piece. Support it and repeat on the other side. After this dries you can add a line of rosettes on the top edge of the roof and add the chimney.




Tomorrow: Candy decorations galore!

Candy Shopping List

Thanks to Vee who reminded me that I need to provide a shopping list for candy to decorate the Gingerbread House.

Walk the candy aisle of the store and thing about what would look cute on your house. Starlight mints are favorite, and candy canes can be broken into pieces and used around the window or doors.

Buy some stick gum. It can be used as roofing tile. Also, Necco Wafers can be used in a variety of ways. Brown Jelly Belly's make great cobblestones or a fireplace.

Ju-Ju B's add a colorful touch; I found some long strips of green candy that I've used for roping.

Ice cream cones can be turned upside down and covered with green icing to make Christmas trees in the "yard".

Just use your imagination as to how the candy can be used.

Thanks Vee!

Gingerbread House - Tutorial Part Four

Thanks for joining me for part four of the Gingerbread House Tutorial. Are you sick of gingerbread yet? I hope not because soon we'll be getting to the really fun part - decorating.

Before we start construction we must make the glue that's going to hold the structure together - Royal Icing. It dries rock hard and can be tinted with food coloring.

Here's the recipe.



Gather up your ingredients. I baked some cookies the other day that called for egg yolks, so I had plenty of egg whites on hand.



Put the egg whites and cream of tartar in the mixing bowl. Mix for a few seconds to combine. Add the powdered sugar and start mixing on LOW SPEED to start. Don't turn it on high or you'll have powdered sugar all over the kitchen. Don't ask me how I know that. Mix on low until well combined.


Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Start mixing again, this time on medium speed for 7-10 minutes. The icing should be very stiff and shiny.



The icing dries out very quickly so keep it covered while you work. If necessary, refrigerate icing between decorating sessions. Food coloring may be added a few drops at a time.

Wasn't that easy? We have time to do one more thing before we move on to construction.

LET'S MAKE GLASS WINDOWS!!!!

We're going to need Life Savers to make our glass. I searched and searched for Life Savers in rolls, but this is all I could find.



Imagine how I felt when I opened the bag and found all these individually wrapped candies.



This meant cutting open each little package to get enough candy to crush. I decided to try a little experiment. I found my meat pounder and using the flat side I crushed the candy while it was still in the bag. The plastic held up as long as I didn't smash too hard.



I cut the bags open and poured the crushed candy into a small bowl. I decided to use clear for the square windows and red for the upper round window.



Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using a small measuring spoon, fill the spaces with candy being sure not to spill on the gingerbread.



It's ready to go into the oven. Let it bake for about 6 minutes. Check often to see if the candy has completely melted.



Remove and allow to cool completely. This is a non-stick pan. It releases easily when fully cooled.



Hold it up to the light and admire your handiwork.



Join me tomorow when we start house construction. Thanks for participating in this fun project.

Gingerbread House - Tutorial Part Three

Yesterday I was forced into the unpleasant reality of facing some of my bad habits. These include:

- procrastination
- sometimes flying through life without a net
- no plan "B"

My decision to produce the Gingerbread Tutorial in real time came back to bite me big time. Oh, the disasters!! The batch of gingerbread dough I mixed up was literally impossible to handle. It was dry beyond belief, something I've never encountered before. I added more and more honey. The dough proceeded to become more and more unmanageable. The worst part was rolling it out. It was so tough that I had to lean my entire weight on the marble rolling pin to make any progress.

I had visions of bloggers sending me terse e-mails. This dough is always a bit dry and stiff but this was ridiculous. I was near tears when I made the decision to start over. My inner voice said, "Just pitch that batch in the trash". And so that's what I did. I'm telling you this story so that you'll understand that sometimes things just don't work.

I started on a second batch and since I was doubling it, I decided to add an extra egg for moisture. I walked over to the pantry to grab the large container of sugar when something dawned on me. I forgot to add the sugar to the first batch! I don't know the dynamics that would make a dough more moist by adding one additional dry ingredient, but the second batch was so easy! Phew.

Did you know that there's a website called, "Engineers Who Cook"? They're very smart and maybe they can explain the chemical reactions between egg, honey, sugar and flour.

Having said all that, we can now begin to work with our gingerbread.

Roll it out to 1/8 inch thickness. The gingerbread will shrink up a bit and get a bit thicker as it bakes.


This is the difficult first batch of dough.

Lay your pattern pieces on top of the dough. I use a pizza cutter to cut the straight edges. Continue and cut all sides, saving the dough to recombine and roll out again.

ED. NOTE: If the dough starts becoming very stiff, put it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds. This will soften the dough and make it move pliable. You can do this numerous times if needed.





Don't forget to cut out windows and doors. I just cut freehand. Don't worry about being perfect because the decorations hide a multitude of sins. You can lightly mark the windows with a sharp pencil and cut out with a sharp knife.



Save the windows pieces. Cut them in half and they become shutters that are the perfect length.



Score the shutters with the edge of a knife to make louvers.



I wanted a round window at the top, near the roofline so I used the top of a salad dressing bottle.



I stacked the two side pieces on top of each other and cut the windows through both layers so that they would match.

Clean up your edges using a sharp knife.



Carefully slide your pieces onto a baking sheet.


Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. The smaller pieces will require less time in the oven. Keep an eye on them as they bake.

Remove and let cool.

Tomorrow we're going to mix up our gingerbread glue, otherwise known as Royal Icing. We'll need that before we can start construction. Thanks for following along. Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions you might have.

Gingerbread House - Tutorial Part Two

Today we're going to mix our gingerbread dough. There are lots of gingerbread recipes out there and you should feel free to use your favorite. I'm going to pass along a recipe I call recipe Gingerbread Plywood because of it's ability to resist humidity. Gingerbread will soak up moisture and eventually cause your structure to collapse. The ingredients in this recipe are edible but once baked it's very hard and will withstand sanding with a nail file or sandpaper which allows you to fit pieces perfectly. This is not the easiest dough to work with but it does give you a very sturdy material. If you're spending alot of time constructing a house, you don't want anything crumbling in your hands.



I'm going to give you some tips as we go along. First gather together all your supplies.



I buy my spices at ethnic markets or the bulk department at the larger stores. It's much less expensive than those little containers. Measure your dry ingredients into a sifter. Do you have one of these old models?



Place the flour mixture in a large bowl and set aside. Measure out the honey.



Beat the eggs and add the honey. Mix well.



The mixture is going to look like this.



Add the liquid to the dry ingredients.



I don't even attempt to mix this with my Kitchen Aid. This dough is very stiff. Just use a sturdy wooden spoon to stir and combine.



Put the spoon aside and start mixing with your hands.



The warmth of your hand will help the dough to soften. Soon it will start to stick together. Add a small amount of honey if necessary.



It's going to have a sandy texture. If it doesn't clump together, add a TBSP. of honey. Don't add too much or you'll have a very sticky mess.



This is going to feel dryer than a normal dough. Knead it for a few minutes. You're going to put it in plastic wrap and place it in a airtight container. Let it stand unrefrigerated, overnight is best.



While it stands the honey and sugar molecules combine, the mixture darkens and softens. Tomorrow it will be a bit easier to work with.

Tomorrow we're going to roll out the dough, cut our pattern pieces and fill the house with the great smell of gingerbread baking in the oven. Please join me!