Make a Gingerbread House
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Gingerbread Houses Are a Fun Christmas Craft
Making a gingerbread house is a great Christmas craft for children and adults alike. This tradition started in Germany, but has spread around the world. Whether you use a kit or make it from scratch, gingerbread houses are fun for the holidays. Read on for recipes, tips and inspiration.
History of Gingerbread
Who invented gingerbread houses?
Gingerbread houses were first built in Germany. Inspired by the Brothers Grimm tale, "Hansel and Gretel," German bakers started creating houses made of lebkuchen, a flat German gingerbread. The houses were known as or "hexenhaeusle" (witch's house) or "lebkuchenhaeusle" (lebkuchen house).Although the first written recipe for gingerbread only dates back to the 16th century, the history of gingerbread dates back to honey cake in ancient Rome. These honey cakes were often created in the shape of a heart, and this tradition carried over to Europe. Gingerbread bakers would create fancy hearts, as well as human and animal shapes shapes during the holidays. These became a popular treat at fairs throughout Europe. Later, German settlers brought the tradition of gingerbread houses to America.
More info:
Lebkuchen Weiss
Nuremberg Gingerbread
Gingerbread Recipe and Pattern
If you love to bake and you love the holidays, then you're the perfect candidate for making a gingerbread house from scratch. Here's a recipe from AllRecipes.com.Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
7/8 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground allspice
6 egg whites
4 (16 ounce) packages confectioners' sugar, sifted
1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and molasses. Gradually beat in 2 eggs. Sift the flour, baking powder, and spices together; stir into creamed mixture. Wrap dough in parchment paper, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 6 portions, 2 slightly larger than the others. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the 4 smaller pieces to approximately the size of the side wall and the end wall with gable templates; cut out two of each. Roll out remaining dough, and cut into two rectangular roof pieces. Transfer gingerbread onto greased baking trays.
3. In a preheated 375 degree F oven, bake gingerbread for 10 minutes, or until crisp. When removing from the oven, leave the gingerbread on the baking trays for a few minutes to set, then transfer to wire racks. Leave out overnight to harden.
4. In a large bowl, lightly whisk 2 egg whites. Gradually beat in approximately 5 cups confectioners' sugar. The icing should be smooth and stand in firm peaks. Spread or pipe a 9 inch line of icing onto a cake board, and press in one of the side walls so that it sticks firmly and stands upright. If necessary, spread or pipe a little extra icing along either side to help support it. Take an end wall and ice both the side edges. Spread or pipe a line of icing on the board at a right angle to the first wall, and press the end wall into position. Repeat this process with the other two walls until they are all in position. Leave the walls to harden together for at least two hours before putting on the roof. Spread or pipe a thick layer of icing on top of all the walls, and fix the roof pieces in position; the roof should overlap the walls to make the eaves. Pipe or spread a little icing along the crest of the roof to hold the two pieces firmly together. Leave overnight to set firmly.
5. When ready to decorate, make the remaining icing. In a large bowl, lightly whisk 4 egg whites, and mix in remaining confectioners' sugar as before. Use this to make snow on the roof, and to stick various candies for decoration. Finish with a fine dusting of sifted confectioners' sugar.
You can also find a gingerbread pattern at AllRecipes.com to use with this recipe, or you can buy a gingerbread pan, such as the one shown below.
Listen to Christmas Music While You Build
Every day in December, Amazon will be offering free Christmas music downloads
Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter Bake Set
Make great-looking gingerbread houses every time!
Fox Run Ten Piece Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter Bake Set
Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 02/15/2012)![]()
Amazon review: This complete gingerbread house baking set puts IKEA to shame--it has everything needed to assemble an edible domicile, with easy-to-follow instructions written in plain English to boot! The cookie-cutter-style forms make it easy to get the right sized pieces for the construction project, so you don't have to worry about measuring rolled-out dough and cutting walls. The gingerbread and icing recipes are very easy to follow, with handy tips, such as rolling out the gingerbread directly on the cookie sheets, which eliminates the stretching and sticking that almost always occurs when moving cut cookies from counter to cookie sheet. With this easy-to-use kit, you could even become a contractor and farm this job out to your kids!
Get a Gingerbread Pan
A great alternative to a kit
John Wright Gingerbread House Cookie Pan 14-in.
Amazon Price: (as of 02/15/2012)![]()
This 14-inch cast iron pan makes it easy to create pieces for your gingerbread house, including gingerbread people!
Wilton Stand Up Gingerbread Cake Pan
Make easy gingerbread houses with this pan
Wilton Stand Up House Pan
Amazon Price: $11.51 (as of 02/15/2012)![]()
From Amazon: Address your guests with a delightful welcome home. Halloween haunted houses, Easter hutches, Christmas cottages, school houses and even dog houses are just a few ideas in store for this pan. Cakes can stand up or lay flat. One-mix pan is 8 3/4 x 9 x 3 inch deep aluminum.
Gingerbread House Kits
A quick, fun way to make your creation!
The Proper Attire for Building Gingerbread Houses
Dress for the occasion!
In our house, there are two proper types of headdress
to wear while building a gingerbread house.

You can either wear reindeer antlers...

or the more traditional Santa hat. And usually the kids like both!
Amazing Gingerbread House Ideas
If you're ready to make something grand
Making Great Gingerbread Houses: Delicious Designs from Cabins to Castles, from Lighthouses to Tree Houses
Amazon Price: $6.82 (as of 02/15/2012)![]()
From Amazon: With a five-star inn's executive pastry chef as your personal trainer, you'll become a pastry artist, an architect, and the talk of the party when you bake one of these remarkable yet doable gingerbread houses: Victorian mansion, Coventry cottage, or lighthouse-keeper's wintry home. The basic recipes, patterns, and instructions are simple to follow, inspiring you to make them for your own table and welcomed hostess gifts.
Gingerbread White House
Wow! That's made of gingerbread?!

White House pastry chef Thaddeus DuBois created this amazing gingerbread version of the real White House in 2005.
How to Make a Gingerbread House
Graham Cracker House
Gingerbread Photos
See what others have created
More Family Fun for the Holidays
Have You Ever Made a Gingerbread House?
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Reply
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onlinemba
May 17, 2011 @ 11:20 pm | delete
- Great Lens.Thanks for sharing with us
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raosrinivas
Jan 2, 2011 @ 3:49 am | delete
- What a beautiful art of making, love it. Gives new energy in home. Thanks for sharing.
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skiesgreen
Sep 18, 2010 @ 5:21 pm | delete
- Great lens and nicely presented info. *-*Blessed*-* and featured on Sprinkled with Stardust and also on Disasters at Christmas
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Reply
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kiwisoutback
Sep 11, 2010 @ 10:32 pm | delete
- I made one of these once when I was a kid... thanks for the instructions, I might be using this!
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Shoukei
Nov 21, 2009 @ 3:14 am | delete
- Personally, I have never made a Gingerbread house before. But it'd be cool to make one. Check this one out: http://shoukei-s.blogspot.com/2009/11/gingerbread-castle-food-lovers-fantasy.html It's a man-sized gingerbread house.
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'Tis the Season

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I'm Lisa, a Giant Squid with two kids, two dogs, four cats, and a Squidoo addiction. You can learn more on my lensography.
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