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How to Build the Perfect Gingerbread House

A homemade gingerbread house is always something to look forward to at Christmas. Here’s a great blueprint from our friends at Lindt. A handful of caveats: 1) It takes 90 minutes to make one house, 2) it’s NOT for novices, and 3) you have to refrigerate it overnight.

Ingredients for the dough

• ½ cup water
• 5 ½ tbsp. golden syrup
• ¾ cup honey
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. gingerbread spice
• 1 1/3 cups butter
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 ¾ cups flour
• 6 ½ tbsp. peeled almonds

Ingredients for the frosting

• 2 tbsp small, edible, decorative silver pearls
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 ¾ cups icing sugar
• 3 egg whites

What your gingerbread house will look like.

Gingerbread Steps

1. Bring water, golden syrup, honey and brown sugar to a boil. Whisk in gingerbread spice and diced butter. Stir in baking soda and salt. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Once cool, add cocoa and flour and hand knead until combined. Roll dough into a ball and cover tightly with saran wrap. Cool in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (preferably overnight).
3. Preheat oven to 375° F (190°C), or convection 355°F (163°C).
4. Knead dough briefly on a floured surface and then divide into 3 equal portions. Roll out the dough until it’s 6 mm thick, flouring the surface as needed.
5. Trace and cut out the gingerbread house parts on baking paper. You will need:
   —2 roofs
   —2 sides
   —1 front (cut out a front door that is 8 cm x 5 cm in size)
   —1 back
   —4 chimney walls
   —1 30 cm x 25 cm base plate
   —4 2.5 cm x 5 cm window shutters
   —Fir trees (optional)
6. Cut out gingerbread parts from the rolled out dough.
7. Brush all parts with water and decorate with almonds.
8. Place the gingerbread house parts on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes. Bake small parts around 12 minutes.
9. Let the gingerbread parts cool completely.
10. Icing: Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer, gradually adding icing sugar until stiff.

Assembly Steps

1. Using the icing, attach the front, back and sides of the house to the base plate. Let it dry for 1 hour.
2. Attach the roof with the icing glue and let it dry for 1 hour.
3. Build the fireplace and attach the window shutters with icing and let dry for 1 hour.
4. Finally, decorate the gingerbread house with the fir trees, icing and edible silver pearls. Be creative and have fun!

[More at LindtTheSeason.ca]