Gingerbread houses come in all shapes and sizes, but have one thing in common — they are a holiday tradition that dates back to 16th century Germany.
The Resort at Squaw Creek, for example, has been assembling a life-sized gingerbread house in its hotel lobby for the past 11 years. But because most of us unfortunately don’t have the industrial-sized kitchen needed to create such a masterpiece, we are forced to resort to the standard, equally as festive, at-home creations we first made as children and continue to enjoy well into adulthood.
Below are a combination of recipes submitted by Chef Adrian Frutos, the brains behind The Resort at Squaw Creek’s Magical Memories Gingerbread Village, along with a caramel — gingerbread house glue — recipe from trusty craft guru, Martha Stewart.
Royal Icing
INGREDIENTS
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp egg whites
3 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp cream of tartar, to make the frosting shine
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until fluffy. Then slowly begin adding powered sugar and water in small quantities until you receive your desired consistency. Finally, beat mixture on high for four minutes or until mixture fully thickens. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
*It is helpful to transfer icing into a pastry bag for easy piping. Don’t have a pastry bag lying around the house? Look no further than your kitchen drawer: A plastic sandwich bag, with a slightly cut-off corner, will do the trick. Just keep in mind that the larger the hole, the thicker the stream of frosting.
Gingerbread Cookie
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups shortening
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup molasses
3 1/2 Tbsp warm water
1 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 Tbsp baking soda
DIRECTIONS
Cream together brown sugar, shortening, salt, and all purpose flower. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Roll onto a baking sheet and cut into desired shapes – walls, roofs, chimneys, windows, doors. Always remember to measure twice, cut once. Also, don’t forget to cut little holes for the windows and doors; these pieces can later be used as shutters and the chimney. Bake at 370 degrees for 12 minutes. Let the gingerbread fully cool before attempting to assemble.
Caramel, aka The Glue That Keeps it All Together
INGREDIENTS
1 1/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
DIRECTIONS
Bring sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan; reduce heat and simmer until thick and light brown, about 10 minutes. Use immediately, dipping cooled house edges into caramel, allowing excess to drip off, and joining house edges. It is best to let the caramel fully cool before attempting the decoration process.
DECORATIONS
Now that your house is assembled, you’re ready for the fun part. Below is a list of some of our favorite gingerbread house decorating materials.
• Wheat cereal or Kit Kats for roof shingles
• Marshmallow snowmen
• Upside-down sugar cones, frosted or not, for large pine trees
• Pretzel sticks as siding for a log cabin feel
• Jelly beans as chimney bricks
• Shaved coconut for snow
• Candy cane support beams
• Starburst Windows
