Name: Gingerbread House
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 12 min
Yield: Yield: makes one house (8 inches wide x 10 inches long x 14 inches tall) plus fence, two trees, and Hänsel and Gretel
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: Hirschhornsalz and potash are both German leavenings for gingerbread; substitute 3 teaspoons baking powder if potash and hirschhornsalz are not available (see note 1 at end of day one’s directions).; 8 ounces whole blanched almonds (to press into dough for shutters and shingles before bakingblanching technique); Other ground spices like ground star anise, ground fennel, mace, and cardamom are also complementary in small amounts.; 3 eggs; 1½ teaspoons (7 grams) potash (potassium carbonate); Zest of 1 big lemon (about 4 teaspoons); Juice of 1 big lemon (about 6 tablespoons); 12 ounces ground almonds (technique if grinding yourself); 2 teaspoons ground ginger; 19 teaspoons (30 grams) lebkuchengewürz (German gingerbread spice) (two 15-gram packets are best); Use colorful candy, small cookies, shredded coconut, sprinkles, dried fruit, and nuts. Good candy choices include candy corn, gummy bears, candy-coated chocolate, hard candies, licorice, and gumdrops. Chocolate nonpareils make nice shingles for covering or accenting the roof. Food coloring for the icing to decorate pine trees or to paint clothes on Hänsel and Gretel is a nice touch.; 5 cups powdered sugar; For royal icing (to cover roof and decorate):; 10 egg whites; 4 pounds powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 4 cups powdered sugar; 3 egg whites; For royal icing (to assemble and decorate):; 4 egg whites; For royal icing (to cover board):; ¼ teaspoon cloves; ¼ teaspoon nutmeg; Food coloring, optional to dye icing as desired (liquid food coloring thins icing; adjust consistency as needed by adding more powdered sugar); 1 teaspoon (4.6 grams) hirschhornsalz (in English, called hartshorn or ammonium hydrogen carbonate); 12 to 13 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (protein 3 grams per ¼ cup) (start with 1 cup less; add more as needed when working and rolling out the dough); 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature; ¼ teaspoon salt; 3 cups sugar; 12 to 13 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (protein 3 grams per ¼ cup) (start with 1 cup less; add more as needed when working the dough in step 3 and rolling the dough in step 6)

Preparation info

Yield: makes
one
house ( 8 inches wide x 10 inches long x 14 inches tall ) plus fence, two trees, and Hänsel and Gretel

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
15 min

Appears in

German Heritage Baking

By Heidrun Metzler

Published 2024

About

The Gingerbread House is both a recipe and an activity. It is great fun for a crafty baker, but if you don’t enjoy crafting, it may get frustrating. The recipe, assembly, and decoration all require investments of time—several hours of it. But the work is enjoyable; you will feel like a baker, a master carpenter, and a great artist all in one. And when finished, the wonder makes it worth the while. The Gingerbread House can stand for a month, so you can make it after Thanksgiving and keep it