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Christmas Gingerbread Houses

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Christmas Gingerbread Houses

Nothing says Christmas like a gorgeous gingerbread house. Emily Hutchinson shares her tips for creating your own festive house this holiday season!
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Christmas Gingerbread Houses

Emily Hutchinson 

Yield: Makes 24 cut-out cookies 

 

Ingredients:

1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon plus a big pinch (2.25 grams) salt

3/4 cup (165 grams) (firmly packed) dark brown sugar

1/4 cup (50 grams) white granulated sugar

1 large egg (50 grams)

11/2 teaspoon (6 grams) pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup (85 grams) unsulphured molasses

2 teaspoons (4 grams) ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

3 cups (375–390 grams) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling 

1 teaspoon (5 grams) aluminum-free baking powder

 

Directions:

1. Cream butter and salt in a stand mixer with paddle attachment for 30 seconds.

2. Mix in both sugars. Cream for 1 minute on medium speed.

3. Crack your egg in a small bowl to prevent shells in your dough and add it into the mix along with the vanilla. Cream together about 30 seconds on medium speed to fluff the butter and sugars together. You don’t need to aerate butter and sugars much.

4. Add molasses. Mix just until incorporated.

5. Mix or sift in dry ingredients (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, flour, and baking powder) in a separate bowl with a whisk. Then, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.         

6. Mix on low speed. The dough will start pulling off the sides once it’s combined. This dough will seem slightly stickier than the classic sugar cookie dough.

7. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap, scoop dough on top, and form it into a disc shape to allow dough to chill quicker. Wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes for dough to firm up a little to prevent spreading. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or prepare to lay bare on a restaurant-grade aluminum baking sheet.

8. Flour your surface. Roll dough out to 1⁄4 inch thick minimum. For gingerbread house, roll thinner. Rolling between two sheets of parchment paper is effective, as well. If you run your hand across the top of your rolled dough, you can feel any bumps or slightly raised areas. To get even dough, roll slowly up, down, and then to the sides evenly. Cut your cookies into desired shapes

9. Place on a baking sheet 2 inches or more apart, and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the cookie puffs up in the center and looks matte. For gingerbread house, bake 8-9 minutes to brown edges so the cookie is more crisp than soft. 

10. Once baked, let sit for 1 minute on the cookie sheet to firm up. Then transfer to a cooling rack.

Gingerbread House Royal Icing 

 

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons meringue powder 

 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar

3-5 Tablespoons cold water

 

Directions:

1. In a glass bowl, combine dry ingredients.  

2. Add 3 Tablespoons of water and mix well.

3. Add more water as necessary, 1 Tbsp at a time to reach a thick consistency like thick peanut butter or toothpaste. If it’s too thick, add a tiny amount of water. If it’s too runny, add more powdered sugar.

4. Put icing into a piping bag or freezer Ziplock baggie & cut off a corner pipe and assemble gingerbread house.

 

Bake with Love, xx Em

 

 

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