Log Cabin Gingerbread House

My family has been building Gingerbread Houses every Christmas for as far back as I can remember.  My mom would make all of the house pieces and royal icing, and everyone would get to create their own.  This year, we are changing things a tiny bit.  Instead of my mom making the gingerbread pieces, I am taking on that (rather large, I now realize) duty.  So, being me, I had to do a trial run before I make mass quantities of walls, doors, and roofs.  I am excited to share this family tradition with you. 

This entire house is edible, and the gingerbread tastes really good.  I did not use royal icing to construct my house.  Although royal icing is the strongest and most secure for building, I feel that it is fairly inedible (don't get me wrong, it actually is edible, I just hate it).  I used an edible frosting (that actually tastes good), and my (very heavy) house still stayed together.You can find a great tutorial on gingerbread houses here, including recipes, tips, and templates. 

Gingerbread House

Dough:
3/4 cup (6 ounces) buttermilk
6 Tablespoons (3 ounces) butter or margarine
1 cup (8 ounces) brown sugar
1/2 cup (6 ounces) molasses
1 large egg
5 cups (21 1/3 ounces) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Edible Gingerbread House Frosting:
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
4 Tablespoons hot water

Assorted edible decorations of your choice:  Candy, cookies, chocolates, jelly beans, etc.

Put the buttermilk and butter in a large measuring cup and microwave it until the butter is just melted.  Pour this into the bowl of a stand mixer, and add the brown sugar, molasses, and egg.  Beat this together until combined.  In a separate bowl, whisk one cup of the flour, the spices, salt and baking soda together and add to the wet mixture.  Mix until incorporated, then add the rest of the flour, one cup at a time until you have a smooth, stiff dough (you may need to use a little extra flour - that is okay).  The dough should not be crumbly or sticky.  Divide the dough in half, wrap each portion in plastic then flatten before chilling for at least one hour. 

After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350F.  Take one disc of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a piece of parchment paper to between 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.  Use any gingerbread house template you like, and cut out the pieces in the dough (with at least 1/2 inch between the pieces to allow for expansion in the oven).  Peel away the scraps, and transfer the parchment (with the house pieces still on it) to a baking sheet.  Bake the gingerbread for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the edges are just lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before removing from the parchment to a wire rack.  Repeat this process with the rest of the dough, and your pattern.  Let the baked pieces sit out overnight to help them to harden.

For the frosting, beat the shortening and extracts for about one minute.  Add half of the sugar, and beat well.  Add half of the hot water, and mix well.  Beat in the rest of the sugar, then enough of the remaining water to reach the desired consistency.  Put the frosting in a 16 inch piping bag with a star tip (or a large plastic bag with a corner cut off). 

Assemble the house (except the roof), piping lines of frosting along the inside seams for strength.  Do not put the roof on quite yet.  Decorate the roof while it is still flat on your work surface (I used crushed frosted shredded wheat).  This will provide the least amount of stress on your structure, and help to prevent a cave-in.  After the roof is decorated, decorate the rest of the house however you like.  Put the roof on last, then add any smaller embellishments.  I used Pirouette cookies for the logs, lattice shaped pretzels for the windows and door, and M&Ms for the the top of the roof.  The chimney is constructed with tootsie rolls, and covered with Quaker Oat Squares.  The snowman is sculpted out of gingerbread and coated in white chocolate.  The stone walkway is made from rock colored jelly beans, and the tree is a sucker, covered in M&Ms.  Have fun!  Get creative!  Make it as fancy or plain as you like.  The sky is the limit with these fun Christmas projects.

Enjoy!  -Cardamommy