GINGERBREAD HOLIDAY HOUSE

For the first time this year I decided to try to make a gingerbread house. Honestly, at one point in the preparation I was wondering why I needed this, it was so much work, seemed so delicate. I worked on the house for 2 days, but the end result is worth it. I am not a person who deals a lot with decorating, I lack patience, but  the more experienced ones will certainly not have a problem with the last stage of production-decoration. I recommend you to build your house with your children because their joy is most precious. The dough is suitable for gingerbread cookie biscuits as well.

Ingredients:
Dough

- 380 g of flour (13.4 oz)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 170 g of sugar (6 oz)
- 100 ml of honey (3.4 fluid oz)
- 100 ml of water (3.4 fluid oz)
- 125 g butter (4.4 g)
- 1 full teaspoon of gingerbread spice (if you do not have it, add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon)

Royal icing

- 2 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon of alcoholic vinegar
- about 400 g (14.1 oz) of powdered sugar depending on the size of the whites - to the required firmness

For gluing 

- about 150-200 g caramelized sugar

Preparation:

1. First, put the sugar and water to heat, when they start to boil, leave them to simmer for a few minutes and set the mixture aside. Add the butter to melt.
2. Then mix the flour, baking powder and gingerbread spice in another bowl. Mix. Add the previously prepared syrup, add honey and knead a smooth non-stick dough to combine the ingredients. 
3. Divide the dough into two parts, wrap in plastic foil and leave in the fridge for 1 hour.
4. Then one half is taken out and a 5 mm crust is stretched on a floured surface.
   
   
   
5. Using a template and a knife, cut out the shapes and transfer them to a flat tray lined with baking paper.
   You will need 2 identical fronts, 2 side walls, 2 pieces for the roof and 4 small pieces for the chimney. You can find many templates as you want online. I took mine here.
   
   
    
6. I also took out a few other shapes like gingermen, Christmas trees, hearts, etc. The house I made is about 15 by 15 cm. So the dose is enough even more. With the rest of the dough if you have left, you can make biscuits in the desired shape.
   In the resulting shapes, cut out windows, doors, etc.
   
   
   
7. The finished forms are baked for 15 minutes at 180 C degrees (356 F). You will need to bake 2 times.
   
   
   
8. Once they have cooled down nicely, the gluing part comes. I did that the next day.
9. The best way to glue the house is with melted caramelized sugar. Add about 200 g of sugar to melt and to caramelize. While it is in a liquid state, it is applied with the help of a spoon or one side is directly dipped in the sugar and glued with another piece. You need to work fast because it thickens quickly. Reheat to return to a liquid state. You can also glue the other forms in front of the house with caramelized sugar.
   
   
   
10. For decorating
    Whisk the egg whites, add 1 tablespoon of alcoholic vinegar and about 400 g of powdered sugar. The mixture should not be liquid, it should be thick enough so you can easily draw with it. You also need to have good tools for drawing shapes.
    The decoration is up to you, I painted around the windows, the door, I put a lot of icing on the roof, I glued 2 hearts on the front side with caramelized sugar, you can also use food colors and paint the house more. This was enough for me. In the end I put a candle inside and sprinkled powdered sugar.
    
    
    Let the holidays begin!