Tip Tuesday: Making a Perfect Gingerbread House!

Making a Gingerbread house is a great Holiday tradition, but few people are making them from scratch.  Many craft stores and super stores these days sell kits you can put together. However, the gingerbread always seems to be stale and tasteless. In the past few years I began making my own gingerbread house from scratch only to find it really wasn't that hard! With these tips below you too can simply make a gingerbread house. 

 

1. Google templates for an easy print at home option to cut out your pieces. Also, you can purchase cookie cutters that are designed to create roofs and house sides. 

2. Gingerbread dough can be frozen up to a month ahead and baked pieces can be stored in a cold area for a week or two. This way you can do it in stages and not all at once. 

3. Royal icing is the "glue" that holds the house together. It should be stiff enough to holds its shape, but flexible enough to be spread. To keep freshly made royal icing from hardening place a moist towel over the bowl. 

4. To color your icing use gel colors, for liquid colors can thin out your icing. 

5. Crushed hard candies can be placed in the window holes and baked for an extra minute or two at the end to make beautiful "stained" glass effect. 

6. Plan ahead! When making your house make sure you have a sturdy board and allow plenty of time for your house to set prior to decorating. Cans are great support while the house is setting. 

7. Shredded wheat and other cereals as well as Necco Wafers and non-pariels make great options for roofs.

8. M&Ms, gumdrops, candy canes, chocolate covered sunflower seeds(lights!), big red(cut for brick!), smarties, peppermints, chocolate chips and coconut(snow) are great for decorating. 

9. Don't forget a landscape walk way(crushed candy, rocked shaped chocolates), trees(upside down ice-cream cone with piped green royal icing), snowmen(stacked marshmallows with pretzel sticks), and light posts(candy-cane sticks).   

10. Most of all enjoy!! 

11. If all this seems to much let The Cake Boutique do the prep work for you we have homemade kits with all the supplies needed to make your own. Call us to order or pick up yours 856-418-1226.