SIMPLE GINGERBREAD HOUSE

⎨Simple gingerbread house⎬

This is probably the simplest gingerbread house that I've ever made. But you know what?? I really really love it!

To make it, I used a pre-made gingerbread house kit I bought at the famous Swedish store.

If you're new to gingerbread houses, I'd recommend that you get one of these kits that you just have to assemble and decorate, instead of baking the gingerbread yourself.

First of all, decorate the walls of your house. Prepare royal icing following an online recipe, and keep it fluid for this look.

I actually had just moved and thrown away all my baking and piping tools, so I had only a disposable piping bag. I cut the tip in order to make a very small hole, and I used just that to decorate this house. All the other houses I made, I decorated with a proper metal piping bag tip, so they are of course more precise...

Once decorated, the walls need to be placed aside to completely dry (overnight).

The next day, you're ready to assemble the house.

To assemble the house in these pictures, I used edible baking glue for gingerbread houses, that I purchased together with the kit. Do not use royal icing for this purpose, because it's very likely that your house collapses!!

Baking glue is very sticky, so will keep your house together even if you're not very crafty or a complete beginner.

Follow the instructions for the glue, you basically have to warm it before using it, and I do that by placing the tube in boiling water for 5 minutes or so (turn off the stove, of course!).

Once you've assembled the house, let it solidify for at least one hour before finishing off with royal icing on the roof.

Again, your house may collapse if the structure isn't solid enough.

When you're ready to decorate the roof, prepare other royal icing, keeping it a bit less fluid.

Decorate the top of the roof, the chimney, and all around the roof.

Place some chocolates as shown in the photos while the royal icing is still wet.

Use royal icing also to cover the imperfections where the walls join one another.

Bird's eye view of my gingerbread house...

Let it dry overnight before sprinkling it with flour, to resemble fresh snow. 

Do not use icing sugar, because it tends to melt if your home- like mine- is warm! :) We don't eat our gingerbread house, so that's not a problem. If you eat it, probably it's better to sprinkle it with icing sugar just before serving it...

Hope you'll give this a try, and if so, let me know how it went!!

Much love,

Monica xoxo