Gingerbread house

[Anonymous]

Where can I buy a ready made gingerbread house that's really delicious? Most of them (especially the kits) are gross.

[Anonymous]

You can't.

Gingerbread for gingerbread houses must be very stiff and not soft. It also has more cinnamon and spices than you would normally use so that the gingerbread smells good.

House gingerbread is not meant for eating.

You can easily find a recipe online for edible gingerbread, and decorate flat shapes. It will taste good, but will not work for a good, stable gingerbread house.

Additionally, gingerbread houses are traditionally stuck together using royal icing. Royal icing is made from raw, uncooked eggs. It must harden at room temperature for anywhere from 30 minutes in really dry weather to overnight.

You might be comfortable eating that, but I never am.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't.

Gingerbread for gingerbread houses must be very stiff and not soft. It also has more cinnamon and spices than you would normally use so that the gingerbread smells good.

House gingerbread is not meant for eating.

You can easily find a recipe online for edible gingerbread, and decorate flat shapes. It will taste good, but will not work for a good, stable gingerbread house.

Additionally, gingerbread houses are traditionally stuck together using royal icing. Royal icing is made from raw, uncooked eggs. It must harden at room temperature for anywhere from 30 minutes in really dry weather to overnight.

You might be comfortable eating that, but I never am.

Thank you - this is very interesting!
I might skip the house and put out some decorated gingerbread men instead

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't.

Gingerbread for gingerbread houses must be very stiff and not soft.

By your logic, there are no ginger snaps that taste good, which is plainly false.

[Anonymous]

Are there any brands of graham crackers that you like? Because these are readily available and can support a candy house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't.

Gingerbread for gingerbread houses must be very stiff and not soft.

By your logic, there are no ginger snaps that taste good, which is plainly false.

We make gingerbread houses. Very large and elaborate gingerbread houses. We have done this for years.

Gingersnap dough is too fragile to make a gingerbread house. It also does not have as much cinnamon, cloves and ginger in it as gingerbread house dough.

[Anonymous]

Last year I bought one for my in laws from here: http://solvangbakery.com
and it was beautiful and yummy. And expensive, but they loved it.

[Anonymous]

Gingerbread from scratch is tricky. You have to find a recipe that rolls out more easily even if it's just for gingerbread people.

decorating houses are fun. I'd just buy a kit from Ikea.

[Anonymous]

They have some gingerbread house kits (not premade but includes instructions/mix etc) by dancing deer at Balduccis in Bethesda. I saw them yesterday and almost bought one since I like their products. It was 17.99.

[Anonymous]

TJs is reliable. Like the idea of making and decorating gingerbread cookies along with building the house.

[Anonymous]

This recipe is good. It's stiff, but not rock hard. Nice taste.
http://www.marthastewart.com/356531/swedish-gingerbread-house

You can use pasteurized egg whites or meringue powder in the royal icing if you're worried about salmonella. The recipe above uses caramel syrup to hold the structure together.

We make and eat gingerbread houses every year and it's definitely worth the time to bake them - tastes sooooo much better than the store-bought kits.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you can make safe royal icing by using powdered egg white. We get it in a can in the baking aisle--Deb El Just Whites.

Hmm, we haven't made a gingerbread house in a few years. Now I want to. Time to hit the Wegman's loose candy aisle!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have some gingerbread house kits (not premade but includes instructions/mix etc) by dancing deer at Balduccis in Bethesda. I saw them yesterday and almost bought one since I like their products. It was 17.99.

I made this once. Never again. The gingerbread might have been edible to begin with, but not after I gave up on the royal icing and resorted to glue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last year I bought one for my in laws from here: http://solvangbakery.com
and it was beautiful and yummy. And expensive, but they loved it.

Thank you so much for this link! Just looking at their website page is inspiring re the holidays!
!!