Gingerbread Houses

Gifts for the girls! THE cutest little gingerbread houses with snow and fairy lights, of course.

Gingerbread

150g butter
60g caster sugar
60g soft dark brown sugar
60g golden syrup
360g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Fruit Polos for the windows (crush these with a rolling pin - they don't need to be dust!)

Preheat oven to 180c
Line a baking tray with baking parchment paper.

Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup. Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger and cinnamon into a large bowl. Add the melted butter and syrup and mix.

Knead the mixture until it comes together (add a little water if it is too dry) so that the dough is soft and pliable, but not sticky. Wrap with cling film and chill for 30 minutes (the dough, not you).

Roll out on a floured surface until 1/2cm thick. Cut out the pattern for your house - I used this one Gingerbread House Heaven

To make the stained glass windows, put your house pieces on to the baking tray and cut out little windows, hearts, circles or whatever and put a few pieces of crushed Polo into the hole.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking tray (this is important, leave to cool ON THE TRAY, otherwise the windows will come out).

Cover a small cake board with Royal Icing and while it is still wet assemble the house using Royal Icing to glue the walls together -You want the front and back walls outermost.  (I used Silver Spoon Royal Icing sugar, just add water). Leave to set, then add the roof pieces.  

I added roof tiles using chocolate fondant icing and a square frilled cutter, cutting the squares in half for the tiles. Glue to the roof using royal icing.

I used a chocolate mini marshmallow for the chimney

Using a leaf nozzle, pipe snow/icicles to the front of the roof and add little coloured sweets or sprinkles for the lights. 

When you have finished decorating sprinkle the whole thing with icing sugar  for snow (I used a tea strainer)

I made four houses out of this mixture, but you could do one and use the rest for cookies for the tree. I had a bit left over and made these 

Happy Christmas!