Wishing you all a very Happy New Year with this rather belated (or perhaps extremely early?) Gingerbread House. My wishes are that 2015 be filled with great health, happiness and the love of those you hold dear. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for the wonderful support and kindness shown over the past year for myself and Gather and Graze – it’s been a fabulous year of blogging and I truly appreciate all the friendships that have been formed and those that have been strengthened over the past twelve months.
There were so many Christmas treats in the Gather and Graze pantry and fridge that our Gingerbread House has sat de-constructed in a tupperware container for just over a week now, as we’ve worked our way through various shortbreads, fruit cake, biscotti, chocolate bark, rum balls and mince tarts. Ohhh my ever-expanding tummy! I’ve taken the approach that it’s better late than never and have spent an hour or two this afternoon constructing and decorating our annual Gingerbread House with my family. Always a fun and happy time!
Perhaps the following recipe will come in handy next year… I’m recording here in the most part for my own reference, as it produced a wonderful gingerbread, just the right texture for building a house… a recipe that I’ll be using over the years to come.
Happy New Year!
Margot.xx
Gingerbread House | Gather and Graze
- 250g/1 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 160g/⅔ Cup Raw (Caster) Sugar (or Brown Sugar if you prefer)
- 1 Free-Range Egg
- 170g/½ Cup Golden Syrup (or Molasses if you prefer)
- 600g/4 Cups Plain Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Ginger
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Cloves
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and golden syrup, then sift and stir in the remaining dry ingredients until completely combined and a dough forms. Separate the dough into 3 portions (approx 400g each) and place in the fridge to rest for at least an hour.
Pre-heat oven to 190°C.
Roll out the dough (one portion at a time) and press into a lightly greased Gingerbread House mould*. Place back in the fridge for about 15 minutes before baking for approximately 15 mins.
Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing to a cooling rack and rolling out the next portion…
When all portions are shaped and baked, use royal icing (2 Free-Range egg whites mixed together with 500g Icing (Powdered Sugar) in a piping bag to join the pieces together to construct the house. Decorate with the imagination and excitement of young children!
* I purchased a ‘Gingerbread House Mould’ when we lived in the USA, which makes life extremely easy when it comes to shaping the dough into the right size for baking. I’ll update this post soon with the dimensions, for those who might like to form a template to replicate the dimensions of our house.
Gather & Graze 
Super cute!!
Welcome to Gather and Graze Gena! Thanks so very much for your kind comment. Cheers, Margot
Cool Margot. ❤
Thanks Fae! 🙂
What a gorgeous gingerbread house Margot! Happy New Year!!
Thanks so much Naina! Wishing you much health and happiness for the New Year!
I had planned to make a gingerbread house this year….whoops last year but I just ran out of time. Well actually I procrastinated a bit too long and then I spent too much time looking at other peoples amazing gingerbread creations on the internet – when I asked Mr LG how he felt about constructing a gingerbread Notre Dame he banned me from the internet haha 🙂 I hope you had a wonderful New Year Karen xx
There are some incredible and very elaborate creations out there Karen. So impressed that you were contemplating a GB Notre Dame – I hope you consider making it this coming Christmas instead! Plenty of time to come up with a template for it! 😉
Happy New Year! M.xx
I wish I could make one but I think they are way above my skill level – the amount of detail in them is amazing 🙂
If anyone can do it, it’s you Karen! I have no doubt at all that your skill level is right up there with the best of them! I’ll give moral encouragement from afar. 🙂
Hi, Margot. Best wishes to you and Stuart for the New Year. I trust it is a great year for you and the family. Cheers Dominic and Katie
Thanks so very much Dominic & Katie! Happy New Year to you too. Look forward to having a Christmas drink and catching up with you both sometime in January. Cheers, Margot
Gingerbread house mould!? And I thought everyone created their own templates. Typical response from someone who studied 3d design for three years at art school! Ouch. Anyway, love the idea of decorating this. Must’ve been great fun. I’m wondering how much is left! And I recognise those sweets in the roof. I was never keen on liquorice as a kid so I used to eat the fondant bits only. Took forever! Taught me patience, I suppose. 🙂
I know Johnny… it’s cheating isn’t it!? Though so much faster and easier to make each year. Only once have I cut out a template to make a Gingerbread House and it was all a bit ramshackle… just as well the royal icing covers up all manner of dodgy walls! There’s still a little bit left, though I think all the sweets have been pulled off by the little people! The thinly sliced liquorice allsorts were pretty yummy on there – luckily no aversion to liquorice in this house… 🙂
Lovely Margot, better late than never is right, and who says Gingerbread Houses are just for Christmas? I like your New Year’s one, and speaking of…. you must already be IN the New Year! Best wishes.
Very kind of you Loretta – thank you! Yes, it’s almost 1am here in Canberra now… Wishing you a very happy New Year too!
Oh wow Margot that is beautiful, next year I want to make one. Looks so wonderful, a real accomplishment, great to look at and even better to eat. Happy New Year and I look forward to more and more from you in 2015!!
Thanks Suzanne – they’re such a lot of fun to make! The symmetrical-loving side of me has to take a step back each year and button her lip, to allow my 2 boys to have free-reign of the decorating… 🙂 It’s always a fabulous sight to behold when they’re done!
Looking forward to a great 2015 of blogging with you! Happy New Year dear Suzanne!