Spooky Gingerbread House
Yup, you read that right- Gingerbread Houses aren’t just for Christmas anymore!
Now, cookie houses can be a year-round thing; thanks to the multi-seasonal silicone molds my mother found. They’re from Pampered Chef, and they’re phenomenal. When we took a trip to my parents’ a couple weeks ago, we put these babies into action and had a spooky gingerbread house decorating contest!
Now - how does one make a cookie house?
First; you need the molds. Or, if you’re super ambitious, you can design and cut everything by hand. But since we’re not on Great British Bake Off, and we can take some liberties, I’d recommend getting the base house and seasonal molds.
Next, make & bake your cookie dough! Gingerbread Houses don’t have to be made out of Gingerbread - you can use any base dough you like. However - I’d really recommend sticking with the classic, as you want a snappier dough that will hold its shape for construction. I’m team soft cookie all the way… except when it comes to building a house out of it!
After you bake your dough, let it sit uncovered for a time - preferably overnight. Remember, you want your cookie to be firm so your house doesn’t sink!
And then… decorate!
For decoration, it’s crucial that you make the proper icings to really give your house a chance to hold up! You want to make sure to use or make royal icing; as it hardens quite nicely, allowing your house to stay together. Using royal icing also ensures that your decorations remain affixed to your house as well.
To make Haunted Gingerbread Houses, both our teams (my parents and my fiance versus my two siblings and I - and yes, the teams were chosen at random!) had unlimited access to spooky sprinkles, giant gummy spiders, candy corn & pumpkins, all the royal icing one could want in white, red, black, and purple, the seasonal cookie shapes from the mold, and fall colored sixlets.
Here’s how our houses turned out!
Honestly; we couldn’t decide who’s house was better. The giant spiderweb on the roof or the spider eating its way through the pumpkin patch? The candy corn eaves or the blood dripping from the walls? It was impossible to pick.
What mattered most is that we all had an absolute blast making our Haunted Gingerbread Houses,
and I can’t wait to see what we come up with for Christmas!
xoxo, Sarah
