En La Casa: Adobe Gingerbread House
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House Party
Gather ‘round to make an old favorite with
a New Mexican twist.
Some Things in New Mexico just naturally go together during the holidays—posole and red chile, a snow-covered dirt road and farolitos, harmonious carolers and small luminaria bonfires. This month, Andrea Clover, the executive sous-chef at the Hotel St. Francis, in Santa Fe, introduces us to another ideal pairing: adobe architecture and freshly baked gingerbread.
Clover’s technique for making an adobe-look gingerbread house is an original project involving the entire family. Her next feat: a scale model of the Hotel St. Francis—in gingerbread—to be displayed in the hotel’s
lobby in early December. To make your own
small-scale version, follow the recipes below.
Gingerbread Dough
6 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
½ teaspoon salt
1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, softened
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 cup dark molasses
1 tablespoon water
Materials Needed for Project: |
Whisk dry ingredients in large bowl and set aside. With electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy and well blended. Beat in eggs, molasses, and water until well combined.
Beat half of flour mixture into molasses mixture until well blended and smooth. Stir in remaining flour. Knead until well blended. If dough is soft, add a little more flour; if too dry, add water.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. (Dough can be made up to 3 days ahead.) Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before rolling.
Create Gingerbread Pieces: Make a gingerbread-house pattern by cutting out shapes from stiff paper, such as a manila folder or baker’s parchment. Cardboard is ideal if you plan on making more than one house, and it’s about the thickness of the actual gingerbread pieces—you can use it as a guide when rolling out the dough.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with baker’s parchment. On floured board or directly on the cookie sheet, roll out dough until about ¼ inch thick. Partially bake gingerbread (about 5 minutes) and remove from oven.
Once gingerbread is cool to the touch, use patterns to cut all pieces out of still-soft gingerbread (see materials list below), then place pieces back in oven and bake until golden-brown around the edges (about 3 minutes).
Remove from oven and place on wire rack. As they cool, prepare the icing.
Royal Icing
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, plus more as needed
2 egg whites
Whisk together until smooth the egg whites and 1 1/2 cups of the powdered
sugar. If you are planning to eat your gingerbread house, and are concerned about the safety of raw eggs, you can microwave the egg white powdered sugar mixture for several seconds (30-40) until the mixture reaches a temperature of 160 degrees, but not higher than 175°F. You can also use pasteurized dried or liquid egg whites. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to the sugar egg mixture. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until the icing holds stiff peaks. If it doesn't form stiff peaks, add more powdered sugar. Place a dampened clean towel over the bowl of royal icing. Keep this towel over the icing to prevent it from drying out while you work with it.
When you are ready to decorate, fill a pastry bag with the icing. If you don't have a pastry bag, you can make your own with a re-sealable plastic freezer bag, just cut off the tip (a small cut) of one of the corners of the bag. Plastic or metal piping tips are available in supermarkets which you can also use with a freezer bag, for more controlled piping. You can also use your own recipe, buy an icing mix, or use a prepared version that can be applied with a pastry bag.
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