Gingerbread Recipe

Equipment:

Base - Plywood, heavy platter or chopping board.  We used a cookie baking tray.  Cardboard cut-see template below.  Decorations ideas Raffaello balls, white choc melts, choc bits, jubes, M&Ms or Smarties, red and white liquorice bullets, red jelly beans, sprinkes (J) strawberry creams.  Anything delicious!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1 cup plain flour

1 tablespoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

185g butter, chopped

1/2 cup golden syrup

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup pure icing sugar

Method:

Combine flours, ginger, cinnamon, sugar and butter in a food processor.

Process until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Whisk golden syrup and eggs together in a jug.

With the motor running, add egg mixture and process until dough just comes together.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface.

Knead gently until smooth.

Cut dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until well chilled.  

Roll dough, 1 portion at a time, between 2 sheets baking paper until 5mm thick.

Remove top layer baking paper.

Using cardboard cut-outs as a guide, cut shapes from dough.  Remember to allow overlap so that you can trim them after they are baked.

Place gingerbread in a single layer on trays.

Freeze for 15 minutes or until firm.

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Line 4 baking trays with baking paper.
Place gingerbread on trays.
Bake, 2 trays at a time, for 15 minutes or until firm.
Cool on trays.

Tips: 
Making a gingerbread house isn’t easy so break it up into steps and that way you won’t get frustrated in how time consuming the process is.  So make the dough the night before you intend to bake.  Bake the house in the morning and come back in the evening to the fun assembly part!  Also make sure that you have enough dough for each piece of the house. 

Assembly:

Trim the pieces of the house to the exact size.
Once trimmed decorate the walls first! To do this:
Spoon 1/2 cup of icing into a snap-lock bag.
Trim 1 corner of bag and pipe windows and doors on house and frost on roof edges.
Allow to dry.
Spoon remaining icing into snap-lock bag.
Pipe a little icing on the back of each lolly and attach to house to decorate.
Pipe icing to join walls together, placing unopened cans of food to support walls until icing dries.
Use icing to attach roof to walls, using cans to support roof (to prevent it from slipping off walls) until icing dries completely.                                                      
Dust roof with icing sugar.

Template: