On her website ToriAvey. Learn more about Tori and The History Kitchen. No confection symbolizes the holidays quite like gingerbread in its many forms, from edible houses to candy-studded gingerbread men to spiced loaves of cake-like bread. The term is now broadly used to describe any type of sweet treat that combines ginger with honey, treacle or molasses.
Ginger root was first cultivated in ancient China, where it was commonly used as a medical treatment. From there it spread to Europe via the Silk Road. During the Middle Ages it was favored as a spice for its ability to disguise the taste of preserved meats. Henry VIII is said to have used a ginger concoction in hopes of building a resistance to the plague. Even today we use ginger as an effective remedy for nausea and other stomach ailments. Chinese recipes were developed during the 10th century and by the late Middle Ages, Europeans had their own version of gingerbread.
The hard cookies, sometimes gilded with gold leaf and shaped like animals, kings and queens, were a staple at Medieval fairs in England, France, Holland and Germany. Queen Elizabeth I is credited with the idea of decorating the cookies in this fashion, after she had some made to resemble the dignitaries visiting her court. Elaborately decorated gingerbread became synonymous with all things fancy and elegant in England.
Gingerbread houses originated in Germany during the 16th century. The elaborate cookie-walled houses, decorated with foil in addition to gold leaf, became associated with Christmas tradition. Their popularity rose when the Brothers Grimm wrote the story of Hansel and Gretel, in which the main characters stumble upon a house made entirely of treats deep in the forest.
But it's made more for decoration then deliciousness. If you're craving gingerbread, make our Gingerbread Cookies , and enjoy them to your heart's delight. If you're feeling overwhelmed, break the process down into steps. Here's a suggested timeline. You can use any candy you want as long as it fits on the house, but if you're looking for suggestions, here are some popular candies, plus a few non-candy items, to decorate a gingerbread house.
With 6 cups of flour, how you measure the flour makes a difference. Lightly fluff up the flour in the container, use a cup measure to scoop up flour, then use a blunt knife to level the flour. Do not pack or tamp down the flour in the cup. This recipe is best for making a gingerbread house, not cookies. For cookies, I prefer my gingerbread cookie recipe.
If you have pets in your house, keep them away from the gingerbread house during all phases of construction and decorating. Non-gingerbread-house-building-participating adults and children should be informed to keep their hands off the house as well!
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Set aside. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy and well blended. Beat in the eggs, molasses, and water until well combined.
Beat half of the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until well blended and smooth. Add in the remaining flour and continue to mix until well blended and a soft cohesive dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a slightly floured work surface and knead by hand 5 or 6 times until the dough is smooth and combined. If dough is too soft, add a little more flour.
Divide the dough in half, pat into disks, and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight. You can make it up to 3 days ahead of time.
Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before rolling out. Create a gingerbread house pattern by cutting out pieces of stiff paper like that of a manila folder or cardboard.
I like cardboard because it's almost as thick as the gingerbread house pieces will be, and you can create a house model easily using the pieces. The following link will take you to a printable template that you can use to make these houses.
Make sure that you use a ruler and check the templates after they print out. For many people they print out smaller than the scale noted, so you would need make your own templates using a ruler. Have several flat cookie sheets ready, preferably ones that you know will not warp in the oven heat. Spread parchment paper on a large flat surface for rolling. Dust the paper lightly with flour. Add a little flour to the surface of the dough, and check for sticking as you roll it out.
If it sticks to either your rolling pin or the rolling surface, dust with more flour. If the rolled out dough is very soft, you may want to freeze it for an hour before cutting out the patterns.
Rub a little flour over the surface of the dough. Place the pattern pieces on the dough, as many pattern pieces as will fit on the dough.
Use a small sharp knife to cut out the pattern pieces from the dough, wiping the knife surface clean frequently. Depending on how soft the dough is, you may need to use scissors to cut the parchment paper. You can cut out the patterns through the dough and parchment paper, placing the dough pieces with the paper directly on the cookie sheets.
If you are not using parchment paper, you may need to use a large metal spatula to transfer the dough pieces to a greased cookie sheet. Space the pieces on the cookie sheet an inch apart from each other. If dough pieces stretch during the transfer process, push them back into shape.
You can cut out a door and window s at this point, or you can wait until after baking, soon after the pieces have come out of the oven while the cookies are still warm.
Rotate the cookie sheets halfway through the baking for more even browning. Remove the sheets to racks to cool, about 15 minutes. While the pieces are still slightly warm, lay the pattern pieces over them and use a large straight chef's knife to trim off any parts of the pieces that have through cooking spread beyond the pattern. Remove pieces to cool directly on racks to cool completely.
You can also use pasteurized dried or liquid egg whites. 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. Keep this towel over the icing to prevent it from drying out while you work with it. When you are ready to mortar or 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. The tradition of decorated gingerbread houses began in Germany in the early s, supposedly popularised after the not-so-Christmassy fairytale of Hansel and Gretel was published in Inspired by the story, German bakers began to craft small decorated houses from lebkuchen , spiced honey biscuits.
The origins of gingerbread are not precise. Ginger root was first cultivated in China around 5, years ago, and was thought to have medicinal and magical properties. When its usefulness as a preservative was discovered is unclear, but some food historians say that the first known recipe for gingerbread dates from around BC in Greece.
Others trace its history to AD, when Armenian monk Gregory of Nicopolis is thought to have taught Christian bakers in France how to make it. Later references include a gingerbread guild in Germany, probably formed in the 15th century to protect the rights of certain bakers.
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