A Sweet Merry Christmas

And for Christmas, the taste of childhood!

Who said architecture can't be sweet?

In this post, we built a gingerbread house, mixing the ingredients with all the love and affection that the Christmas season inspires.

May the Christmas spirit last throughout the coming year, filling everyone's hearts with happiness, solidarity, and, above all, LOVE!

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter (about ⅞ cup)

• ⅔ cup packed brown sugar

• ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon molasses

• 5½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• Ground cinnamon, to taste

• Ground ginger, to taste

• Ground cloves, to taste

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ⅔ cup ice-cold water

Icing

• 2 large pasteurized egg whites

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2⅔ cups powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)

• 2½ tablespoons cornstarch

HOW TO MAKE THE DOUGH

Beat the butter and brown sugar for about 3 minutes.

Add the cane molasses and continue beating for another 2 minutes, until you have a smooth, shiny dough.

Add the wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt. Stir with a spatula until you have a sandy dough.

Now add the cold water and mix the dough.

Finish with your hands until the dough is uniform and crumbly.

Gather the dough and form a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Let rest for at least 3 hours.

After resting, roll out the dough to a thickness of 0.5 cm.

Using the molds made from parchment paper, make the 6 necessary parts: 1 front, 1 bottom, 2 sides, and 2 roofs. The rest of the dough can be used to make figurines and other Christmas decorations as desired.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 15 minutes.

When removing from the oven, allow to cool slightly.

HOW TO MAKE THE ICING

Beat the egg whites until fluffy.

Add all the remaining ingredients.

Stir with a spatula until you get a smooth and shiny texture.

With the frosting ready, decorate the parts of the house however you like.

Let the frosting rest for 2 hours to harden (you can put it in the refrigerator to speed up the process).

As a final step, use the remaining frosting to join the parts of the house together.

Assemble using supports on the inside to make the process easier.

Let it rest for another two hours for the frosting to harden.

To finish, decorate the outside of the house.

DONE!

Now just put it in a special place for everyone to see your beautiful and delicious work!