During the Christmas season, the most wonderful centerpieces are often homemade gingerbread houses. But I fail to see why this should be a tradition strictly cast over the Christmas holiday! Looking for a spooky, edible centerpiece for your Halloween party? Try this delicious Halloween Gingerbread House recipe out! It’s sure to be a hit!
I’m going to split this recipe into 2 parts - the actual gingerbread recipe, and then the decoration of your house. Before starting, print the following template for the Gingerbread house and cut out the pieces - I don’t advise designing your own until you’ve made at least one house, and understand what’s required to make it stand strong.
A-Line Gingerbread House Template: www.pickyourownchristmastree.org/gingerbread/GingerbreadHouseTemplates.pdf
Gingerbread Recipe
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 cup corn syrup (light or dark)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- Rolling pin
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the corn syrup, brown sugar, and shortening in a saucepan and heat on medium, stirring constantly until the shortening melts. Place all of the other ingredients, only using 1 1/2 cups of flour, in a large bowl; then add the warm sugar mixture, stirring until all of the ingredients are well blended. Gradually stir in the remaining flour by hand to help make a stiff dough. Use the dough right away, while it is still warm. If it starts to crumble, place it in a warm oven for 1 to 2 minutes until it softens a bit. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Lay the pieces you cut from the template on the warm dough, and cut around the edges with a dull knife. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool COMPLETELY before attempting to make your house!
Building Your Gingerbread House
- Assorted candy and cookies
- Royal icing
- Parchment paper aluminum foil, or wax paper
- Lots of jars, soup cans, or anything heavy (read on, and I’ll explain a bit!)
Start by laying a bead of icing down along all the seams of the sides, walls and roof. Stick bottoms of sides and walls to your choice of aluminum foil, or parchment or wax paper (which I’ll just refer to as "base" from here on out). Add roof pieces. Use lots of icing, and as it dries, add more if gaps appear. surround with the jars or soupcans, or whatever you chose to use, to keep the structure straight and unmoving while it dries. In a warm and not humid room, it will be hard enough in 5-6 hours.
Now decorate your house! Use icing like its glue, on the roof and any other area you want to stick your candy, and also as a decorative trim and outline if you wish. Be creative! I enjoy using candy corn for the roof, black licorice for the roof trim, crushed un-iced chocolate cookies for the "dirt" surrounding the house, and cocoa flavored rice cereal for a path leading to the house. I also enjoy making little "tombstones" out of vanilla cookies cut in half, and maybe even a marshmallow or two for a ghost! You can use pumpkin shaped candies for a pumpkin patch…go nuts! With all of the wonderful Halloween candies out there, the possibilities are endless!
