Recipe: Gingerbread House History and How to Build a Gingerbread House

"During the nineteenth century, gingerbread was both modernized and romanticized. When the Grimm brothers collected volumes of German fairy tales they found one about "Hansel and Gretel", two children who, abandoned in the woods by destitute parents, discovered a house made of bread, cake and candies. By the end of the century the composer Englebert Humperdink wrote an opera about the boy and the girl and the gingerbread house.

At Christmas, gingerbread makes its most impressive appearance. The German practice of making lebkuchen houses never caught on in Britain in the same way as it did in North America, and it is here still that the most extraordinary creations are found. Elaborate Victorian houses, heavy with candies and sugar icicles, vie in competition with the Hansel and Gretel houses, more richly decorated and ornamented than most children could imagine in their wildest dreams.

Gingerbread making in North America has its origins in the traditions of the many settlers from all parts of Northern Europe who brought with them family recipes and customs. By the nineteenth century, America had been baking gingerbread for decades.

American recipes usually called for fewer spices than their European counterparts, but often made use of ingredients that were only available regionally. Maple syrup gingerbreads were made in New England, and in the South sorghum molasses was used.

Regional variations began occurring as more people arrived. In Pennsylvania, the influence of German cooking was great and many traditional Germany gingerbreads reappeared in this area, especially at Christmas time.

The North and Midwest of America welcomed the Northern and Middle Europeans. At Christmas it is still very common in the midwest to have Scandinavian cookies like Pepparkaker or Lebkuchen. Often one can find wives holding "coffee kolaches" (coffee mornings) at which European ginger cakes still reign.

Nowhere in the world is there a greater repertoire of gingerbread recipes than in America -there are so many variations in taste, form and presentation. With the rich choice of ingredients, baking aids and decorative items the imaginative cook can create the most spectacular gingerbread houses and centerpieces ever.

THREE GINGER COOKIES:

1 stick unsalted butter, soft
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt
3-4 pieces crystallized ginger, cut into small pieces

Cream the butter, sugar and fresh ginger together until smooth. Add vanilla. Mix ginger, flour, baking soda and salt together. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture just to combine. Form dough into log about 2" square, wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm - about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Slice log into 1/4" slices, top each with a sliver of crystallized ginger pressed into the center. Bake until lightly golden-8 to 10 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

Here is a Link with instructions in how to build gingerbread houses:

Recipelink.com Gingerbread House Workshop