If you have dreams of making a gingerbread house, or a dozen, from scratch this year, then you need to realize that there is a bit of work involved in the process. A single house, certainly, can be done in a day, but the various elements of making your creation from scratch will take up a good amount of time, during that day. If you wish to make several gingerbread houses, you may want to follow my approach, and separate the major steps into a three-day process.
Day 1: Make your gingerbread panels for your houses.
You will need to be organized, more so as the quantity of houses increases. It doesn't hurt to make a chart, indicating the number of each piece needed, and to tally the finished pieces, as they are done. I find that my baking sheets accomodate all pieces for a single house, with a little extra space for other pieces. After a few sets of pieces, I can easily lose track of how many panels have been made.
Another helpful approach is to simply match up the pieces in small stacks, once they have cooled. I use a 3 piece set of gingerbread house cookie cutters, and each house requires 2 of each piece. When the panels cool, I stack them together, so that I can easily verify visually what parts are needed to complete a set.
If your panels are not cooled completely, they may stick together. Cooling is essential. Also, you should try to make an entire house from the pieces rolled and baked together, especially if you cut the pieces in the pan, before or after baking. Use the excess pieces from each batch to create other houses. That way, most of your houses will maintain uniformity among the parts.
When your panels are baked, cooled, and matched, it's time to store them. If you will be moving on to the assembly of your gingerbread designs in the next day or two, a big roasting pan or cardboard box will serve for storage...stacked panels fit nicely. Just cover with plastic wrap, to keep dust out. If you are preparing the panels further in advance, then ziploc bags work well for storage of your pieces.
(Gingerbread Baking Day Article at HubPages)
Day 2: Put your Gingerbread House Together
Putting houses together involves a bit of work, though no oven work is required. Your bases should be assembled, first, which can be as simple as a cutout piece of cardboard, covered in foil, or as elaborate as a fancy cake pedestal.
After your bases are ready, make your royal icing. Spread a layer of royal frosting on the base, to give the appearance of snow, and to provide an adhesive for the bottom of your gingerbread house pieces. If you want really neat gingerbread houses, use a piping bag to apply the royal icing to each side of your pieces. If you don't mind the "snow covered" look, a spatula is a great time saver, or you can dip your panel edges into the bowl of royal icing.
Assemble the 4 walls, first, and allow time for your confectionary concrete to set up. Vigilance is essential, as pieces can slip. If you need a bit of a prop, try using a couple of sugar cubes on the inside of the walls.
Allow 20 to 30 minutes for the icing on the walls to set, then attach roof pieces. Again, vigilance is important, as slipping is common. I use a spatula to coat the back of the roof pieces, and to adhere a little more icing to the top wall edges. Another 20 to 30 minutes for each roof to set, and I pipe royal icing down the middle, where the 2 pieces meet.
If you allow sufficient time for pieces to set, then you can move into the decoration phase. However, when I am doing a dozen gingerbread houses with kids and friends, I save decorating for a separate day.
(Gingerbread House Assembly Day Article at HubPages)
Day 3: Decorating
Whether this is a separate day, or the same, you will want a fresh batch of royal icing. For kids, I make individual piping bags from quart sized freezer ziplocs, filling each about half way with icing, closing, and squeezing the icing into a corner. I cut a very small hole at that corner, for piping. Use bowls or plates to rest these piping bags.
Separate candies, and arrange in the center of the table so all decorators can easily see and reach. With a bunch of gingerbread houses, I split the candies as evenly as possible, amongst two tables, so that there is plenty of room for everyone to work.
Small children will need some supervision, and assistance. Big kids will take quickly to the project. Expect very young kids to do minimal decorating, while older kids may take a couple of hours to get their houses just right. Allow time for the houses to set, before guests leave!
(Decorating Day Article at HubPages)
