Gluten free gingerbread houses for Christmas

Ah-h-h, gluten-free gingerbread.  It smells so delicious, and tasted even better, but constructing a gingerbread house was a whole other experience.  While not perfect the kids enjoyed making and decorating them, and that is what is important.  We decided to host a gingerbread house party, and so we invited a few of our celiac friends.  Everyone brought gluten-free candy to decorate.  Although this was our first attempt at making gluten-free gingerbread houses, we learned a great deal with this experience.   Fortunately, we kept plenty of notes for next year.  The main idea I would like to pass on is to give yourself ample time to make the dough, allow time to refrigerate dough (at least 1 hour and preferably 24 hours), when constructing the houses use cardboard forms to help keep the the house from tumbling down, and finally, heaps of patience will go a long way.  Being prepared is key here.  But remeber to have fun with the kids.  We learned that the kids really didn't care a whole lot what their houses looked like, they just wanted to decorate them, and ultimately eat them.  So don't forget to make extra pieces for everyone to enjoy eating while decorating their houses. 



This recipe was adapted from a Joy of Baking recipe. It can be used for gluten-free gingerbread houses or for gingerbread men. Make sure to roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch and use gingerbread forms to cut out house pieces. You can also get templates at Martha Stewart. 





3 cups gluten-free cookie flour (recipe to follow)



1/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature



*Note: To prevent the molasses from sticking to the measuring cup, first spray the cup with a non-stick vegetable spray (like Pam).







Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups confectioners



or







Bake for about 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of the forms. Small ones will take about 8 minutes, larger ones will take about 12 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.



Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.



Makes about 3 dozen cookies depending on the size of cookie cutter used or 1 gingerbread house.





Place royal icing in a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip (No. 5 or 6). Pipe to outline windows, doorway, and edges of chimney, including top and base. Outline the four joining points of house, sides, and top of roof. Decorate roof: Starting at the top, pipe a horizontal line of icing in a scallop pattern, making curves in even intervals; pipe another scalloped line so the peaks join the scallops above them in the middle. Pipe icicles around edges. Dust roof with confectioners' sugar.