Decorated gingerbread house with cookies and candy

About this drawing

A decorated gingerbread house looks like a toy, but building one is a small feat of engineering. To keep the walls from sagging, bakers use a construction dough that is very different from soft cookie dough.

Construction gingerbread has little or no leavening, so it bakes flat, firm and crisp. The pieces are cut from cardboard templates before baking: two side walls, two gable ends shaped like a house and two rectangles for the roof. If the edges puff up in the oven, bakers trim them while the dough is still warm so everything fits tightly.

Royal icing is the glue. This stiff mix of egg whites and powdered sugar sets almost like mortar. Walls go up first and are propped with cans or jars until they hold on their own. The roof panels, the heaviest pieces, are added only after the walls are dry.

Then comes the fun part. The same icing pipes on snowy eaves, window frames and icicles and holds gumdrops, peppermints and candy canes in place. Many families spread the project over a weekend, and towns across the country host gingerbread contests and displays every holiday season.

• gingerbread house
• holiday baking
• christmas candy
• gingerbread