Tiny Gingerbread Houses for Your Cup

With these cute, tiny gingerbread houses, your next cup of hot cocoa will taste even more delicious!

It's a fun and easy baking project, also suitable for kids – they can go wild with decorating :D

Even though holiday season is over – there's still winter and hot cocoa time! For me that's an good excuse for more cookies!

Give it a try and surprise guests that drop in for a nice cup of hot something!

Step 1: Cutting the Parts

I made my cookies with some spare dough I had frozen in for this particular project - so unfortunately no pictures of the dough making process :-/

LUCKILY there are many talented bakers in the maker community - so check out this instructable:

Gingerbread cookies by Canucksgirl

once you have prepared your dough:

- print out the "Gingerbread" PDF and cut the parts in paper or cardboard.

- work the dough with your rolling pin to an even sheet of 1mm

- make sure it doesn't stick to your surface, by adding flour or using some cling foil.

- use a sharp knife to cut the different parts - of course you'll need 2 of each part for 1 house!

-place the parts on a covered baking plate

Step 2: Door Making and Baking

once your done with the cutting, you'll have to make the "door" - the gingerbread house holds on your cup thanks to that space.

use a straw or other object with a diameter of ~5mm, punch a hole and cut straight down with your knife.

heat your oven to 225°C (437 °F)

and bake your cookie-parts for 5 to 6 minutes.

Step 3: Royal Icing

royal icing is that snowy-stuff that glues everything together,

tastes super sweet and makes great decorating for your tiny houses!

only two ingredients:

egg white

confectioners/icing sugar

mix the egg white with small amounts of sifted icing sugar until the consitency forms semi- stiff peaks ( they will collapse after a short moment - that's in my opinion good for glueing the house-parts together, for decorating you'll add a little more icing sugar until you get stiff peaks that stand.

Step 4: Make Piping Bags

Once you've mastered this easy piping bags you'll be very happy with the piping result!

it's easier to check the pictures to understand the folding steps.

- cut a square from parchment paper ( 15 to 20cm is a good size)

-fold it diagonally in half ( to a triangel shape)

- cut the fold with a sharp knife -now you have 2 triangels in the same size

- please check the 3rd picture to find out about the different corners ( ABC )

- fold A in a rolling movement onto C ( don't press it down - only secure with your fingertips)

- fold B in a rolling movement over the "A-roll" and place it on C from behind

- adjust the piping tip opening to desired size - aim for very small

- fold all corners in to secure

- fill the bag with icing and close it.

Step 5: "Glueing" the House Parts Together

Pipe some icing onto the houses entrance sides

stick the walls on it and the other house entrance side.

add icing on the upper parts of the walls, and entrance sides

place the roof sides on it, and secure the in the middle with more icing.

-set aside and let dry, while your "glueing" the other houses.

Step 6: Decorating

add a little more icing sugar to your royal icing - until it's quite stiff and the peaks last.

fill a new piping bag and go wild.

pipe icicles around the roof edges, hearts, stars, dots whatever your creative mind suggests to you!

i used some star and heart shaped sprinkles but prefered the plain white, snow look :)

Step 7: Surprise Your Beoved Ones With Hot Cocoa and a Tiny Gingerbread House

I can tell my husband was delighted when he got a cup hot cocoa

and was very surprised of this cute gingerbread house in bite size :)

I hope you've been inspired to make some of these!

greetings

Mimikry