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Gingerbread House Royal Icing {Video} & KitchenAid 7-Quart Mixer {Giveaway!}

pink-gingerbread-house

6 batches of my gingerbread recipe…

4 batches or 4 kg of royal icing…

and goodness knows how much candy later…

is what it took to make the 7 simple and whimsical gingerbread houses & gingerbread dollhouse facade I had planned to make this year.

I’m so happy I just managed to get them all done!

They’re why I haven’t posted in a while, but I wouldn’t have managed to even make them as fast as I did without my new, 7-quart bowl-lift KitchenAid mixer.

Sigh. It is a thing of beauty.

Not only is it pretty to look at, it’s pretty powerful too. It had no problem mixing the 6 batches of gingerbread I mentioned earlier. Amount-wise, with this mixer, I only had to make the dough twice! (3 batches at a time). For the royal icing, I only had to make 2 double-batches and still have leftover icing which I’ll use for decorated cookies.

To show you how I made the icing in my new mixer, I finally made another video – here’s a how-to on making royal icing for your gingerbread houses:

{Video} How to Make Royal Icing for Gingerbread Houses

Click here if you can’t see the video.

If you’d like to make royal icing for your gingerbread house(s), and would like printable recipes, I’ve included a single and double batch recipe here for you, as well as a classic royal icing recipe made with egg-whites especially for those of you who can’t find meringue powder. The first two recipes listed here are adapted from cakecentral.com’s user Antonia74. The recipe made with egg whites is adapted from the author of Gingerbread for All Seasons, Teresa Layman.

You can find a template for a gingerbread house and a video on how I put the house together, HERE.

I bought most of my candy at Old Thyme Confections HERE.

Royal Icing Recipe for Gingerbread Houses (One or Two Batches)

Click here for the Printable Recipe

Royal Icing Recipe Made with Egg-Whites

Click here for the Printable Recipe  THE PRINTABLE RECIPE HAS A TYPO! IT SHOULD SAY 1 KILOGRAM (KG) ICING SUGAR, NOT 1 pound (lb).

Classic Royal Icing Made with Egg Whites Sweetopia

A quick note about royal icing – if you’d like more information on how to store it, how long it lasts etc., please click here and for a video on find royal icing consistency for decorating cookies, please click here.

It was completely worth the one hour’s drive to Toronto to buy the mixer (I had to drive there to get one as it’s a new model and the residential model is exclusively available to Williams-Sonoma right now. The NSF commercial mixer is more readily available. You can find it on Amazon here), as the amount of icing I went through for the houses and the facade was really something!

You might be wondering by now what a ” gingerbread dollhouse facade” is. In fact, I didn’t know what to call it, so I just kind of made the name up. I know you’re not supposed to play with your food, but I couldn’t resist making a little gingerbread “house” that our H-banana could play with this Christmas. Truth be told I had wanted to make an all edible interior too, but time-wise, that was just not going to happen. I can’t wait to see how she reacts.

And another confession, I’m not sure who’s going to enjoy her gift more, her or I. Lol. I think I’ve fallen in love with miniatures.

I mean, really. Those little cookies are barely 1 cm long.

And oh my goodness, a little sieve and whisk! I want to try sifting flour with it! (No, haven’t done it yet… stress the yet).

By the way, there’s a tiny version of something in the ‘gingerbread dollhouse facade’ that I’ll possibly be giving you for Christmas – except it will be adult size.  Can you guess what it is? Chances are, if you’ve read the title of this post, you already know 😉 .

You got it!

Ultimate 7-Quart KitchenAid Mixer Giveaway!

To celebrate the Holiday season and help you with your Christmas baking, I am hosting a giveaway for TWO 7-quart Ultimate KitchenAid Mixers!

You’ll be able to chose from the following available colours:

I am so excited and thankful that KitchenAid is sponsoring this giveaway for you! Good luck!

Here’s how to enter:

You have at least five chances of winning – each option below gives you one chance, and you’re about to see how there are even more possibilities.

Either use Facebook or your name and email to enter the contest below.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

The contest is not running on Facebook and although I appreciate your comments on my Facebook page, those comments will not be entered into the draw. Again, you must leave your comments here.

*

Announcing the Winner of the *TWO* 7-Quart KitchenAid Mixers!

First of all, thank you to all of you who entered; I was delighted and touched by your sweet, funny and passionate responses.

I really WISH I could give away as many mixers as there were entries; you dedicated bakers and sweet-tooths deserve it!

There is one winning comment number though, and it is:

Congratulations!!

The winner is Nicole Irwin Cross, entry #16,754!

Please contact me with the best way to reach you so that you can claim your prizes.

Thank you to ALL of you how entered! Blessings to you this holiday season!

xo,

Marian

Don’t miss out!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. I grew up with my mother not wanting to bake any cookies that need be rolled out – too much of a mess! Only this year (and at 41yr!) did I purchase a decorated cookie as a present and started baking them myself. My thought about these cookies were initially that they look “old” and really amateurish – until I discovered your website. I even secured a contract with a chain store for the sale of the cookies in our area. Obvisouly I cannot take the credit as what I practise originated from you and I therefore always refer everyone to your website. I can also recommend the book from Eddie Spence, The Art of Royal Icing if you want to do more than just flooding. My mixer is suffering under the load (your fault!! as you have the most inspiring website!!) and I would love to replace it with the Kitchenaid. I am residing in South Africa and am willing to pay the shipping costs.

  7. Hi, i have entered every way possible!! Id love to win a kitchen Aid mixer as iv wanted one for sooooooo long! iv asked santa but i think even hes been hit by the credit crunch!! After a horrible year this would make my christmas 🙂 Random selecter machine pick me!!!!!

    Thank You and Merry Christmas 🙂

  8. Your Gingerbread houses are amazing and you’re very talented.winning this Kitchenaid mixer would be a real treat on this christmas.Good Luck to me 🙂

  10. Of course I would LOVE to win. My Sunbeam just died….like literally on my last batch of cookies for the Holiday Market season. I have been saving my pennies for a new Kitchenaid.I LOVE YOU KITCHENAID!

  11. What a great gift this would be for someone that loves to bake. I have wanted one of these for a long time. Sure wish you would pick me, It would make my year and everyone else’s, as I would be baking like crazy. Thank you!
    Happy Holiday’s and a very good New year!

    Ebonee S

  14. I would LOVE to win this, looks absolutely gorgeous as well as perfect for ALL my baking needs! <3

  15. What beautiful houses!! I’ve never made my own, only used kits. I may just have to add this to my list of edibles to tackle!

  16. I would absolutely LOVE to win this…I am hoping and praying that I will win!!! Thanks for such a great giveaway!! Merry Christmas!

  20. I am a fan on your FB page. I have been using a hand held mixer for the longest but I manage because baking and decorating is what I love to do. It brings me so much joy and purpose. The KitchenAid would make things much easier; that mixer is a work of art.

  21. Wow! Your gingerbread houses are amazing! I have never made one other than the graham-cracker type. You have shown me something I have been missing – must give it a try.

    I would love to win the red mixer! Another wow!

  23. I would LOVE to win one of these. I love my mixer as it works well but its downfall is the limitation of dough it can handle at one time, which takes up more time when I am trying to get a large order out the door.

    Your Gingerbread house idea for your daughter is beautiful…love your work.

  27. I would love to win this mixer. I have the regular size and I find that i am always having to do two batches of everything.

  28. I hope my wife doesnt see my name, because I would love to surprise her with a kitchenaid for christmas… shes been wanting one for a long time and I would love to make her dream come true…

    Thanks!

  30. I love your blog, so helpful and informative. My old mix master is just not coping with the amount of work I am throwing at it these days. I am just starting my own cake decorating business at home and winning this amazing mixer would really help on that journey.

  31. What a great mixer!!! And I love your gingerbread houses, they are all wonderful! I would love to be entered into the contest for the mixer.
    thanks!

  33. I would love a chance to win one of these stand mixers. I have a small one and I think its time to upgrade!

  35. this amazing kitchen aid would totally change my baking experience! It has a corner waiting for it in my kitchen 🙂
    thanks for all the lovely tutorials, they’re great!
    Suzie T

  38. What an awesome giveaway. Oh my I love all of your work so much! Where do you find the time with a full time job?

  40. i have the same name as your bunny. I have always found that funny. I think that the gingerbread houses are wonderful and i would pay for the shipping to my home!

  41. Winning one of these beauties would make Christmas complete for me this year. The candy apple red is so stunning! Please Santa… I hope you’re reading this in case I’m not a winner… 😀

  42. I have a spot picked out already for the mixer. You are such a talented person. I love your site!

  43. Candy Apple Red please! (I NEED this) I’m going to try royal icing for the first time this year…trying to up my game. Thanks for the tips!

  46. Beautiful, beautiful work Marian. I love everything that you do. You are a very talented woman. I hope you havve a Merry Christmas.

  48. My sister-in-law Lynn Sutherland told me to check out this site. What fun website. I would love to have to have a kitchen aid mixer, it would make life a lot easier. I also love the red color. Santa are you listening? or maybe reading this? <3
    Thanks

  49. I love to bake, and have ALWAYS wanted a KitchenAid mixer. It would make baking sooo much easier. And, one of these beauties in my kitchen would look amazing. What a great stocking stuffer.

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