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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

  2. pick me, pick me! a kitchenaid stand mixer has been on my christmas list for years and santa just hasn’t brought me one… 🙂

  8. Shut the front door! I NEED one of those beauties sitting on my counter. And it would be just in time for all of my holiday baking!!! Awesome giveaway

  13. Oooh, a 7-quart mixer is EXACTLY what we need to start our baking business!! NOTHING like a Kitchen-Aid…particularly if it is Candy Apple Red. It’s like the sports car I never got, only for the kitchen. 🙂

  17. Ooooohweeee! I am crossing my fingers! All I want for Christmas is a candy apple red KitchenAid mixer! Love this post : ) you are incredibly talented

  18. I would love to win. My daughter and I made a gingerbread house yesterday. My 3 year old has almost ate all the candy off of it already!

  20. Nothing would be SWEETER for me & my friend, Nicole Hartford, than making our sweets with a KitchenAid mixer!!!

  31. I would love to win this 7 quart mixer for my daughter who took a 2 year course and recieved her baking and pastry degree. She is really putting my 5 quart mixer through a stress.

  32. Is there a giveaway for your adorable gingerbread house??? 🙂 so very very cute… GREAT JOB! I would settle for one of the mixers though 🙂

  35. OOps I meant to thank my daughter, Paige Faunce, for telling me about this contest. She is an amazing Birthday Cake maker and deserves to win this contest too.

  36. OOOOOhhhhh – I SO would LOVE to have a 7 qt. mixer! Oh, the possibilities of multi-batch cookies and cakes! Thanks for the chances to win!

  37. Great giveaway for all of us bakers who would just love to get our hands on a Kitchen Aid… I’d like a candy apple red one please :)!!

  38. Forgot to mention Rebecca who pointed out this wonderful opprotunity. We’d both love a kitchen aid!!

  40. Living with a medical condition that produces a calcium loss in my joints (hands, wrists, hips, knees, ect) means that something as simple as holiday baking can be a real challenge. I love the idea of being able to use a stand mixer to make things easier for me!
    I love the idea of the Gingerbread house and the minatures! That is just too adorable for words! I’m betting your munchkin is going to be so thrilled with it she breaks the sound barrier squealing with delight. 🙂
    I love baking and cooking and I miss being able to just go in the kitchen and whip something up like I used to. Recently, my daughter found me a bread machine to use as she knows how I love to make home made bread. It’s great, but having a stand mixer that could process dough even better would be outstanding!
    And may be encourage my daughter to explore more baking and cooking techniques!
    Kitchenaid is the best!
    ME

  41. I’m going to culinary school for baking and pastry next fall. So I need this more than anything! 🙂

  42. I would absolutely…. positively….LOVE winning this!! I am new to cake & cookie decorating & I only have a hand mixer :0( So this would be a blessing indeed!!

  43. My grandboys would love gingerbread houses , I bet. I would love a Kitchenaid mixer in any color. I have Liked everything and follow on Facebook but I dont tweet. Thanks for the chance to win.

  44. I have always wanted one of these…I have gotten to borrow one of my friends for baking and making tamales, and it is amazing how it really simplifies everything! I want one SOOOO BAD!!!

  46. My wife would love me forever if I won a mixer. Then I could play Xbox while she made me good food. The mixer is super quiet right?

  47. I LOVE my Kitchen Aide mixer <3 I love baking for my family and friends. Having another mixer would allow me to start my bakery.

  48. Wouldn’t it be a very Merry Christmas to be the lucky winner of one of these! Hope Santa remembers that I have been a good girl this year!

    Love your site! Very pretty and informational.

    Thank you!

  49. I would absolutely…positively… LOVE to win this. I am new to cake & cookie decorating & I only have a hand mixer :0( So this would be a blessing indeed!!

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