
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).

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



Andrea Garner sent me from her post on Facebook
I would like to thank you for this opportunity and would wish and love to win a black kitchen aid mixer,hope u pick me!!!
I would love to win this for my mother.
I love all that you do!! You are amazing and I want to win the Kitchen Aid Mixer!!!!!!!!
I’d love to win the mixer!!
Would LOVE to win this!!
This would be the best gift! You have put me in the mood to decorate gingerbread houses!
I’m keeping my fingers crossed
Where did you get all the stuff for the doll house?
am loving your gingerbread houses! and i desperately need a new mixer as it has been nearly a year that i have been without one! Hard to get all your baking done when you either have to borrow a mixer or do it by hand! good luck to all who enter!!!
beautiful mixer and beautiful houses!!!! my kitchen is woefully understocked so I can’t really do any Christmas baking this year…
Winning this would SWEET!!!
Good luck to everyone but I really want to win. I told myself last Christmas that I would have one this Christmas to help me with all of my baking, candy making, etc. but because of the economy (our business is slow), I haven’t been able to purchase one yet. That red one is THE BOMB!!
I would LOOOOOOVE to win this KitchenAid stand mixer! I have been wanting to get a new one for a while.
Just found this site! Love it, and an extra bonus to see the giveaway of a 7Qt KitchenAid Mixer WOW how fun!
Hi Sweetopia,
I just started my home bakery and am very excited at the prospect of being able to own one of these state of the art KitchenAids and baking like you do 🙂
The Royal Icing looks like it will be soooooper easy with the KitchenAid. Congratulations on this great addition to your kitchen – let’s hope I win 🙂
Happy Holidays.
Meeta
Wow great giveaway! Pick me pick me! 🙂
I would LOVE to win this mixer!
I could totally use a new stand mixer. Please pick me 🙂
Ummm…yea I’d TOTALLY love to win! 🙂
Would love to get this mixer!
can’t believe you’re giving away kitchenaids again! you’re awesome, and I totally want one!
Thank you for the AWESOME giveaway opportunity!!! Would LOVE to win the candy apple red mixer to replace my hand mixer! Hope i win!!!
I would love to win this!! I love your page it really inspires me!! Thanks so much!!!
Ohhhhhhh….meeeeeeee…….I LOVE it.
Oh, I would be so thrilled to win this prize!!!! Can’t begin to say what a thrill it would be.
Would love to win this for my neice.
It would be amazing to have a new Kitchenaid mixer sitting in my kitchen!
Thanks for the amaizing tutorials keep em coming girlie!!
I love my KitchenAide 5 quart mixer but it would be awesome to have a nice, new, red 7 quart:)
KitchenAid that is!
I want one in candy apple red! Breads, cookies, cakes galore!
I would love to be a winner!
So need a mixer like this
Would love to win, I’ve really wanted to get one for my Mom but couldn’t afford one.
Want, want, want this, thanks so much for doing this.
I would so love to win, have been wanting one and in Red ohh lala
Would love to win this, It would help greatly with my annual production of 50-60 cheesecakes.
Love that mixer! Amy Rouse sent me.
You have no idea how much I would love to win this mixer!.!
I’d love to create memories with my own children now that my own mother is gone. Miss those days!
I’d love to win this mixer for my daughter-in-law…it would help her business tremendously! My KitchenAid mixer is almost 30 years old, and still runs like a charm!
I would so enjoy a 7qt mixer! I love the silver and the red! I’ve been enjoying your blog for a long time. These gingerbread houses are beautiful!
I LOVE YOUR HOUSES!
Fingers crossed!!!
I’d be thrilled to win. 🙂
I like it in red the most
I want this so bad ! It will great in my kitchen
I would love to win a black one! I have the 5 quart mixer but was used to my 6 quart mixing bowl before! Pick me, Pick me! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
I have wanted a KitchenAid mixer for so long, my husband got me a cheap mixer and it is a piece of junk! I was using it today and I am pretty sure I fried it, I couldn’t get it to shut off and it had a funny smell, so I could really use a much better mixer! Thanks for the opportunity to win one!!!