Pepparkaksstuga
Of all the many traditions that are part of a Swedish Christmas few seem as essential as the annual construction of the gingerbread house. Designs may vary, but normally all decoration is done with white icing. The following recipe, the traditional one, works extremely well. It may be halved, but avoid substitutions. You’re likely to be disappointed in the results.
Start by preparing a pattern, preferably transferred to stiff paper or cardboard. If you’re a novice, use the simplest design. Once you’ve had some experience, you may want to try a more intricate one. If experimenting with a new design, do try to put it together using cardboard to be sure it works.
Prepare the dough several hours before you want to use it, even a day or more. It keeps well in the refrigerator, if covered.
Whip until just forming soft peaks:
360 ml heavy cream
Blend in and stir for 10 minutes:
15 ml grated lemon rind
600 ml dark brown sugar
30 ml baking soda
300 ml dark syrup
15 ml ginger
Add and work by hand (by hand, not by mixer… Lars has killed two KitchenAid mixers learning this lesson) until smooth:
2.1 ℓ flour
Cover and refrigerate or leave in cool place overnight. Turn out on greased baking sheet, and roll out quite thin. Lay pattern over and cut around it, using a sharp knife. Brush with water and bake in a slow over (120 degrees) for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. While still soft and warm, lay pattern pieces over the baked pieces, and trim with a sharp knife, or razor blade, if needed to get accurately shaped sections. This is also the best time to add any finely cut details. When pieces can be easily handled, transfer to cookie rack to cool completely.
When cold, join pieces together by dipping edges in sugar melted in a large skillet. (This part should only be done by adults, and be sure to work carefully and keep ice water close at hand in case a bit of molten sugar drips on you.)
“Build” the sides of the house first, placing it on a piece of foil-covered cardboard or other base. Join the roof and fit it to the gables. Top with chimney. A tuft of cotton can simulate smoke. Apply decorations using ordinary confectioners’ sugar icing.
Extra dough may be rolled out on a floured cutting board and made into regular cutout cookies. An assortment of animal-shaped cookies, decorated with white icing, traditionally surrounds the house. A nice “modern” touch is to put tiny lights inside the house so they can shine through the windows and open door. Some years we’ve made whole “villages.” Lars often builds a church, complete with “stained glass” windows, made with crushed hard candies.
He put pieces of wax paper under the window openings and arranged the crashed candy in the patterns he wanted.
The gingerbread house is always an important part of our holiday decorations. It’s often in the front hall to great visitors and put a smile on the face of any small child. (We often add a little gnome figure peering out a window.)