Gingerbread House

Woo-freakin-hoo!!! I did it!

A gluten, dairy, processed sugar free Gingerbread house that tastes amazing!
And not just amazing because I haven't had real Gingerbread in so long but truly fantastic!
I ate so much of this yesterday... and again today!

The Gingerbread will not keep as long as a store bought house, not that you'll be able to stop eating it anyway! Choose whichever healthier decorations you like. I used nuts, glacé cherries, dried apricots that I cut into shapes using cookie cutters, coconut and home made jellies. The choices are endless.

I have used this mold but there are many commercially available. Alternatively I have included links to templates that you can print and cut out.

My secret with this Gingerbread house is the 'glue'. Ordinarily Royal Icing would be the cement that joins the walls, but sadly that is not a healthy option. Instead, in a moment of insanity, I decided to use Gingerbread Cookie Dough Frosting. Yep, cookie dough and Gingerbread. Amazing! The frosting needs to be refrigerated to ensure it stays firm and holds the house together. You can also use honey/golden syrup to adhere some of the lighter decorations.

Make this and enjoy!

GINGER BREAD HOUSE
Makes 1 House using mold.
Alternatively bake in a tray and cut house shapes

INGREDIENTS
300 grams Almond Meal
200 grams Arrowroot flour
Dash Salt
1/2 teaspoon Bicarb
1 Tablespoon Ground Ginger
100 grams coconut oil, softened slightly
125 grams dates
65 ml boiling water
300 grams Golden Syrup

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 170C/340F
Place the dates in a small bowl and cover with boiling water.
Allow to sit for a minimum of 20 minutes (the longer the better).
Place the dates in the blender and process on high until a paste forms.
Add the golden syrup and blend on high for 3 minutes.

In a separate bowl lightly whisk together the dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and blend until combined.
Add the coconut oil in small pieces and blend on high until combined (1-2 minutes).

Press the dough into the Ginger bread house mold.
Alternatively bake in a tray and use these templates to cut house pieces.
Templates for Gingerbread houses can be found here and here.
The dough should be approximately 7-10mm thick (1/3 Inch).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from oven, but do not remove pieces from the mold until cooled.

Construct the house using Gingerbread Cookie Dough Frosting (see recipe below) as the glue. Use the frosting on the base of the pieces (to stick to tray) and edges to join walls.
Decorate with dried fruits, nuts, jellies, Marshmallow; using the frosting to adhere the decorations to the walls.
Alternatively, use golden syrup or honey to help stick the decorations to the walls.
Spread golden syrup/honey over the serving tray and sprinkle desiccated coconut to look like snow.
Sprinkle desiccated coconut over the top of the house for the snow.

Place finished house in the fridge to set the frosting.
If you live in a hot or humid environment you may need to keep the house in the fridge so the frosting doesn't become soft.


GINGERBREAD COOKIE DOUGH FROSTING

INGREDIENTS
150 grams Almond Meal
100 grams Arrowroot
90 grams Golden Syrup
65 grams dates
33 ml boiling water
1/2 Tablespoon Ground Ginger
50 grams Coconut oil
1to 2 Tablespoons Whipped Coconut Cream

INSTRUCTIONS
Place the dates in a small bowl and cover with boiling water.
Allow to sit for a minimum of 20 minutes (the longer the better).
Place the dates in the blender and process on high until a paste forms.
Add the golden syrup and blend on high for 3 minutes.

In a separate bowl lightly whisk together the dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and blend until combined.
Add the coconut oil and blend on high until combined (1-2 minutes).

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a kitchen stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
Add 1 Tablespoon of whipped coconut cream and whisk until fluffy.
If the mixture is too dry add more cream.
Place the frosting in the fridge to firm up, ensuring that it is still spreadable.