Dessert Wine Gingerbread House

Sift together flour, spices, baking soda and salt.

Beat together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and molasses and beat until smooth. Stir in flour mixture until fully incorporated. Wrap dough and chill until firm, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Measure your bottle of wine to ensure your templates are the right size, lengthen or shorten wall lengths and roof lengths as necessary (I recommend leaving an extra 1 ½ inch room)

Divide dough into 2 and on a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a rectangular shape, a generous ¼-inch thick. Place the entire piece of rolled dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cut 2 rectangles using the 3 by 14 inch templates, and pull away excess dough (saving for later). Bake the 2 rectangles for 18-20 minutes, until they just start to brown. Allow to cool. These are the 2 roof tiles for your house.

Repeat Step 4 using the 3 by 14 inch rectangle template again, cutting 2. You can cut little windows out of these if you’d like – these are the 2 lengths of wall for your house.

. Roll the scraps of dough to the same ¼ inch thickness. Place down the 3.5 x 1.75 inch template and rest the bottom edge of the triangle against the 3.5 inch top of the 3.5 by 3 inch template – you should have a “house shape” now. Cut 2 of these and bake for 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool.

Place egg whites in a bowl and add 6 cups of icing sugar. Beat with electric beaters (or in a mixer) for about 4 minutes. Gradually add more icing sugar until you get the desired consistency for piping (thick enough that it holds its shape when piped, but not so thick that it’s hard to squeeze out of the piping bag.)

Stir in glycerine – this prevents icing from cracking when it dries and keeps colours bright, but is not essential for success.

Place plastic wrap directly on surface of icing to store.

You will probably find it easier to ice the separate pieces of the house before it gets glued together. Using a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip, pipe whatever your heart desires – swirls look nice on the roof (to simulate swirling snow), you can draw windows, doors, flower boxes, shutters etc. Have some fun with it!

Let icing dry for 2-3 hours before assembling.

Pipe royal icing on the bottom and one side of one wall length. Pipe icing on the bottom and side of one end-piece (house shape). On your selected base, place the icing wall and end piece and stick them together. Hold for a few minutes and let go. You can place something in the inside corner of the iced angle as it sets, such as a glass or tin can (just it case it might lean).

Repeat Step 3 with the other wall and end piece. Let structure dry for 2-3 hours before continuing.

Insert the bottle of wine into the house. You can fill any gaps with tissue, to prevent the bottle from rolling.

Pipe top edges of walls and place the 2 roof pieces on top. Pipe along the top seam of the roof and pipe in any visible gaps. Hold for a few minutes before letting go. You can prop up the roof with popsicle sticks as it sits to set. Let dry for 4 hours before moving.

For the effect of snow, lightly dust the gingerbread house with icing sugar and revel in your accomplishment!