Gingerbread houses

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 250 g honey
• 190 g sugar
• 2 eggs
• 500 g flour
• 1 packet of baking powder
• 5 g ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch of clove(s), ground
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1 egg white
• 1 sheet of red gelatin
• Sweets, various

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours 15 minutes

Heat the honey and sugar in a saucepan on the stove until the sugar is liquid. Be careful not to overheat the mixture, or it will caramelize and harden. Let the honey-sugar mixture cool slightly in the pan until lukewarm. Then, using a mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time. Then combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves and mix into the egg mixture. Spread the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Since gingerbread dough is always a bit tough, have someone hold the parchment paper to prevent it from slipping. Smooth the surface as evenly as possible with a spatula, dipping it in water every now and then. Bake the dough at 180-200 degrees Celsius (350-400 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 20-30 minutes, until it is a nice brown color. During the baking process, cut out a cardboard template, which you will then use to cut out the basic shapes from the dough. For the two walls, cut a rectangle from the cardboard with sides measuring 15 cm and 19.5 cm. For the two roof sides, cut a triangle with sides measuring 18 cm, 18 cm and 16 cm. For the door, cut out a small, upright rectangle measuring 4 cm high and 3.5 cm wide in the middle of the 16 cm wide line of the triangle. Also cut a small circle from the top of the triangle for the window opening. When the dough is finished baking, turn it out immediately. Peel back the baking paper and use the cardboard templates to cut out the two side walls and the roof sides. Also cut out the door and window from one of the two roof triangles. From the remainder, cut out an oblong piece for the chimney and possibly a Christmas tree. It is important to cut the dough while it is still hot, because once it cools, it will immediately harden and break. Then mix the egg white with a packet of powdered sugar; this will be the glue for the decoration. Now coat all sides of the gingerbread house with the glue and put the sides and walls together. Then cut out a small piece of red gelatin for the window, coat the sides, and place it on the window opening. Coat the underside of the door opening and insert the door. Now start decorating the sweets. Finally, stick the cotton wool on the chimney and build the landscape around the gingerbread house. When everything is ready, briefly spray it with water using a spray bottle and sprinkle with powdered sugar. You will also need: 1 wooden board covered with gold foil, cotton wool for the chimney, ideally also 1 little Hansel and 1 little Gretel, and of course 1 witch.