Pechanga Executive Pastry Chef, Deden Putra’s, Gingerbread House Recipe:

Ingredients: 

14 ounces unsalted butter

13 ounces granulated sugar

1  cups corn syrup

¾ cup milk

2 pounds, 10 ounces bread flour

1 T baking soda

3 T ground cinnamon

1 ½  T ground cloves

1 ½ T ground ginger

Directions: 

Combine unsalted butter, sugar, corn syrup, and milk in a medium pot. Bring it to a boil over medium heat in a large saucepan.

In the meantime, sift together bread flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and ground ginger and put it in the mixing bowl.

Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, mix the dry ingredients on the 1 speed while pouring the hot syrup mixture. Mix this until all ingredients well combined and become a nice paste. No stand mixer? Use a wide wooden spoon and mix by hand thoroughly as your pour in the hot syrup.

This is your dough. Pour the dough on a greased or parchment paper-lined sheet pan, cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough cool down for a few hours in the fridge before use.

Roll out the cold dough to ¼ inch thick. You can now use cookie cutters to make cookie shapes and bake them. OR, try your hand at cutting out the structure of a house. Two long sides and two short sides, then two long pieces for a roof.

Bake the cut out cookies or gingerbread pieces at 350 F on a greased or parchment paper lined sheet pan for about 15 to 25 minutes or until you have a nice dark brown in color. Check cookies/pieces at the 15 minute mark. Let the pieces cool down for a couple of hours (best is over night at room temperature.)

Make a royal icing by mixing powdered sugar and egg whites with a little lemon juice to assemble the pieces and decorate the gingerbread house.

Have fun and Happy Holidays!