‘Tis the season for cooking up delicious cookies and gingerbread to enjoy and share with friends and family. Here’s Pechanga Resort Casino’s famous recipe for cinnamon-y, sweet gingerbread for cookies or building the house of your dreams.

And remember to visit Pechanga Resort Casino this season to see the spirit of the holidays come alive with thousands of lights, ornaments, festive trees, and of course, Chef Deden’s holiday gingerbread village and his 10-foot gingerbread house with snowmen friends.

Pechanga’s renowned pastry team, led by Chef Deden, dedicated two weeks to baking and sculpting, followed by five days of assembling the stunning 10-foot gingerbread house. This masterpiece features over 1,500 pounds of handcrafted gingerbread, 150 pounds of chocolate, 500 vibrantly decorated éclairs, and 35 pounds of fragrant cinnamon sticks.

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

Ingredients:

• 14 oz. unsalted butter
• 13 oz. granulated sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 3/4 milk
• 2 lbs, 10 oz. bread flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking soda
• 3 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 & 1/2 Tbsp. ground cloves
• 1 & 1/2 Tbsp. ground ginger

Directions:

• Preheat oven too 350F.
• Combine butter, sugar, corn syrup and milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
• In the meantime, sift together bread flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and ginger in a mixing bowl.
• Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, mix the dry ingredients in on the lowest speed while pouring in the hot syrup mixture.
• Mix until all ingredients are well combined and become a nice paste.
• This is your dough for the gingerbread house, or cookies if you prefer. Pour the dough on a greased or parchment paper-lined sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to cool for a few hours in the refrigerator before use.