Hansel and Gretel Real Estate Agency - LebkuchenHaeusle

Here at Hansel & Gretel Real Estate, we pride ourselves in bringing you in touch with your inner child.

Our homes are meticulously constructed from the finest quality Gingerbread and raised on the sturdiest of Styrofoam foundations.

Each home is state of the art, with crushed Lemon Drop windows as well as being well lit by LED so even in the deepest darkest forest you can find your way home, alleviating the need for a trail of small stones or bread crumbs.

Quality is of paramount importance to us, so we strive to find the finest candies for the facades. All of which is applied with utmost care by those possessing the most extraordinarily vivid of imaginations.

All spackled, grouted and affixed with our own special Crusting Butter Cream Icing formula.

So whether you fancy a snow covered Chocolate Non-Pareil roof,

Or a rainbow M&M walk way.

We have a Lebkuchenhaeusle that is just right for you and your inner child.

Let's view some of our current models shall we?

Here we have a classic woodland cabin...... With it's roof of Chocolate Necco Wafers all topped with spires of Spearmint Starlight mints and Pretzel sticks. This home is well lit via battery operated LED lights to save on your electric bill. The large Boston Baked Bean Fireplace is located between the two expansive south facing Lemon Drop windows. Window boxes of Peppermint straws and a Gum Drop lined M&M walkway complete the look. The garden area has been planted with Lime fruit slices atop pretzel sticks. Adding to the hominess...

Also recently listed is this château in the snow..... The Roof is a rainbow of Necco wafers topped with a Starlight Mint and Pretzel widows walk. Peppermint Straw window boxes hang below each Red Hot window casement. The Boston Baked Bean Fireplace is located in the rear of the house near the kitchen. Warm and Cozy with an LED light glow, this home is located at a slightly higher elevation so be prepared for repeated dustings of snow (confectioners'). The climate of the home seems to foster the growth of Lime Slice/Pretzel trees within the Gumdrop/Candy Cane fenced yard. All in all a beauty to behold.

Finally, for those who enjoy chocolate most of all, we have this little bungalow, just beaming with deliciousness. The slightly larger lot is completely fenced in Candy Canes so your ginger pets will remain safe. Roofed in Chocolate Non-Pareils interspersed with Red Hots all topped with a starlight mint. Each windows box, for your planting pleasure, is constructed of a Mini-Charleston Chew. The delightful M&M walkway has been color lined into a rainbow, and Gum Paste Palm Trees have sprouted in the front yard along with some Spearmint Leaf Bushes closer to the home. Like all our homes, this one is complete with Lemon Drop windows and LED Lights.

So come on down to Hansel & Gretel Real Estate and let us help YOU to find the Gingerbread Home of your Sugar Plum Dreams....

Mangia!!

And Merry Christmas To All! May your holiday be filled with Joy and Laughter!

Lebkuchenhaeusle - Gingerbread House 101

I am late with this, but it has taken some doing to get all the photos compiled and edited (multiple cameras) and get this typed up... But there is still time before Christmas if you would like to take on a Gingerbread house. If you have already tried your hand at making the dough, don't worry, it will still be OK in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks. It's time for the first two steps of Gingerbread house construction. Creating the panels and "gluing" it together.

In the Gingerbread Recipe post, I made reference to the use of shortening instead of butter for this. Primarily because shortening contains no water, unlike butter, and makes for a slightly dryer baked product. Thus the gingerbread house will last longer than if it is made with Butter, but won't taste nearly as delicious.

There is one other draw back to using shortening other than flavor. It makes the dough a lot tougher to work with. Much more delicate and crumbly than if butter is used. So if the house will only be around for about 1 week or two, I would say go ahead and use the butter. Not that you are going to want to eat it if it has been sitting around collecting dust for 2 weeks, but in case you have little ones running around and the temptation is just too great, you at least want it to taste halfway decent.

If you need your house to last longer, or if you are in a particularly humid environment, I recommend going ahead and using the vegetable shortening.

OK, Before we get into the thick of this we need to make some candy glass... No, I am not going to go through the process of "Poured Sugar"; We are going to cheat.... Grab some Old Fashioned Lemon Drops..... (Although yellow LifeSavers will work too)...

and place them in a Zip-Loc bag, then beat the heck outta them with a meat mallet, until pretty uniformly crushed. Then set them aside for now.

Dig out a pattern... This is the one I use. Sorry that it's not on graph paper, but I didn't want to delay this post any longer...

Grab 1 square of dough from the refrigerator, a big tub of flour, a large rolling pin, a pizza cutter, a sharp knife, 2 large spatulas and a pastry brush... I use 2 - 1/4 inch dowels so I can set my pin on them as the dough gets thinner (this is how I cheat to make sure that the dough is completely even in thickness so none of the pieces burn in the oven) I know they make spacer rings for rolling pins, but it's another one of those "old dog new trick" things. I have the dowels (for years now), I have always done it this way, so I have just never bothered to purchase any. :)

Roll out the dough, trying to keep it as square as possible,

Lay out the pattern and "pizza roll" as much of it as possible, using the sharp knife to finish off the corners.

Flour your spatulas REALLY well and gently move from your working area to

a parchment lined baking sheet.

Now, for the piece that will be the front, you need to cut out a door. Be careful, cause you will need to bake that as well, and cut a tiny window above it.

I also like to cut windows on the sides, but I free hand those with a sharp knife.

Fill in the window cutouts with the crushed lemon drops (they will melt in the oven and make window panes)

Place the pieces in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes (possibly 12 for the roof pieces)

Let the pieces cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes to allow time for the windows to re-harden,

then move to a cooling rack and let set for 2 hours, to ensure the pieces are completely cool.

I also make mini-gingerbread men (and women) with the scraps... Shoving 1/2 of a toothpick into them so they will stand up in the Styrofoam (more on that in the decorating post)

To Assemble:

Melt 1/2 cup sugar in a skillet over low heat (creating a dry caramel)

Dip both edges of the side pieces and attach the front and back, then dip the other side piece and attach on the other side (sorry, this is really quick and really hot, and REALLY hard to take pictures)

I always glue on the door next.

You will have to score little marks on the underside of the roof so you know where it will line up, then using a spoon, drizzle the caramel, quickly in a line then press onto the top of the house frame; Repeat with the other roof piece....

Ta Da!!

I hope this helps at least a little bit... Like I said, once you start working with the caramel (which is about 315-320 degrees) it gets a little difficult to take step by step pictures, but I tried... just not very successfully...

Happy Lebkuchenhaeusle'ing....

Next up, decorating... But I need to wait until I can complete a house with my niece before I post about it... That will not be until the day before Christmas eve...

Until then Peace, Love and Dairy Cows!

Lebkuchen and Lebkuchenhaeuslen - Layin the Ground Work

This is the first of a multi-part series regarding that quintessential favorite of the Christmas season, Gingerbread (lebkuchen)

What is it about gingerbread and the human psyche? We just can't seem to get enough of it. Right down to the ever popular Starbucks offering of the Gingerbread Latte or Gingerbread Cocoa to Demeter's Gingerbread Cologne and Philosophy's Gingerbread Shampoo. Heck, William-Sonoma even offers a Gingerbread Butter and Paws n Claws offers a Gingerbread cologne for dogs.

It just seems to be one of those universal comforting foods. I am just as much a slave to the aroma of fresh baked Gingerbread as anyone else. Which is WHY I love this time of year so much. Not only do I get to make massive quantities of Gingerbread Men (and Women) to satisfy my immediate need for all things gingerbread, but it's the time of year that I get to embark upon construction of that classic tempter of Hansel & Gretel, the Lebkuchenhaeusle or Gingerbread House.

I use the same dough for both applications with only 1 major difference. For the dough destined to become Houses, I use Crisco due to it's lack of water, for it yields a drier, crisper construction material. When it comes to the dough that wont be sitting around on a shelf for 3 weeks and will DEFINITELY be consumed by myself and various other holiday visitors, I use Unsalted Butter, not only for the flavor that it imparts, but it also yields a slightly softer cookie.

Gingerbread Cookie Dough

1 cup Unsalted Butter (or Crisco for Houses)
1 cup Granulated Sugar
5 cups AP Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
3 tsp Ginger, dried and ground
1 tsp Cinnamon, ground
1 tsp Cloves, ground
1 Large Egg
1 cup Molasses
2 TB Cider Vinegar

In the bowl of an electric mixer, begin creaming the Sugar and Butter(crisco) together until light and fluffy.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk AP Flour, Baking Soda, Kosher Salt, Ginger, Cinnamon and Cloves together and set aside.

Add the egg to the butter/sugar mixer and mix well.

Pour in Molasses and blend till homogeneous.

Add Vinegar and blend well.

Begin adding the flour mixture 3/4 cup at a time with the mixer on LOW speed to prevent a plume of wheat dust.

Mix well..... and then.....

For Cookies....
Place in a bowl, cover and chill for at least 3 hours before attempting to roll.

For Houses...
Divide the dough into 3 equal portions of about 18.5 oz (this recipe makes 3 houses with a little to spare)

Form each portion into a flattened square, wrap with plastic wrap and chill over night.

Stay tuned... The House pieces will be first..... :)

Mangia!!
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