Lebkuchen House

Ingredients

• 500 g honey
• 500 g brown sugar
• 300 g butter
• 1 kg flour
• 3 tsp gingerbread spice
• 1 untreated lemon (zest)
• 50 g cocoa powder
• 2 Eggs
• 2 tsp potash
• 4 tbsp rum
• 450 g powdered sugar
• juice of one lemon
• 1 Egg white
• 200 g powdered sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 drop food coloring (for tinting)
• fruit gummies (various shapes and colors)
• butter cookies (various shapes)
• cereal cinnamon cookie
• shortbread (Scottish butter cookie)
• sugar lettering
• ready-made fondant
• sauce gingerbread
• sugar pearls

Instructions

1. 1.

   Heat honey with butter and sugar in a small pot until the sugar dissolves. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Add flour, spices, cocoa to the honey mixture and mix thoroughly with a hand mixer paddle. Dissolve potash in rum and add to the dough. Knead on high speed until it shines and no longer sticks. Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

2. 2.

   Prepare arches for the roof and side panels in DIN A5 format. Cut gable sides from postcard-sized paper into triangles, either pointed or flat. From thick cardboard cut several 3 cm wide strips about 10 cm long; score lightly in the middle and fold to create angles.

3. 3.

   Roll the dough on a floured surface to about 5 mm thickness in portions. Place the template over it and cut out two roof halves and side walls in DIN A5 size, then cut two gable sides. Lay the pieces on a greased baking sheet. First cut doors and windows on the sheet. Knead leftover dough, roll again, and make a large base plate 20 x 30 cm. Cut small tree shapes for decoration. Preheat oven to 180°C and bake each batch for 20 minutes. Cool on the sheet.

4. 4.

   Whisk powdered sugar with enough lemon juice until a thick glaze forms. First glue the side walls and gable sides onto the gingerbread plate using paper wedges. Stabilize by placing books against the walls until the glaze dries. Then attach the roof panels.

5. 5.

   For House 1: Roll ready-made fondant, brush with icing, and stick to the house surfaces. Decorate with gummy bears, cookies, and sugar lettering. Stick cereal cinnamon cookie tiles on the roof with icing. Add icing and lettering as desired.

6. 6.

   For House 2: Slice sauce gingerbread into thin strips and glue them like roof tiles onto the walls. Cut round butter cookies for the roof. Finish by decorating the house with cookies, sugar lettering, sugar pearls, and icing.

7. 7.

   Icing: Beat egg white with powdered sugar and lemon juice to a thick glaze.

8. 8.

   House 3 (quantity as desired): Assemble wooden sticks with fondant into a wall frame. Spread icing on square blocks, arrange sesame sticks, let dry, and attach gables using fondant wedges. Color fondant red for the chimney, form a thick mound, press pistachios decoratively. Attach the chimney with icing and let dry. Finish the house with icing, cookies, sugar lettering, and gummy bears.