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Bake up some fun with a spring gingerbread birdhouse

By Bernard Shondell

Gingerbread House Ideas @hallmarkstores @hallmarkstoresIdeas

Whether you’re suffering from cabin fever or spring fever, bake your way out of your winter shell with this fun spring gingerbread house. Just print out the gingerbread house patterns and step-by-step instructions and recipes, gather some ingredients and colorful candies and enlist the kids to help. When you’re done you’ll have a beautiful (and edible!) table decoration your whole family will love.

Happy baking!

Roll out the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Using the patterns provided above, cut out panels with a pizza cutter or sharp knife.
Transfer the parchment paper to the baking sheets. Bake dough and let cool.
Pipe a thick line of Royal Icing along the bottom and side of the front panel, and along the bottom (long end) of one side panel.
Press the front and side panels together down on the base. Hold in place for a few minutes until the icing is partially set.
Repeat with the other side panel and back piece.
For the roof, pipe icing all along the top edges of front, back and two sides.
Place both roof panels on the structure at the same time, making sure the top edges of the roof panels are touching.
Hold the roof panels in place for a few minutes to set.
Use icing to “glue” pieces of candy to the house, beginning with the roof.
Apply candies to both sides of the roof.
Pipe a thick line of icing along the roof seam…
…and top with a row of candy.
Continue adding candy embellishments to the front and back panels…
…and don’t forget the sides!
Cover base around house with edible grass or green-tinted icing or coconut.
You can use a frosted cookie as the final decoration…
…and enjoy the rest (you’ve earned it)!
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Now let your creativity take flight! Which one will you make?
Easy: Candy-covered (and kid-friendly).
Intermediate: Add some panache with colored piping.
Advanced: Bring on the bling with extra embellishments and pretty piping.

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By day Bernard Shondell is a fancy-pants manager for Hallmark’s photography studios. But by night, he’s a one-man professional bakery. Bernard baked his first cake in first grade, his first gingerbread house in second grade, and he’s not stopped since.