A gingerbread grow house (Bruce Wolf, The Cannabist)

Recipe: Call it a Ganjabread House, or a Gingerbread Grow House

Christmas is around the corner, but you still have more than a week to try your hand at a Ganjabread House. (Or would that be a Gingerbread Grow House?) Either way, Mary and I had a blast designing our gingerbread creation, and if you let your imagination be your guide, you’ll have just as much fun.

Check out our blog in the next few days, and have a look at our Shake Shack, which is coming soon. It’s super-fun as well.

We used some of our home-grown weed in this project, and we are going to give the houses to a couple of dispensaries here in Portland, Ore. The houses are infused with canna-butter made from Obama Kush, an indica strain that is different from your typical indica. I find its high an uplifting and cerebral one, though I never have trouble falling asleep afterward. We used the same strain to make some holiday cookies as well as our delicious eggnog.

If you are looking to simplify the process, buy a couple of gingerbread mixes and add your canna-oil or cannabutter to them. We made royal icing, which hardens like a really good glue, but you can also buy the royal icing mix to which you just add water. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going the store-bought route. The holidays are busy enough! Have fun with this project — we think it’s a great centerpiece for the holidays.

Gingerbread Grow House

Serves 6-8

GINGERBREAD

  • 5 ounces unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 ounces cannabutter, softened
  • 1 ½ cups dark brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup dark molasses
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 6-6 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon salt

ROYAL ICING

  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 egg whites
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

TO PREPARE THE GINGERBREAD

  1. In a mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar, and continue mixing until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, molasses and vanilla and mix again.
  2. In a large bowl combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar. Add more flour if too soft. Gather the dough and place in the fridge for at least one hour.
  3. Heat oven to 340°F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment and set aside.
  4. Flour your work surface, divide the dough in half and roll the pieces out to ¼ inch thickness. Using the templates (we used one we found online, but you can also create your own) cut out the shapes from the dough and transfer to the prepared sheets. Have extra dough? Make a landscape piece for the house to sit on and any shapes to accentuate your masterpiece.
  5. Bake for about 15-18 minutes. The dough should not give when pressed lightly. Allow to cool fully.

TO PREPARE THE ROYAL ICING

  1. In a large mixer, whip the powdered sugar with the egg whites and cream of tartar. The process should take about seven minutes. The mixture should be thick enough to hold its shape. Keep the frosting covered with a damp paper towel or damp, clean dish cloth.
  2. You will need a base for your house. A piece of stiff cardboard is fine, or you can make a base out of gingerbread. Glue the walls of the house together first. After attaching, allow it to set for at least 20 minutes. Propping the sides up is a great idea. This way the pieces dry without you having to hold them in place. Continue on with the roof and allow it to set completely.
  3. Decorate your house with assorted candies, nuts, you name it. Have fun and enjoy!

Related: More Holiday Recipes