Auburn Gingerbread Village to be unveiled Dec. 8

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The ninth annual unveiling of the Auburn-inspired Gingerbread Village on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 6 p.m., will launch holiday festivities for The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Immediately following Auburn's Christmas parade on Thursday, visitors can enjoy complimentary cookies and hot chocolate and a hand-bell choir performance. The village will be on display in the conference center’s pre-function foyer until the start of the new year.

The Gingerbread Village is a collaborative project of the students and faculty from the Master of Integrated Design and Construction program in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction; hotel general manager Hans van der Reijden; and chefs of the hotel. Students created the houses’ framework using high-definition LiDAR technology.

Each year, models of buildings in the village created by construction and design students and faculty are decorated by hotel chefs. The buildings include Storybook Farm, the President's Home, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Cater Hall, Langdon Hall, Hargis Hall, Samford Hall, The Hotel at Auburn University, the Auburn Train Depot, the Auburn University Chapel and the Halliday Cary Pick house, home of the Cary Center, to form the gingerbread village.

The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center will also host children’s gingerbread classes on Dec. 17, 19 and 20. The class includes all materials, refreshments and a completed gingerbread house to take home. For reservations, contact Anna Kent at 334-321-3175.

Chef Leo Maurelli III has provided his own gingerbread recipe for the public to bake their own creations.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter (room temperature)
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • ¼ cup light molasses
  • 1 tbsp. cinnamon powder
  • 1 tbsp. ginger powder
  • 1 ½ tsp. ground cloves 
  • 1 tsp. baking soda 
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp. water

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Add butter, sugar, molasses, spices and mix on high; return mixer to low speed
  3. Add flour and water; incorporate to make a stiff dough
  4. Wrap dough in plastic
  5. Chill for 30 minutes
  6. Roll dough out to desired thickness and place on parchment lined baking sheet
  7. Bake for 15 minutes or until firm; let cool before serving.

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