The 2023 Gingerbread White House Took 30 Pounds of Chocolate & 50 Pounds of Royal Icing to Make

The holiday tradition started in the 1960s, and this year's gingerbread White House honors ''Twas the Night Before Christmas'

The 2023 gingerbread White House replica pays homage to a holiday classic.

The 1823 poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas is the gingerbread house's inspiration to celebrate its 200th year. First Lady Jill Biden announced the creation as part of the White House's annual holiday display, which has a "Magic, Wonder, and Joy" theme this year.

The gingerbread house — displayed in the State Dining Room in the executive residence of the White House — was built using 40 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 40 sheets of gingerbread dough, 90 pounds of pastillage, 30 pounds of chocolate and 50 pounds of royal icing, the White House revealed in a recent statement.

Executive pastry chef Susan Morrison's design of the sweet abode features a sugar cookie replica of the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas book emblazoned with the classic line, "Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!" A model Santa and his reindeer are taking off from the roof of the gingerbread White House, another nod to the story.

Related: Jill Biden Receives the 'Magnificent' White House Christmas Tree Alongside Military Families

This tradition started in the late 1960s after Edward E. Shapiro of Bedford Hills, New York, gifted President Lyndon B. Johnson's family a gingerbread cottage, according to the White House.

The following year, Assistant Executive Chef Hans Raffert created a traditional German A-frame gingerbread house to help President Richard Nixon and his family celebrate their first Christmas in the White House.

Over the years, the designs for the gingerbread White House have gotten more unique and elaborate. In 1994, Chef Roland Mesnier created a pastry replica of President Bill Clinton's childhood home in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The following year, he did the same for Hillary Clinton, replicating her home in Park Ridge, Illinois.

In more recent years, pastry chefs at the White House have chosen to use white chocolate as their main medium. The 2010 gingerbread White House featured President Barack Obama's dog Bo standing guard. In 2019, the scene featured historic landmarks like Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty.

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