The best glue for connecting gingerbread is sugar syrup. To make sugar syrup, pour sugar into a heavy-bottomed pot or pan and heat it while stirring constantly until it melts. As soon as the sugar starts to melt, reduce the heat to the minimum (stove setting 1), as the syrup can burn and turn black very quickly. While in use, keep the pot on low heat. Dip the sticky surface of the gingerbread directly into the syrup in the pot and press the pieces together. Hold the pieces in place for 5-10 seconds until the syrup hardens. Be careful with your fingers – the syrup is very hot and sticky. This task is not suitable for children!

You can make icing yourself using powdered sugar and egg white. The egg white can be whipped into a foam, but it can also be used as is. Add powdered sugar to the egg white and mix thoroughly until the icing reaches the desired thickness. Using colored powdered sugar, you can create colored icing. Brown powdered sugar can be used to make icing that is less visible, allowing for corrections of mistakes. If desired, a little citric acid can be added to the mixture for flavor.

You can create colorful windows in gingerbread using caramel candies. To melt the glass candies into the gingerbread, place the gingerbread dow on baking paper and cut suitable openings into it. Bake the gingerbread as usual for about 8 minutes until they are almost done but still a bit soft. Remove the tray from the oven and place caramel candies into the openings. Only pure caramel should be used, without any jam filling. Candies coated with powder sugar will not look nice, so rinse them with water and let them dry before using. You can break the candies into pieces for faster melting, but whole candies can also be used. Now reduce the oven temperature to 170-180°C (340-350°F) and return the gingerbread to the oven until the candies have melted and the gingerbread is golden brown. Remove the gingerbread from the baking paper only once the caramel has cooled and re-hardened.

Why must gingerbread be flat and even? Here is a nice video guide on how to bake the PiparkoogiMaania dog created by designer Raul Erdeli. You can print the template for cutting from here:

Small detailed gingerbread shapes that need to maintain their form are best cut out of dow directly on a sheet of baking paper. This way, the finished gingerbread pieces won't become deformed when lifted onto the baking tray. It's also a good idea to choose a gingerbread dough that rises as little as possible. If needed, the edges of the baked gingerbread can be smoothed and trimmed to the correct size using a citrus zester or another fine grater.