Grimm Fairy Tales, which were actually published under the name Kinder- und Hausmärchen, or Children’s and Household Tales, are a collection of German fairy tales that have become well-known around the world. They were first published by the Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm in 1812. Some of the characters, like Little Red Riding Hood (Rotkäppchen), Snow White, and Cinderella (Aschenputtel), and Rapunzel, have become Disneyland characters as well—so it’s probably safe to say that there’s hardly a child anywhere who doesn’t know about the Grimm stories.

The word for “witch” in German is hexe, and a hexenhaus is a witch house. You’ve got it—a hexenhaus is the “gingerbread house” from Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel fairytale. Every child is delighted and amazed at the idea of an entire house made of edible treats. In Europe, gingerbread houses are an integral part of annual Christmas celebrations. When the holiday season comes around, you can buy hexenhaus kits.

The walls and roof of these miniature houses is either gingerbread or Lebkuchen made with lots of honey. The different parts are then stuck together with icing made from powdered sugar and egg whites.