There's something special about making a homemade Gingerbread House. The smell of warm spices filling the kitchen, decorating with colorful candies, and setting your delicious masterpiece on display creates a magical holiday tradition that brings joy to everyone who sees (and tastes) it. This is a no-fail recipe that anyone can make!
Building a gingerbread house has been one of my favorite family traditions. It’s not just about a picture perfect house on display, it’s about the process and memories created along the way. When a wall falls down, an icing door is a bit crooked, or the festive candies are just a tad out of place, it's the little moments of laughter that make the holidays so special.
The best part is how building a gingerbread house ties other christmas traditions together. While the spicy smell of gingerbread fills the kitchen, it brings back memories of assembling a Christmas charcuterie board, rolling Christmas Oreo truffles, and indulging in bowls of festive Christmas popcorn. Paired with cranberry mocktails or a cup of homemade hot chocolate, these little moments turn into cherished memories.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Sturdy dough: This recipe is designed for building, with a sturdy dough that won't cause you problems, putting this gingerbread house together will be a breeze.
- Fun activity: While these steps are engaging, they're also easy enough so it's fun for friends and family, just like these mini gingerbread houses.
- Creative liberty: Use buttercream, royal icing, or a mix of both to decorate this house. Add the final details with your favorite holiday candies or red and green icing.
- Make-ahead option: Bake the pieces in advance and prepare the icing ahead of time so all you have to do is assemble when you're ready.
What you need to make a homemade gingerbread house
Gingerbread Dough:
- Butter: I prefer to use unsalted.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cookie dough and helps give it that crisp finish during baking.
- Light Corn Syrup: Keeps the dough pliable and easy to handle.
- Molasses: Provides the classic gingerbread taste.
- Honey: Adds a hint of natural sweetness.
- Spices: A festive blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice that will fill your kitchen with Christmas aroma.
- Salt: Counters the sweetness and enhances the flavors of the spices.
- Vanilla Extract: A must for all baking recipes.
- Water: Helps bring the dough together into a workable consistency.
- Flour: Forms the foundation. Use all-purpose flour or substitute with a gluten-free alternative for a 1:1 ratio.
Royal Icing:
- Powdered Sugar: The base of the icing; sift to prevent lumps for a smoother frosting.
- Meringue Powder: Essential to make sure the icing dries firm and stable.
- Water: Adjusts the icing's thickness for assembling and decorating.
- Cream of Tartar: Aids in stability and prevents crystallization.
- Vanilla & Almond Extracts: Adds extra flavor.
How to make a homemade gingerbread house from scratch
Wet ingredients: Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth, then beat in the corn syrup, molasses, and honey. Mix in the spices until incorporated.
Dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
Combine: Slowly alternate adding the flour mixture and water to the wet ingredients, mixing until fully combined. Knead the dough, adding more flour or water as needed, until the dough is stiff enough for rolling.
Chill: Divide the dough into balls, wrap in plastic, and chill for 20 minutes. While chilling, create a cutting template using parchment paper for your house pieces.
Roll and cut: Roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness on a floured surface. Using your template, cut out the house pieces, re-rolling scraps as needed to use all of the dough.
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Bake: Place the pieces on parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheets and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300°F and bake for another 10 minutes until the pieces are firm and ready for assembly.
The icing: Mix the meringue powder, water, and cream of tartar until dissolved. Slowly beat in powdered sugar on low speed, turn to medium speed and mix until fluffy. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Cover with a damp cloth to prevent hardening while you work.
Decorate: Before assembling, decorate the individual house pieces using royal icing and any candies. This prevents breaking the structure during decoration.
Assemble: Using royal icing as "glue," attach the house pieces together. Start with the walls and let them set before adding the roof. Use internal supports, like small cans, to stabilize the house while the icing dries.
Final details: Add decorative details like hanging icicles, piped designs, or candy elements with extra icing. Thin the icing with water for finer designs if needed.
How do I keep my gingerbread house from falling apart?
The key to a sturdy gingerbread house is plenty of icing. The icing is the glue that holds everything together, so don't be shy! Take your time assembling the pieces, letting each cookie dry completely before moving on to the next. Propping up the walls with cans or tall glasses will allow the icing to set without having to hold it. But remember, patience is your best friend here!
Tips for making a sturdy gingerbread house
- Roll the dough evenly: You want the dough to be at a uniform thickness of about 1/4 of an inch to promote even baking and consistency. This will help the house hold up when assembling as well.
- Avoid overloading with decorations: If you're decorating with kids, this can be challenging but too many decorating can lead to an unstable house. Stick to a few small decorations if possible.
- Use a template: Use a well designed template to ensure that all pieces fit perfectly. You can find a template easily online or make your own using parchment paper.
Storing and make ahead:
Make ahead: Bake the gingerbread pieces up to a week in advance and store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Assemble the house when you're ready.
Storing: Store the fully decorated house at room temperature for as long as you'd like. After 3-4 days, it is no longer good to eat, but looks great as decoration.
Freezing: Just like this frosted ginger cookie dough, this dough be frozen for up to one month. Thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling, cutting, and baking.
More Christmas recipes you'll love
- Starbucks white hot chocolate
- Snowman cheeseball
- Christmas wreath cookies
- Christmas tree cheeseball
- York Peppermint copy cat recipe
Homemade Gingerbread House Recipe (that anyone can make!)
Ingredients
Gingerbread Cookies
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup honey
- 3 teaspoons ginger
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1/2 tap cloves allspice
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup water
- 6 cups flour
Royal Icing
- 5 tablespoons meringue powder
- 1/2 cup of water +
- 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
- 8 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
Gingerbread Cookies
- Cream, the butter, vanilla and sugar.
- Beat in the corn syrup, molasses, honey, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and allspice.
- Add the flour and water slowly alternating between them.
- Knead the dough adding more flour or water as needed. Dough should be stiff enough for rolling
- Chill dough for 20 minutes then and create a cutting template using parchment paper.
- Using the parchment paper template, roll out the dough until it's about 1/2 an inch thick. Cut out the pieces of the house.
- Bake at 350° on parchment or a lightly greased baking sheet for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300 and bake another 10 minutes. You want the dough to be hardened so that you can easily make it into a gingerbread house.
- Decorate your pieces before assembling the house, so you don't risk breaking the house while trying to decorate.
- Make sure to use internal support to keep the gingerbread house standing and show pictures of that as well.
Royal Icing
- Combine the meringue powder, water, and cream of tartar and mix until the powder dissolves completely.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar beating on low speed.
- Once all powdered sugar has been added, turn to medium speed and beat for four minutes, scraping the sides occasionally until icing is fluffy.
- Add extracts and mix gently.
- Cover with a damp cloth to keep from hardening and use right away.
- This is the icing you use to cement everything together.
- To pipe decorative lines on the assembled house, or to make hanging icicles add some of this frosting to a cup and add drops of water one by one until it’s the consistency you’re looking for.
Notes
Tips for making a sturdy gingerbread house
- Roll the dough evenly: You want the dough to be at a uniform thickness of about 1/4 of an inch to promote even baking and consistency. This will help the house hold up when assembling as well.
- Avoid overloading with decorations: If you're decorating with kids, this can be challenging but too many decorating can lead to an unstable house. Stick to a few small decorations if possible.
- Use a template: Use a well designed template to ensure that all pieces fit perfectly. You can find a template easily online or make your own using parchment paper.
Chandice Probst says
This is the perfect gingerbread house recipe great for holiday decorating for your next Christmas party.