Steps to make a gingerbread house:

1. Start with making the templates. 2. Prepare and chill the dough on the first day. 3. Roll out the dough and cut out pieces using the templates on day two. 4. Bake these pieces and allow to cool completely. 5. Prepare the royal icing as they cool. 6. Once cooled, decorate them as desired and allow to sit until the the icing hardens. 7. On day 3, start assembling the house and support each edge with mugs, cups, glasses etc. on each side to prevent the house from falling off. 8. Allow the icing to set and harden before attaching another edge. 9. Dust the house with powdered sugar for a snowy effect. Enjoy!

What are the measurements to make this house?

All the measurements mentioned here are in the format width x height. You can use either a piece of cardboard or parchment paper to make these templates. The front and back of the house are 2 large rectangles of 22cm x 12cm each. All windows are of the size 5cm x 6cm and start by leaving 3 cm at the bottom. The front rectangle has a door of 4cm x 9cm. The sides of the house contain two parts: the triangle on top and the bottom. The bottom part if of size 12cm x 12cm. The triangle on top has a base of 12 cm and the other two edges of 13.5 cm. The roof is made of two rectangle of size 22cm x 13.5cm each. The chimney is made of size 3cm x 4cm.

How to store a gingerbread house

If you plan to eat the gingerbread house, I recommend storing it in an airtight container or somewhere covered/indoors to prevent it from sitting and collecting dust throughout the day. Otherwise, gingerbread houses are very sturdy and have very long shelf lives and can even last for years. You can preserve a gingerbread house to last many years. If you would like to do this get some craft varnish or polyurethane. Let the Gingerbread House fully dry out for a number of days before spraying the inside and outside with multiple coats.

Gingerbread House Recipe

Description

This gingerbread house recipe includes the recipes for gingerbread cookie dough and the royal icing along with the measurements for the house template that you’ll need to make this house a success.

Ingredients

Scale

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

438g (3½ cups) all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon all spice
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
145g (⅔ cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
150g (¾ cup) packed brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
160ml (⅔ cup) homemade or unsulphured molasses
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

ROYAL ICING

2 large egg whites, at room temperature
480g (4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, optional

Instructions

In a large bowl, add the butter, light brown sugar and granulated sugar. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in the egg, molasses and vanilla extract. Beat again until combined. The mixture will now be light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, all spice powder, ground cloves, baking soda and kosher salt.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients about 4-5 tablespoons at a time and beat on low speed until combined. Repeat until all dry ingredients are added. The cookie dough will be slightly thick. Don’t over mix the dough.
Wrap the cookie dough in a plastic wrap and place in an airtight container. Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for atleast 3 hours and upto 2 days.
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Meanwhile, line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each disc of dough until it’s 1/4” thick. Cut out cookies using the templates for your gingerbread house. For dimensions to make your own template, see FAQs above.
Place the cookies 1” apart on the prepared sheets and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes so that they hold their shape while baking. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned. Let cool for about 5 minutes on the pan, and then move the cookies to a wire rack to completely cool.
While the gingerbread bakes in the oven and cools make the royal icing which will be used to decorate the gingerbread house and stick it together.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or a medium sized bowl if you are using a hand mixer add the egg whites, cream of tartar and powdered sugar.
Beat on medium speed for about 5-8 minutes until it is thick and bright white. Transfer it to a piping bag immediately to stop it from drying out.
Decorate all the gingerbread house pieces. This is much easier to do now while the pieces are flat instead of building the gingerbread house first. There are many different decorating designs for gingerbread houses so you can copy what I’ve done or have a quick search on google for some ideas.
Leave the decorated gingerbread pieces for about 6 hours to completely harden before building the house. This allows the icing to harden completely so it wont get smudged.
To build you gingerbread house start with the four walls. Pipe lines of royal icing down each side and stick the pieces together using cups / mugs / tins or whatever you can find to support the house until the icing dries.
Leave for about four hours for the icing to harden and dry before attaching the roof.
Finish off with the chimney, piping each of the sides with royal icing and sticking them together on the roof. Be as careful as you can assembling the house as there is nothing more devastating than it falling apart. This is why it’s so important to let the walls dry before adding the weight of the roof.
Finish the gingerbread house off with adding the remaining royal icing as snow to the base of the house and adding a few more decorations like cinnamon sticks as logs of wood or gingerbread men in the snow.
This is where you can get super creative and put your own spin on it. I always finish off with a dusting of powdered sugar to give the look of fresh snow.

Prep Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Category: Gingerbread, Christmas
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American

Keywords: gingerbread house recipe