Gingerbread House Recipe

It’s time to master the art of the gingerbread house! We’re sharing the best gingerbread house recipe and a complete guide to baking, constructing, and decorating your own gingerbread house!

If you love Christmas and gingerbread, try our gingerbread tree and the most delicious gingerbread cookies! Then, wash it all down with the best gingerbread Moscow mule recipe. You could even host an entire Gingerbread House Party!

Gingerbread House Recipe

This guide will help you build a festive cookie house like a pro! It’s a holiday tradition for us to bake and decorate gingerbread houses, and we use this recipe yearly.

Fun, festive, and endlessly entertaining, this yuletide craft has earned its reputation as a must-do tradition on many families’ celebratory to-do lists. 

We love to make mini gingerbread houses that are perfect for giving as gifts, for using as decorations on a hot chocolate platter or dessert boards or as mug toppers.

Whether you’re just starting or you’ve been honing your skills for years, keep reading. Today, we’re taking an in-depth look at the history behind this activity, the technique to master, and more! 

So grab a cup of hot cocoa or peppermint cocoa if you please, and gather your supplies!

Why You’ll Love This Gingerbread House Recipe

Family Memories – There are very few holiday activities as wholesome as crafting together. And when those crafts involve yummy gingerbread and colorful candies, who can resist?

Beautiful Decor – These charming houses are not only a lot of fun to make, but they’re also festive decorations for the holiday season.

Easy Recipe With Stunning Results – You might be tempted toward those store-bought gingerbread house kits, but what you’ll find are sub-par products, and you will end up with a lackluster gingerbread house. With this easy recipe, you get a beautiful gingerbread house every time!

The Gingerbread Tradition

Gingerbread houses originated in Germany during the 16th century and quickly became associated with Christmas traditions. Before then, elaborately decorated gingerbread cookies were already a holiday staple, made popular during European Medieval fairs. Turning them into houses was a natural next step.

The tradition grew even more popular when the Brothers Grimm released “Hansel and Gretel,” a children’s story featuring a house made entirely of sweet treats.

Today, families around the world continue this tradition, creating edible houses that bring joy during the holiday season.

Gingerbread House Ingredients

Butter – Unsalted or salted butter will work for this recipe. Make sure it’s softened at room temperature for easy creaming with the sugar. The butter adds richness and helps create a sturdy dough that holds its shape when baked.

Brown Sugar – Dark brown sugar is made with granulated sugar and molasses. It has a rich flavor and dark brown color that contributes to the classic gingerbread appearance. The molasses in brown sugar adds moisture and a deeper flavor to the gingerbread house pieces.

Molasses – This thick, dark syrup gives gingerbread its distinctive color and flavor. It also helps keep the dough pliable while working with it. You can use unsulphured molasses for a milder flavor or blackstrap molasses for a stronger, more robust taste. See substitutions for molasses.

Ground Spices – Cinnamon, Ginger, and Cloves are the classic trio of spices that give gingerbread its warm, aromatic flavor. The ginger provides a spicy kick, cinnamon adds warmth, and cloves contribute depth and complexity to the flavor profile.

Baking Soda – Sodium bicarbonate is a leavening agent for the gingerbread house pieces to rise slightly. It also helps create the perfect texture – not too soft but not too brittle when baked.

All-purpose Flour – Adds structure to the recipe and creates a delicious gingerbread dough when combined with the other ingredients.

How to Make a Gingerbread House

Making a gingerbread house from scratch is easier than it looks! Follow our trusted gingerbread house recipe, use these cutouts, whip up a batch of the best icing recipe and you’re ready!

Prepare the Dough: In a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, and baking soda until the mixture is smooth and well combined.

Mix the Flour: With the mixer on low speed, blend in the flour and water to make a stiff dough. Don’t overmix – stop when everything is just incorporated.

Chill the Dough: Cover the dough in plastic wrap or seal it in plastic bags. Chill for at least 30 minutes or until firm. This makes the dough easier to roll and helps prevent spreading during baking.

Preheat the Oven: Set your oven to 375°F (190°C) and allow it to fully preheat while you prepare the gingerbread pieces.

Roll and Cut: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about ¼-inch thickness. Use gingerbread house cutters to create the different pieces needed for your house.

Transfer to Baking Sheet: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and carefully place the gingerbread pieces on the prepared sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between pieces.

Bake the Pieces: Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are crisp and the pieces are firm. The centers may still be slightly soft but will harden as they cool.

Cool Completely: Once the house pieces have finished baking, let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. Wait at least 20 minutes for the pieces to completely cool before attempting to build your house.

How to Assemble a Gingerbread House

Prepare Your Icing: Make the royal icing according to our recipe and transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip like Wilton 10.

Set Up Your Base: Place a cake stand or flat platter where you’ll build your house. This will be the foundation for your creation.

Start With the Front Panel: Pipe icing along the bottom edge of the front panel. Place it on your platter and hold firmly for about 60 seconds until it stands on its own.

Add the Side Walls: Pipe icing along the bottom and side edges of each side panel. Press them against the front panel and the base, creating a corner. Hold each piece for about a minute to ensure it sets properly.

Attach the Back Panel: Add icing to the bottom and side edges of the back panel, then connect it to the side walls and the base. Hold until stable.

Allow the Base to Dry: Let your house’s foundation dry for at least 15-20 minutes before adding the roof. This ensures the walls are strong enough to support the weight of the roof pieces.

Attach the Roof: Pipe a thick line of icing along the top edges of the front, back, and side panels. Carefully place each roof piece, starting with one side. Hold for 1-2 minutes, then add the second roof piece.

Secure the Roof Ridge: Pipe additional icing along the top seam where the roof pieces meet to create a strong bond.

Let It Set: Allow the entire house to dry for at least 1 hour (or overnight for best results) before decorating. This prevents collapse during the fun decorating phase!

Add the Final Touches: Once your house structure is completely dry and stable, you’re ready to add all your creative decorations!

How to Stick a Gingerbread House Together

Assembling a gingerbread house and making it stick together is one of the most frustrating parts of making a gingerbread house.

However, we have some really good tips for how to stick your gingerbread house together that will make your life much easier!

The Perfect Royal Icing

The icing is one of the trickiest parts to get right. Basic butter frosting is too crumbly and takes a while to harden. This means it will stay sticky for longer, making more of a mess.

What you need is royal icing. This specialty ingredient hardens quickly and is more fast-drying than butter frosting. In addition, if you want to keep your house for as long as possible, you’ll want a frosting that’s devoid of any butter, as this can cause it to rot faster.

Royal icing makes a huge difference when decorating a house and gives it extra stability. Our recipe is the best icing for building and decorating – light and fluffy, easy to pipe but also dries hard.

There is no comparison to store-bought icing over our fluffy homemade gingerbread icing. It’s a must when creating a gingerbread house recipe! Our recipe uses egg whites and icing sugar.

Creating Different Icing Colors

Divide the icing up and create different colors using food dye. Use different colors to add designs to the house. We made a light blueish-green color and loved the way it looked!

Piping Techniques for Beautiful Details

Piping bags and tips are crucial to creating a beautifully designed gingerbread house. Change out the tips to create fluffy stars down the side of the house or a small round tip to add dots and detailed designs.

Make sure you properly set up the piping bag so you can switch out the tips for each bag and color, making it much easier.

Using a small round tip, make a fun design for the roof. Make a pattern that looks like roof tiles, or use the small tip to add candy to the roof.

For small candy items, like tiny gold stars, add a dot of frosting on the back and use tweezers to add them to the house.

We love the small star tip for making decorative dots and stars along with the house’s frame.

Creative Decorating Ideas

Candy and Edible Decorations

Candy! It’s all about festive, colorful candies to create a charming house! Here are many types of candy you can add to a gingerbread house:

• Candy Canes
• Gum Drops
• Sprinkles
• SweeTARTS
• M&M’s
• Holiday Hershey’s Kisses
• Peppermints

Natural Decorations

In addition to candy, here are some other ideas:

• Cinnamon Sticks – Make great logs for your house.
• Star Anise – They look like stars!
• Herbs – Use rosemary and other herbs for trees, wreaths, and more. If you make rosemary trees, use hot glue to keep them in place on the platter. Do not use hot glue in your house, but this is the best way to get these trees to stick!
• Coconut – Add “snow” to the bottom of the platter for a snowy look.

Creating a Winter Wonderland

After the gingerbread house is fully decorated, give it a dusting of snow! This makes it look like a snowy cottage and is the final touch in creating a beautiful gingerbread house.

Add powdered sugar to a sieve. Hold it high over the house and gently shake, allowing the sugar to fall onto the roof of the gingerbread house for a perfect snowy effect.

Storage

Room Temperature

Surprisingly, your gingerbread house can last longer than you might think. If kept in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, your creation can remain intact for weeks or even months as a decoration. However, if you plan to eat it, it’s best enjoyed within a week of making it.

If you want to preserve your gingerbread house for display purposes, you can follow the proper storage techniques and keep it under a glass dome or wrapped carefully in plastic when not on display. This will help protect it from dust and moisture.

For long-term preservation of up to a year, store your gingerbread house in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Just be aware that while it may remain structurally sound, it won’t remain tasty for that long!

Freezer

For a more long-term option, you can freeze your gingerbread house. Be sure to use an air-tight container that’s also freezer-safe to prevent any moisture from entering.

Your gingerbread house will last between six to eight months this way and still be edible when you thaw it out!

Eden’s Tips

Make It Stable: The icing is your best construction material. Make sure it’s the right consistency – if it’s too thin, your house might collapse. If it’s too thick, it’ll be hard to pipe. It should be like toothpaste – firm but able to flow through the piping tip.

Patience Is Key: Allow each section to dry completely before moving on to the next step. Rushing the process is the number one reason for gingerbread house disasters!

Build on Solid Ground: Use a sturdy base like a cake board or heavy platter. This makes your house portable and provides a canvas for adding landscaping elements.

Pre-plan Your Design: Sketch out your decoration plan before you start. This helps ensure you have all the candies and decorations you need.

Weather-proof Your House: If making rosemary trees, use hot glue to keep them in place on the platter. Do not use hot glue on the edible parts of your house, but it works great for securing decorative elements to your base.

Troubleshooting Collapses: If a wall falls, don’t panic! Remove any broken pieces, re-pipe fresh icing on the edges, and hold firmly for at least two minutes. Sometimes having a helper for this stage makes all the difference.

Involve Everyone: Designate different decorating tasks for family members based on age and skill level. Younger children can sort candies while older ones can help with more detailed work.

Should Gingerbread Be Soft When It Comes Out of the Oven?

Yes! Right when it comes out of the oven, homemade gingerbread will be soft to the touch. Yet, it only takes a few seconds of air exposure to harden it right up!

What Does Gingerbread Taste Like?

As its name implies, gingerbread has a distinct ginger taste. However, this peppery spice isn’t the only one you’ll notice. You’ll also taste hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, and cloves.

The ginger, combined with rich and decadent molasses, gives it a rich, festive flavor. In addition, you can also thank molasses for its deep, dark color and its moist texture.

Gingerbread can be soft and thick or thin and crispy, depending on your preference!

Can You Eat Gingerbread House Kits?

You’ll need to read the label of each one you buy to make sure it’s edible. However, most gingerbread house kits are intended to be consumed.

That means that everything inside the kit, from the gingerbread itself to the candy and icing, is safe to consume.

Festive Drinks to Sip While Making a Gingerbread House

There is nothing better than sipping a festive holiday cocktail when making a gingerbread house! Here are some delicious recipes:

• A Refreshing Christmas Martini
• Peppermint Martini
• Gingerbread Moscow Mule
• Christmas Punch Mocktail

More Christmas Recipes You’ll Love

Need more ideas and inspiration on how to decorate and celebrate this Christmas? Check out our collection of guides, read How to Host a Wonderful Christmas Eve Dinner, and try these recipes below!

• Fluffy Gingerbread Cake
• The Best Gingerbread Buttercream
• Roly-Poly Santa Cookies
• A Guide to Christmas Cookies
• Reindeer Chow
• The Best Gingersnap Cookies
• Gingerbread Cake
• Homemade Gingerbread Syrup