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Mini gingerbread houses are the tiny, charming version of the classic gingerbread house, and they might be my favorite Christmas project of all. They perch right on the rim of a mug, they wrap up beautifully as gifts, and they take a fraction of the time.
Make them for a holiday brunch, for a hot chocolate bar, or to hand out at a gingerbread house party. The kids will eat them straight off the mug with a cup of hot chocolate, which is exactly the point.
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One batch of dough makes six to eight little houses. You’ll roll the dough thinner than a full-size house, about an eighth of an inch, so the pieces bake up crisp and light enough to balance on a mug.
They come together in an afternoon. Dough takes ten minutes, chills for thirty, bakes in eight. Then you build, which is the fun part and the part the kids can do.
You’ll also need a batch of gingerbread house icing. That’s the glue, and it’s a separate recipe.
Mini Gingerbread House Ingredients
Butter. Room temperature so it creams smoothly. This is the richness and it’s what binds the dough.
Dark brown sugar. Deep color, deep flavor. Don’t swap in white.
Molasses. The heart of it. Unsulphured is milder and a little sweeter.
Cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Your kitchen will smell like Christmas in about four minutes.
Baking soda. Just a whisper. Too much and the walls puff and warp.
All-purpose flour. More than you’d put in a cookie, because these little walls have a job to do.
Water. A few tablespoons to bring the dough together.
How to Make Mini Gingerbread Houses
Cream the base. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and molasses until smooth, then mix in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and baking soda.
Add the flour. On low speed, work in the flour and water until a stiff dough pulls together. Stop right there.
Chill it. Wrap tightly and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Roll thin. Heat the oven to 375°F. Roll the dough to about 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of parchment. Thin is the whole trick here. Thick pieces are too heavy for a mug rim.
Cut your shapes. I use mini gingerbread house cookie cutters, and they make this so easy. You’ll need two of each shape per house.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until crisp. Cool completely before you touch them.
The Icing
Make a batch of gingerbread house icing. It’s three ingredients, it whips up in seven minutes, and it dries hard enough to hold a roof.
Use a small round tip for these. The pieces are tiny and a big tip will bury them.
How to Build Them
- Pipe icing along the edges of the front and back walls and attach the sides. Hold each seam for about 30 seconds.
- Let the walls set five minutes before the roof goes on.
- They’re small, so they set fast.
- Add the roof panels one at a time and seal the peak with a line of icing.
- Let the house dry for 10 minutes before decorating.
Making Them Fit on a Mug
This is the part everyone worries about, and it’s easier than it looks.
The house sits on the rim, not on the handle. You want the two roof panels to angle down over either side of the mug like a little tent, so the peak rests just above the rim and gravity does the rest.
A few things that make it work:
Set it on last, right before you serve. It’s a garnish, not a lid.
Roll thin. An eighth of an inch. A heavy house tips.
A mug with a wider rim is more forgiving than a narrow one. I use East Fork mugs for these and they’re about 3 1/2 inches across. Anything that size or smaller works beautifully.
Let the house dry completely before it goes anywhere near a hot drink. Steam softens gingerbread fast.
If your roof is sliding, the pitch is too shallow. Pipe a little extra icing at the peak to steepen the angle and let it set.
Pretty Ways to Use Them
Place cards. Pipe a name across the roof in white icing. It’s the sweetest place setting and people take them home.
Mug toppers. On hot chocolate with a pile of marshmallows underneath. This is the photo everyone saves.
Gifts. Wrapped in a clear cellophane bag with ribbon. I like to buy the small/medium ones for these and cut off any remaining.
A little village. Line six of them down the center of the table with greenery. Instant centerpiece, no flowers required.
Eden’s Tips
Roll between parchment. No sticking, no extra flour, and you get an even thickness without fighting it. This is the tip that makes the whole thing pleasant.
Cut everything before you build. Have all your pieces baked and cooled and your icing in the bag before you start assembling. Building is the fun part and you don’t want to stop halfway.
Thicker icing than you think. If it’s runny the pieces slide. Add powdered sugar a spoonful at a time until it holds a peak.
Make extras. Some will crack, some will get eaten, and you’ll want a spare. The dough makes six to eight, so plan for six.
Let the kids decorate, not build. Assembly needs a steady hand and thirty seconds of patience. Decorating needs neither, and that’s the part they’ll remember.
Mini Gingerbread House FAQs
Six to eight, depending on your cutters. The recipe doubles easily if you’re making them for a crowd.
Royal icing. Here’s my gingerbread house icing recipe. It dries hard and holds like glue. Buttercream won’t work, since it never fully sets.
About an eighth of an inch. Thinner than a full-size house, because these need to be light enough to sit on a mug rim.
Yes. The dough keeps a week in the fridge or three months in the freezer. Baked pieces keep a week in an airtight container. I’d make the icing fresh.
They’ll hold up for a few weeks kept covered, cool, and dry. They stay technically edible longer than that, but they won’t taste like much.
They’re crisp and sturdy, which is great for building and less great for eating. If you want cookies you’ll actually want to eat, make my gingerbread cookies instead.
They make it much easier, and they’re inexpensive. You can also cut the shapes freehand with a paring knife if you’d rather not buy anything.
Gingerbread Recipes
Holidays
Gingerbread Tree
Christmas
Gingerbread House Recipe
Christmas
Moist Gingerbread Cake Recipe
Holidays
Homemade Gingerbread Syrup
Looking for more Christmas ideas? There’s a whole guide to Christmas cookies if you’re planning a baking day, plus 10 charming ways to decorate them. For something a little showier, try Santa hat gingerbread cupcakes or a gingerbread snowman cake.
And if you’re hosting, here’s how I put together Christmas Eve dinner and my favorite Christmas cocktails to go with it. Or just make a batch of these, put on a Christmas movie, and call it a night.
Made these mini gingerbread houses? Please leave a 5-star rating and a comment below. I love seeing your little houses.
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Mini Gingerbread Houses
Ingredients
Gingerbread House Dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp water
Instructions
- Beat the butter, brown sugar, and molasses together until smooth, then mix in the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and baking soda.
- On low speed, work in the flour and water until a stiff dough pulls together. Stop as soon as it comes together.
- Wrap the dough tightly and chill at least 30 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 375°F and line your baking sheets with parchment.
- Roll the dough to about 1/8 inch thick between two sheets of parchment. Thinness is what keeps them light enough for a mug rim.
- Cut your shapes with mini gingerbread house cutters. You'll need two of each shape per house, and you'll get six to eight houses from a batch.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until crisp. Cool completely before assembling, since they firm up as they cool.
- Make a batch of gingerbread house icing while the pieces cool.
- Pipe icing along the edges of the front and back walls and press the sides into place. Hold each seam about 30 seconds.
- Let the walls set five minutes, then add the roof panels one at a time and seal the peak with a line of icing.
- Let the house dry 10 minutes before decorating with icing and sprinkles.
- Set them on mugs, wrap them as gifts, or write names across the roofs for place cards.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for sharing your mini gingerbread houses. Would you mind sharing what size bag you used for packaging?