Making a gingerbread house is far less intimidating than it may seem at the onset. Our Gingerbread House Recipe is foolproof and comes with a free printable template so you can cut the exact sizes you need. The best part is that it brings the whole household together for a fun and festive project.
Molasses
Brown sugar
Ginger
Cinnamon
Allspice
Ground cloves
Salt
Cold butter
Egg
All-purpose flour
Icing for assembling
Assorted candy and miniature cookies for assembling
Sugar sprinkle for assembling
Combine the sugar mixture and bring it to a boil. Remove it from the heat, stir in the cold butter, then let it come to room temperature before adding the egg.
Stir in the flour and knead the dough on the counter until it is smooth. If the dough feels too sticky, add a bit more flour. If it seems too crumbly, add a couple of tablespoons of water.
Place the templates on the dough and cut out the shapes. All the template pieces will fit on one large, 20-inch baking sheet. If you use smaller baking sheets, divide the templates among 2 or 3 pans.
Slide the parchment paper right onto the baking sheet and bake. Let the pieces cool completely on the baking sheet. Use the scraps of extra dough to make gingerbread people and trees for decoration or cookies for eating.
Now time to assemble the gingerbread house! First, use royal icing to glue the house together. Attach the four walls using the icing as mortar. Let the walls dry for 30 to 40 minutes.
Once the walls have set, pipe along the top edges of the house. Press the roof pieces in place then glue the chimney pieces together and let them set for 15 to 20 minutes.