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Making gingerbread houses from scratch doesn’t have to be stressful or overwhelming. In fact, when done right it can be a whole lot of fun.

Gingerbread house making is an annual Family activity in my home that I look forward to every year. Most years, we get together with friends and family and all make simple yet fun A-frame houses. However, one year my husband and I decided to go all Epic and we designed and built a larger-scale house for a local gingerbread competition.

I have learned many helpful tips for making gingerbread houses from scratch (instead of having to settle for using graham crackers or a pre-made kit.) without getting stressed or overwhelmed.

1- Use a good gingerbread house dough recipe

Growing up the recipe we used was soo hit or miss. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to make a gingerbread house with gingerbread that is too soft and falls apart during assembly. Thankfully a few years ago I found an amazing recipe that has never let me down. (as a bonus there is even a super cute A-frame house template with the recipe that is super cute!)

Yield: 4 houses.

Gingerbread House Recipe

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Prep Time 30 minutes

Chill Dough Time 1 hour

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup dark-brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups unsulfured molasses
• 6 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Sift Flour, Baking Soda and Powerd into a large bowl and then set aside.
2. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and then thoroughly mix with Brown Sugar until light and fluffy
3. Add to butter/Sugar mixture all the spices, salt, and eggs.
4. Slowly add in the flour mixture on low speed until thoroughly combined. Divide dough into thirds and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour.
5. Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
6. On a well-floured parchment paper, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes, or using template instructions
7. Chill cut out shapes until firm again, about 15 minutes. Bake 15 minutes, or until gingerbread is firm in the center, but not dark around the edges.

2-Chill and re-chill your gingerbread dough!

As stated in the recipe above you absolutely MUST chill your dough for at least an hour before you roll it out. Then after you cut out your gingerbread house pieces you need to put your cookie try back in the freezer and chill till firm (about 15 minutes.)

It will take a bit of elbow grease to roll it out when chilled. However, you will be thankful for the firmness when trying to roll it to a consistent thickness as well as cut it. Likewise, if the dough you are working with starts getting too soft then just stick it back in the fridge for a few minutes.

Likewise, when you chill your gingerbread dough before you cook it, your cut-out shapes will hold their shapes making it possible to cut out your gingerbread house before you bake it. This will give you a perfectly rounded edge for each piece.

Speaking of cutting out your House pieces. Enjoy this free Printable Gingerbread House Template for you to use to cut out all your house pieces! 

Get the Free Gingerbread House Template Here. 

3-Parchment Paper is your Friend! 

The last thing you want to have to do is try to move your dough after you have rolled it out and cut your pieces. More often than not, if you try, you will discover the frustration of your cutouts becoming distorted. I have found that the most effective method is to lay a sheet of parchment paper on your counter. sprinkle flour or grease (according to your preference). Roll out the gingerbread evenly. Cut your shapes. gently pull up the dough that surrounds your pieces. Then gently slide the whole sheet of parchment paper onto the cookie sheet.

4- Have a good Royal Icing Recipe.

Royal icing needs to be pliable when wet and rock hard when dry to be good for gingerbread houses. If your royal icing is too thick for the detail work after the house is assembled, you can always thin it out with a bit of milk…You can find some great recipe’s for Royal icing at Gingerbread House Heaven

5- Assemble the gingerbread house in advance of when you want to decorate.

Just ask my husband how frustrating it is to have your house continually fall apart when you are trying to decorate because you haven’t given the house adequate time to dry first. One year my husband was having sooo much trouble due to his impatience (the house kept falling apart and messing up his decorations) that he gobbed a bunch of icing inside to hold the walls and roof on, scraped off the ill-fated, half-finished decorations and wrote ditto and an arrow on the roof. He then placed it so the arrow pointed to mine. Personally, I would suggest giving the icing on the structure at least an hour or two to dry and harden before attempting to decorate.

6- Canned goods make great structural supports while trying to assemble walls.

When assembling the walls, you will want to place one can on the inside corner and then one on each wall on the outside of the walls to give support while the icing is initially drying. After all 4 main walls are sufficiently dry that you aren’t worried about them falling over, then, gently add the roof.

7-Take your Time with the decorations. 

There is no wrong way to decorate your Gingerbread house. Some people prefer to do a lot of detailing with icing and others prefer to use a lot of candy. Personally I like to do both. The most important thing to remember is to have fun and take your time.

What suggestions or tips do you have for the perfect Gingerbread making experience? Please share!

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