How to Build a Gingerbread House

Gingerbread HouseThe microwave is your friend. If your dough is too tough to roll-out, simply microwave for 10 - 15 seconds. Take just the amount you need and zap-it quickly. You’ll find the dough much more pliable and easier to handle.

Use parchment paper! This is an easy way to roll out, transfer and bake your pieces! Simply flour the parchment paper, roll out your dough, cut your pieces and then lift the entire sheet onto your cookie sheet and bake. When done, remove your cookie sheet from the oven and transfer the parchment sheet to your countertop or table to cool. No risk of breaking your pieces as you move them.

Try cutting your dough using a pizza cutter. A pizza cutter provides a quick straight line for large pieces like walls and roofs.

Cut out windows and doors from the rolled out, unbaked gingerbread dough.
Make them small as you want your walls to be strong.

A nice touch for the windows is to make a stained glass effect. You can do this by breaking up hard candy and sprinkling it in window cutout before baking. Once it’s baked, it will melt and harden and look like a stained glass window. Make sure you either have a non-stick sheet pan or that you place tin foil underneath the window area.

Be sure to have a strong supportive base available to assemble your gingerbread house on. This will make it easier for moving and transporting later.

Consider bracing the inside of a gingerbread house larger than 12” with cardboard or extra large pretzel sticks for support.

Make sure to protect whatever surface you are building your house on. The frosting sticks like glue!

Be sure to separate icing into separate bowls before colouring.

Rice Krispie Treats make great bushes. Tint them green, add some other types of cereal for variety and added shape, and consider coating them in corn syrup for an icy look. Voila – edible, uniquely shaped landscaping!

Try this Gingerbread House recipe with Royal Icing.

Gingerbread house decorations: Try using:
Roof & shingles Long sticks of gum, vanilla wafer cookies or mini shredded wheat squares (frosted or unfrosted)
Log, poles & beams Pretzel sticks
Snow Confectioners sugar or shredded coconut
Walkways Dampen superfine sugar, add food colouring and press onto ground
Doors Graham crackers
Woodpile Cinnamon sticks or mini pretzel sticks
Streetlight poles Candy canes
Chimneys and stonework Peanut brittle
Gravel walkway Crushed nuts
Porch columns Peppermint sticks
Fences Mini pretzel sticks
Window shutters Wafer cream cookies
Smoke rising from chimney Cotton candy
Icicles hanging from roof Drizzled royal icing
Trees Rice Krispie squares; ice cream cones topped with cotton candy
Flowers Gum drops stuck on toothpicks
Snowmen Marshmallows
Windows Edible rice paper, or melted hard candy (such as Life Savers or lollipops)