How to Build a Gingerbread House
The 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) |