The gingerbread house making process is a classic Christmas tradition. Whether you are a seasoned pro or a complete novice, we have all the tips and tricks to help you make your most delicious gingerbread house yet! From recipes to decoration ideas, we have everything you need to create the perfect gingerbread masterpiece. So get ready to roll up your sleeves and get cooking the gingerbread house now!
Here are 10+ ideas for gingerbread house decorations for you to check out.
Table of Contents
Why is Gingerbread an Important Christmas Tradition?
Why Gingerbread is important?
The tradition of creating gingerbread houses began in Germany in the early 1800s and was supposedly popularized after the publication of Hansel and Gretel, a fairytale that is not particularly Christmassy, in 1812.
Keep on reading for more information about the gingerbread house: ways to do, tips and what to avoid while the making process.
A Successful Timeline of Gingerbread House
If youre feeling overwhelmed, break the process down into steps. Heres a suggested timeline.
- D-4: Before you begin constructing the gingerbread house, make sure to have all the necessary ingredients and tools on hand. Youll need: a base for the house, cookie sheets, parchment paper, rolling pin, sharp knife, electric mixer, and either a pastry bag with tips or plastic freezer bag.
- D-3: Make the gingerbread dough.
- D-2: Let the pieces cool after baking them.
- D-1: Follow the instructions to put the house together, and wait for the icing to harden before proceeding.
- D of Decorate!
How to Make The Gingerbread House in 8 Steps?
How to make the gingerbread house for Christmas?
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup of butter
- 1 cup of white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of molasses
- 5 cups of all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions:
- Remember to preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C).
- Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk and cream the butter plus sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and then stir in the molasses.
- Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda and cinnamon; stir into the molasses mixture until well blended.
- Spread the dough evenly into the pan that you prepared in advance.
- Bake the gingerbread in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the center is firm and a toothpick inserted into it comes out clean.
- Let cool before assembling the gingerbread house.
Time to Assembling the Crazy Cool Gingerbread Houses
Ingredients:
- The gingerbread pieces
- Royal icing
- Various decorations (candies, sprinkles etc.)
Instructions:
The body parts:
- To make the basic large gingerbread house shape, cut the rectangular pieces of gingerbread into four equal parts.
- Arrange the pieces to form a square with the sides as equal as possible.
- Use the prepared royal icing to secure the pieces together.
- Allow the icing to set the body of the house
The roof part:
- In order to attach the roof pieces to the base of the gingerbread house, youll need to run a thick line of royal icing along all of the inside edges of one piece.
- Once thats done, firmly press it onto the base and hold it in place for a few minutes before repeating those same steps with the second roof piece.
- In order now join these two newly attached pieces at the top of your (roof) house, you guessed right!
- Use more royal icing to get create a bond so strong not even Mother Nature will be able shake it loose.
The optional chimney (optional):
How to put chimney onto the gingerbread house?
- For the easiest construction, glue the chimney pieces together upside-down, then adhere to the roof.
- Assemble the chimney by using thick lines of royal icing in the same way you assembled the base of the house. (Except dont adhere it to a base because it goes on the roof!)
- Once the icing is set, prop it up if needed.
- Once you have set it up, attach it to the roof.
- The chimneys angle might not fit the roof precisely because they both expanded or lost some shape during baking and cooling, so use royal icing as necessary. You can then cover any bare spots with buttercream while youre decorating.
House must set:
- The entire house must be set before decorating.
- Allow the house to sit at room temperature for 3 hours or more, so that the icing has time to harden properly.
- Cover and store leftover royal icing during this time - it will come in handy later when you start to attach candies onto the house.
Prepare the buttercream:
- You can make the buttercream frosting up to a day ahead- just store it overnight in the fridge, and remember to bring it back to room temperature before you start decorating.
- To begin, cream shortening and butter together with a handheld or stand mixer until light and fluffy, for around 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Gradually add confectioners sugar while mixing on low until everything is combined. Pour in milk and vanilla extract afterwards.
- Beating on high speed for 3 full minutes once everything is mixed.
- If the frosting is too thick, add more milk. If its too sweet, add a pinch of salt (I use 1/8 teaspoon). You can also use buttercream, leftover royal icing, and candies for decorating.
- Obviously dont forget to eat your beautiful creation if youre in the mood-but judge for yourself when would be the best time to do so because the food will taste old after a few days.
Here are 2 videos of the gingerbread house instructions for you to watch:
Tips to Have a Perfect Large Gingerbread House
- The template found below can be printed and the shapes cut out. Keep in mind that each shape will be used twice for things like two roofs or two sides, etc.
- The best way to roll out this gingerbread cookie dough is by putting it between two sheets of parchment paper. If not, it has a tendency to stick to your counter no matter how much flour you use.
- As far as royal icing goes, use as much as needed to construct the gingerbread house - it dries hard and looks similar to snowfall. Should there be any messy areas, they can easily be hidden with buttercream or candy toppings.
- This buttercream crusts or sets after a couple hours because of the shortening. If you want a stickier consistency, replace the shortened with unsalted butter.
What to Avoid when Making Gingerbread House?
- Avoid the temptation to go overboard on the candy, as the candies will quickly start to slip off the icing.
- Also, avoid adding too much moisture to the dough by overworking it. If you knead the mixture too much it will become tough and hard to shape when baked.
- Keep in mind that one recipe of the gingerbread dough will only cover the basic shapes. If you want the house to look more polished and the details to pop, use the royal icing as a glue for the pieces.
- Do not rush the drying time of the pieces; this is key in making sure the structure remains sturdy.
- Finally, dont forget to check the lasting time of the gingerbread house for your food safety.
- With these tips, your crazy cool gingerbread house will be the hit of the party!
Other Ideas for Crazy Cool Gingerbread Houses
A large gingerbread house is the classic, but there are lots of other creative ways to make a great gingerbread structure.
Why not try making a gingerbread village instead of a single house? Use the same recipe and shaping techniques but create multiple structures in different sizes; you can even add details such as roads and sidewalks made with candy pieces.
Maybe make the iconic Gingerbread Man, using the same dough recipe and cutting the pieces with your own handmade template. Make him as tall or small as youd like; the only limit is your imagination!
If the kids are involved in the baking process, get them to decorate the gingerbread man too - it could be the perfect activity for the holidays.
Or go the extra mile and make a gingerbread train along with the gingerbread house, complete with cookies for the cars and the engine!
But whichever version of the gingerbread house you choose to make, the result will be sure to impress. So dont forget to take pictures of the final masterpiece - youll want to remember it forever!
FAQs
What can I use to make base of the gingerbread house?
Pick a stable foundation for your gingerbread house - like a flat cookie sheet or firm piece of cardboard. If you want, line the base with aluminum foil/ wax paper. Adhere the sides of the house together with royal icing: Pipe a liberal line of icing along one short end of a side piece.
Should the texture of gingerbread house be hard or soft?
The gingerbread for houses needs to be hard, dry instead of soggy or soft. If it were any other way, all your hard work would go to waste because the house can collapse any time!
How long does a gingerbread house harden?
Let your gingerbread house dry for an hour in between putting up the walls and roof, and another two to three hours before decorating.
How to keep a gingerbread house crisp?
By displaying your gingerbread house in a cool and dry area, you can keep it looking perfect during the holiday season. Covering the gingerbread house at night with plastic wrap will create a barrier against moisture, dust, bugs, and other things that could damage it.
How to secure the walls of the gingerbread house?
If you want to avoid a gingerbread house catastrophe, first assemble the walls with STIFF royal icing and then let them dry for an hour. This will allow the walls to support the weight of the roof as well as all of the candy you add on top.
Conclusion
Thats all the recipe about how to make the gingerbread house! Were delighted to be your sous chef and help you finish amazing meals for your family and friends. Thank you for your reading and we hope to see you in the next articles. In case you need more cooking and baking recipes, visit our website dixieshomecookin.org. You can visit us more at thebluestove.com.
