Have you ever wondered how those amazing gingerbread houses are made? Seems pretty impossible, considering most kits fall apart the second you put the frosting on. Not this recipe! This construction-grade gingerbread house recipe is SO strong! I made my house three weeks ago, and it's still standing strong. You can trim it, sand it, bake it in mold,s and even pour sugar windows. Keep reading for more tips!
What's In This Blog Post
I'll let you in on a little secret: not all gingerbread is created equal. You might be surprised to find out that the gingerbread that is used to make those amazing houses are made with something called "construction gingerbread," meaning it's not meant to be eaten and is really only for building.
So if you try to build a gingerbread house from regular yummy gingerbread cookie dough, you might find your cookie dough spreading or cracking when you try to assemble the house.
This is the gingerbread house recipe that I got from my friend Christophe Rull who is the head pastry chef at the Parky Hyatt Aviara in San Diego. We used this recipe to build a gingerbread house that was over twelve feet tall! Granted we had a structure underneath because the house had to be on display for over a month but still, it was the best structural gingerbread I've ever used!
Christophe has graciously shared his recipe with me so I can give it to you guys! So you can make some amazing gingerbread houses too!
Gingerbread House Ingredients
First we need to get all our ingredients together to make the gingerbread house recipe. You probably already have all the ingredients you need in your pantry but check for molasses since that isn't used very much anymore and you'll need quite a bit. Molasses actually gives the gingerbread that nice dark gingerbread color.
Making the dough
This gingerbread house recipe also uses shortening so make sure you have that on hand. Since we're not eating this gingerbread house, you could really skip all the spices but they add a nice color and scent to the house that looks and smells really nice!
- Sift together your flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a bowl and set it aside.
- Melt the vegetable shortening in the microwave or on the stove until it's just barely melted. I'm using shortening because we aren't eating this gingerbread so the taste isn't important.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the shortening, sugar, and molasses. Add in your egg and mix until smooth.
- Add your dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms.
- Divide your dough in half and roll it out ¼" thick directly onto a silicone baking mat so that we can pour sugar windows next.
- After the dough is rolled out, put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes. This just makes cutting out the templates a little easier and helps them to hold their shape. I try to keep my pieces pretty close together without being TOO close or they might touch during baking. This recipe doesn't spread but it does puff a tiny bit. Keep your leftover dough for later.
Gingerbread House Pattern
I have a gingerbread house pattern that you can use to make your own gingerbread houses. I know it SEEMS very small but once it's assembled, its actually the perfect size for an individual gingerbread house to decorate. One gingerbread house recipe will make three gingerbread houses.
Cutting Out The Gingerbread
Once you have your template printed and cut out, you can use it on your chilled dough to make your gingerbread pieces. I like to cut carefully directly on the baking mat so they don't get distorted when transferring them.
- Divide your dough in half and roll it out ¼" thick directly onto a silicone baking mat so that we can pour sugar windows next.
- After the dough is rolled out, put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes. This just makes cutting out the templates a little easier and helps them to hold their shape. I try to keep my pieces pretty close together without being TOO close or they might touch during baking. This recipe doesn't spread but it does puff a tiny bit. Keep your leftover dough for later.
- If you want to add a brick texture, now is the time to press it into your dough, BEFORE you cut. I used a x-acto knife to cut mine but any small knife works. Just don't cut through your silicone mat!
- Peel away the excess dough and set it aside to roll out for the other houses.
- Bake the pieces in the oven at 300ºF for 30-50 minutes. Keep an eye on the color, if you feel like they are getting too dark, you can take them out sooner.
Brick Texture
For one of my houses, I used a brick impression tool. I like this one in particular because it has nic,e sharp edges and doesn't distort the gingerbread cookie dough when you push it in. I got mine from Nicholas Lodge.
Just press the embossing tool into my cookie dough before baking to get this awesome brick texture on my gingerbread house walls! I love how it turned out!
Stained glass windows
You definitely don't HAVE to put windows in your gingerbread house but if you're extra like me (which I feel like you might be) then you're going to want to make some awesome windows for your gingerbread house! lucky for you it's SUPER easy!
All you need is some hard candies but the trick to windows that stay nice and clear is to use sugar free candy. Sugar free candy is made with something called isomalt and is actually more resistant to clouding than traditional sugar.
- For my windows I used sugar free jolly ranchers and hard candies in pink, blue and green. I broke them up into smaller pieces with a mallet inside a plastic baggie so the pieces wouldn't go flying
- Then all you have to do is put a few pieces of each color into the cut out of your cooked gingerbread. Don't be afraid to fill it up because it thins out a lot once it's melted.
- I put the candy into the cutout areas during the last 5 minutes of baking. If they aren't completely melted then you can do another minute but don't leave them in too long or they will burn. Let your cookies completely cool before removing the silicone baking mat from the back. Voila! Super pretty gingerbread cookie windows! And so easy!
- If you want clear windows you can use clear sugar-free candies or you can use isomalt. I like to buy mine pre-cooked and ready to melt from simi cakes and confections. Or you can make your own isomalt from raw granules by using my clear isomalt recipe.
House Assembly
If you've ever tried to put together a gingerbread house, you know it can be a bit challenging! The main thing you need is some THICK royal icing and some patience. First I recommend making up a batch of my royal icing. The stuff they sell in the kits is too soft!
You can also use melted isomalt or even caramel to assemble your pieces by dipping the ends in the sugar and gluing them together but be very very careful you don't drip and get a sugar burn.
- Place some of the royal icing into a piping bag and cut off the end to make a small hole or use a #2 piping tip.
- Pipe a line on the sides of the front and back piece right along the edge. Don't be skimpy with your royal icing!
- Attach the sidewall and place it on a flat surface. Now attach the other sidewall. Then you can put on the back piece. Wipe off any excess royal on the outside but the inside should have lots. Even add more if you want! I let this dry for an hour or so before adding the roof just to be safe.
- To add the roof, I piped some royal along the top edge of one side of the house then add the first part of the roof. Then I pipe royal to the second part of the house and along the top edge of the first piece of the roof and add the final piece of the roof. Let this baby dry overnight before you start adding candy so that it's rock solid.
- Decorate! Once your gingerbread house is assembled you can start decorating with all kinds of candies and colored royal icing! I LOVE this gingerbread house by Freed's Bakery and will some day attempt something like this. I'm in love with all the colors of the icing and the creative use of candy. If you want more gingerbread house ideas check out my 25 best gingerbread house ideas post.
Pro-tip: If you are piping lots of decorations onto your gingerbread house, you can add all your decorations first, let them dry and then assemble your house.
How To Decorate A Gingerbread House
To decorate my gingerbread house, I used a combination of a bunch of candies like M&M, hard candies, candy canes, miniature starburst candies and chocolate bars. You can use whatever candies you like, just mix and match and have fun!
I used my stiff royal icing to attach the candy to the gingerbread house and let it dry overnight before I lifted it up to put the battery-operated tea lights underneath. These little houses look so cute on our bookshelf and make the best decorations for the holidays!
Gingerbread House Recipe Without Molasses
Did you run out of molasses? That's ok! You can replace the molasses in this gingerbread house recipe with a few things. You can use dark corn syrup, honey, maple syrup or even brown sugar in place of molasses. Make sure you use the same amount by weight, not by volume (cups).
I honestly have not made a lot of gingerbread houses but I feel like I could do some legit complicated designs based on what I have learned with this gingerbread house recipe and making a couple of practice ones. I can't wait to decorate these this weekend for Friendsgiving!
Recipe
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with paddle and whisk attachment
- Piping bag and tips
Ingredients
Gingerbread House Recipe
- 28 oz AP Flour
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 7 oz vegetable shortening
- 6 oz sugar
- 16 oz molasses
- 1 Large egg
- 5 crushed jolly ranchers or isomalt for the windows
Stiff Royal Icing Recipe
- 16 ounces powdered sugar sifted
- 2 ounces pasteurized egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For The Gingerbread House
- Sift together your flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a bowl and set it aside.
- Microwave vegetable shortening (or melt on stovetop in pot) until liquid but not hot
- In a stand mixer, whisk shortening, sugar and molasses together. Add the egg and mix until combined
- Switch to the paddle attachment and add your dry ingredients. Mix on medium/low until a smooth ball starts to form, do not over mix
- Roll out dough onto parchment paper or a baking mat to ¼" thick. Try to make the dough as even in thickness as possible.
- Freeze dough for 20 minutes (optional)
- Cut shapes out using your templates. Remove excess dough (can be used to re-roll out and make more pieces)
- Bake in an oven set to 300º F for 30-50 mins until very firm and dried out.
- Once gingerbread is done, remove from the oven and let fully cool before moving. Your gingerbread is now ready to be assembled.
For The Royal Icing
- Combine your egg whites, sifted powdered sugar, and cream of tartar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attached.
- Mix on low to get the ingredients combined then bump up to high for 1-2 minutes. Add in your vanilla extract and whip until it's white. No need to mix for longer than 5 minutes.
- Place the royal icing into a bowl or container with a lid. Your THICK royal icing is now ready to be thinned down to the consistency you desire.
Gina says
THANK YOU! What's odd is if you pour an 12 oz bottle of molasses into your food scale it's 16 ounces. I know it's fluid ounces but is this recipe done with pouring out the molasses and weighing it? So confused!!!
Elizabeth Marek says
That is so annoying! That is why I weigh everything! If you take butter out of the wrapper its not 8 ounces either!
C says
Please forgive the dumb questions but I’m still learning a lot about baking and the basics. I get the measuring by weight - I have a scale and have realized how off my flour can be especially on a doubled+ recipe. But when it comes to liquids I wanted some confirmation... the molasses says 16 oz. is that fluid ounces like 2 cups? I remember watching one of those cooking shows and a judge commented that someone used the dry measuring cup for wet ingredients (or vice versa) and really blew my mind.
So I know this is basic stuff but if you could clarify the molasses and shortening measuring so I can make sure I’m doing it correctly with the correct tools. Thanks so much for your time and this awesome recipe. My gingerbread houses are going to be on point this year!
Elizabeth Marek says
Everything is by weight, liquids too. Makes it very easy. I don't use volume (cups) measurements at all because of how inaccurate they can be even with liquids. Oil is heavier than water, but not as much as sour cream. So I just weigh everything.
Dana Van Clieaf says
Good morning! I just need to make a small house for the top of a 6” cake; can this recipe be halved?
Also, did you use cooking molasses or fancy molasses in the recipe?
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can half the recipe if you want. I don't know specifically, it doesn't say on the bottle. It was just grandmas unsulphered molassas.
Beckie Dunning says
how do u print out the templete.
Elizabeth Marek says
Just click on the gingerbread house template link (text) in the blog post and it brings up the image to print
Brittany says
I’m excited to try this recipe! How far in advance can you make the dough? We are trying to make a larger house this year and I want to make some ahead of time. Thanks!
Elizabeth Marek says
You can make it as far in advance as you need to <3
Maja says
Hi. I'm wondering if you have any measurements for the template? I know I can print it, but would'nt the size be the size of the piece of paper?
Elizabeth Marek says
The size the gingerbread prints at is the size of the gingerbread house I made
Kaylee says
Hello! I also sent a message on Insta. I subbed dark brown sugar for the molasses, and after combining dry ingredients to the wet it’s looking so dry and crumbly and not coming together as a dough. Help! What should I do? Add a little water? Thanks!
Elizabeth Marek says
I would add some corn syrup to make up for the loss of liquid
Natalie says
Ok can’t wait to try this! I’m making my first gingerbread house and have decided to do a replica of the church I live in. Ambitious I know. Would attaching the pieces using caramel provide more stability? Also can I use caster instead of granulated sugar???
Thanks
Xxx
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can do that and yes, you can use caster
Antonia says
In my country, baking gingerbread houses isn't rly common, but I want to give it a try.
Can you pls give me some tips to get started?
Elizabeth Marek says
I give lots of tips in the blog post 🙂
Farida says
Fantastic recipe! I had to make a huge house so i tripled the recipe and it worked so beautifully! It was so Easy to roll, cut, bake and assemble, this was my first gingerbread house from scratch and it turned out so great!! Thank you!
Jessica says
Hi thanks for sharing all those amazing recipes. Can i use 8 or 10 oz of molasses for example to qet a lighter cookie color, or how can i get a beautiful classic gingerbread color. Thanks again. Merry christmas.?
The Sugar Geek Show says
This a standard gingerbread recipe, if you feel it's too dark you could bake for a little less time but the cookie may not be as strong.
Maida Cz says
Thank you for sharing your recipe! So I made three houses with your recipe. However they baked really dark @ 300 for 55 minutes. I’m not sure if it because of how dark the molasses I used is or if they’re actually burnt! Such hard work to go to the garbage haha. May I ask what brand of molasses you use? Thanks a bunch for your tips & guidance.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Oh I'm so sorry you threw it away. It should be dark and we are not eating this recipe. It is meant to be dark and hard so that it stays strong all month and does not collapse.
Nuria says
Why wouldn't you eat it? Reads like a nice cookie recipe. Everything in there is edible.
BTW, what can I use instead of molasses? I cannot get them around here. What about honey/agave syrup/glucose/corn syrup? (listed from easier and cheaper to get to rarest and most expensive)
The Sugar Geek Show says
You can definitely eat it but it's very hard/crunchy so I don't recommend to eat it. The point of the house is to be a decoration mainly. You can replace molasses with dark corn syrup. If you use honey or glucose the color will be very light.
Nuri says
Just finished baking! I used light corn syrup bc I didn't want it too dark, came out quite nice! And the windows so pretty! (to anyone reading: do use a lot of crushed candy, It disappears!). I prepared the dough, rolled it out on the parchment paper in the baking trays and kept it in the fridge till next day, then took the trays out of the fridge one by one, cut the shapes and bake.
It took less then the time stated here, and my oven is not very powerful, maybe mine was thinner? I baked 40 minutes total (35+5 for the windows). I tasted one defective piece and it's really crunchy but nothing a good dunk in coffee can't fix XD
I have a good quantity of dough left that I don't think I'll be needing, what do you think I could add to it to make it less crunchy and turn it into cookies? More fat? (I used butter) Extra egg? I'll definitely up the cinnammon :p
The Sugar Geek Show says
This recipe is for a sturdy gingerbread house, if you make the dough softer it could potentially collapse 🙂 The crunchy texture is normal.
sabriena says
This is my first time attempting to make my own gingerbread house. We usually just buy a kit from the grocery store and every single time I get annoyed at it falling apart. So far I've only cooked the pieces of the house but I definitely got 3 houses out of it and it has all baked up nicely. Tomorrow I'll do the assembly and then the next day we're going to decorate. Thank you so much for the gingerbread recipe!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yay!! Good for you! Making your own royal icing is the best
Robin says
This looks fantastic! What are the rough measurements of the pieces of your template? I have another pattern I am going to use and I am trying to figure out how many times I need to multiply the recipe (I am making 14 houses!). Thank you!
The Sugar Geek Show says
I don't know the measurements off the top of my head but you can print the house template if you like 🙂
Kathryn Arbez says
Can I use lard instead of vegetable shortening.
The Sugar Geek Show says
I have not tested this with lard but I think it would be ok 🙂