Gingerbread House Recipe

4.86 from 208 votes

The best construction gingerbread house recipe. Super strong, no spread, great for cutting intricate templates, and holds up for the entire holiday season. One batch makes three individual houses.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Chilling20

Total Time1 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: gingerbread houses

Calories: 112kcal

Author: Liz Marek

Equipment

Stand Mixer with paddle and whisk attachment
Candy thermometer (if making isomalt windows)
Piping bag and tips
silicone mat

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

Royal Icing Recipe

16 ounces powdered sugar sifted
2 ounces pasteurized egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Gingerbread House

Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
Melt the vegetable shortening until just liquid (not hot). In your stand mixer, combine the melted shortening, sugar, and molasses and mix until smooth. Add the egg and mix to combine.
Switch to the paddle attachment, add your dry ingredients, and mix on medium-low until a smooth, firm dough forms. Do not overmix.
Divide the dough in half and roll each half out to ¼ inch thick directly onto a silicone baking mat (this is important if you're doing sugar windows later). Try to keep the thickness as even as possible for even baking. Pop the rolled dough in the freezer for 20 minutes. This makes it much easier to cut cleanly.
Place your templates on the chilled dough and cut around them. An X-Acto knife works great for clean edges, but any small sharp knife will do. Just be careful not to cut through your silicone mat. Peel away the excess dough and save it to re-roll for more houses.
NOW is the time to add a brick texture, a roof shingle pattern, or any other embossing BEFORE you bake. Press your impression tool firmly into the raw dough. A spoon can make scalloped roof tiles. The blunt side of a butter knife makes great brick lines.
Bake at 300º F for 30 to 50 minutes. You're looking for very firm, dried-out pieces that have darkened slightly. If they feel even a tiny bit soft or bendy, keep baking. Under-baked pieces will flex and crack during assembly. Keep an eye on the color, especially on smaller pieces like chimneys which bake faster.
Let the pieces cool fully on the mat or pan before you touch them. Once cool, set them aside uncovered overnight to dry out further. The drier they are, the stronger your assembly will be.

For the Royal Icing

Make sure your mixer bowl, whisk, and all tools are completely grease-free.
Combine sifted powdered sugar, egg whites, and cream of tartar in the mixer bowl. Mix on low to combine, then increase to high and whip until bright white and stiff, 1 to 2 minutes. Add vanilla and mix briefly.
Keep covered with plastic wrap pressed to the surface or a damp towel at all times to prevent crusting.

For Assembly

Choose and prepare your base. Pipe a ring of royal icing on the base where the house will sit.
Pipe a generous line of thick royal icing along the edges of your front piece. Press a side wall into place, hold for 30 to 60 seconds, then support with tin cans. Repeat with remaining walls.
Let walls set for at least 1 hour with tin can support before adding the roof.
Pipe icing along the top edges of the walls. Press roof pieces into place and support with cans. Let the fully assembled house set overnight before decorating.
Decorate with colored royal icing and assorted candies. Let everything dry fully before moving.

Video

Notes

Molasses substitute: Replace with an equal weight of dark corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, or dissolved brown sugar. Use the same weight, not the same volume.

Shortening vs. butter: Shortening produces a stronger, longer-lasting house that isn't meant to be eaten. Butter can be substituted 1:1 for a more edible result, but the pieces will be slightly softer and won't last as long on display.

Windows: Sugar-free hard candies stay much clearer than regular sugar candies because they contain isomalt. Use sugar-free for the clearest windows. For completely clear windows, use pre-cooked isomalt instead.

Royal icing tip: Any grease in your bowl or tools will prevent royal icing from setting properly. Wash everything well and dry thoroughly before making.

Make-ahead: Baked pieces: room temperature airtight container up to 1 week, or frozen up to 3 months. Dough: refrigerator up to 3 days. Assembled structure: can be built a day ahead before decorating.

Storage: Display in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Construction gingerbread with shortening can last the entire holiday season and potentially years if stored carefully.

Nutrition