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Step 17 – Assembling the side walls of the gingerbread house. Choose the base on which you will build the gingerbread house. A cake board works well, but you can also use anything else that is food-safe and flat for a flat surface.
Gingerbread house template
Being show-off, competitive types, most of them insisted on decorating their own house. Keeping the recipe, I scaled the dimensions; it made enough for one 6x6 house and four 4x4 houses (w/a wee bit left over for snacking & spare parts). The dough and gingerbread is very forgiving!
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I found once baked, they were hard enough, that if you wanted to use them once cooled, you probably could. Agree with others - cut the gingerbread after it comes out of the oven, while it is still soft. I waited the 5 days the instructions suggest and my cuts were not clean, plus I had a corner crumble because the gingerbread was too hard by that point. It helps to use a small paring knife to trace out the template on the gingerbread after it's baked, then make clean cuts with a larger knife. I am in the process of trying this for the first time.
How to make a gingerbread house — and cute gingerbread people, too
If you don’t pick at the gingerbread house and the candy, it will last indefinitely. After a couple of weeks it will get stale and inedible but will still make a festive display. If you store your gingerbread house in an airtight container, you can save it for next Christmas season! At this point, it’s really for display purposes only. If any of your gingerbread house pieces break, do not fret!
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I’ve had success with decorating mine right away, but do what works best for you. To add the roof panels, pipe icing along the top of the walls. Place the roof panels and support them while the icing sets (again, only a few minutes if you’re using royal icing). Finish with a thick line of icing along the top where the roof panels meet. Allow the icing to fully set in a dry place before adding decorations. This could take a few hours, or overnight.
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However, you will need to make half a batch at a time and be gentle with incorporating the flour to make the dough. You can either use a thick royal icing or melted chocolate for this. I use meringue powder so this makes it safer for anyone to eat. However, you can also use egg whites instead of meringue powder and water.
The best part is that it brings the whole household together for a fun and festive project. Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram. If needed, place an item to prop up the overhang while the icing hardens and the roof sticks securely. Repeat with the other side of the roof and provide support as it dries as well. Place the roof pieces, making sure one edge is lined up with the top of the roof.

Due to the strong flavors in gingerbread dough, vanilla isn’t necessary. You can use white sugar instead of brown sugar, but I love the additional molassey flavor and dark brown color it lends to the dough. I use less cloves because I find ground cloves can easily overpower the gingerbread house flavors. The whole scene glistens with a fresh dusting of Sparkling Sugar. To the modern cook, making a gingerbread house may seem nearly as daunting as building a real house. But, like dyeing Easter eggs, it’s a rewarding, hands-on way to connect to holiday traditions of the past.
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It’s also the glue adhering any candies to the walls and roof. As you can see in these photos, I covered the roof with royal icing before piping the buttercream on. As the royal icing dried, it gently dripped off the sides and looked like snow. This template will give you a small-medium house that’s totally approachable. I find large houses difficult to construct and decorate.
Add the sugar a little at a time, on the lowest speed, to prevent the sugar from flying off while mixing. The first step is to whisk the meringue powder and water together until there are no lumps, and it’s frothy. Add the cream of tartar as well and whisk until you have a foamy mixture. If there are any edges that are not straight, don’t worry! You can use royal icing to fill and straighten the edges, or you can use a micro planer to carefully shave off excess cookie on the sides (Image 28).
This is ideal if you’re building a complicated design or if you want to display your gingerbread house for a long time. Is that image inspiring — or intimidating? Worried you’ll end up with a crumbling, crooked shack, decorations dripping off, misshapen cookie inhabitants looking on with despair? Here’s the video tutorial to guide you along. You can watch me make this gingerbread house from start to finish, including rolling out the dough and decorating the house. Sprinkled throughout are my highly recommended tips and methods to guarantee gingerbread house success.