Here’s my completely homemade gingerbread house recipe including how to bake, construct, and decorate with royal icing and buttercream. There are no rules when it comes to decorating gingerbread houses. The ONLY rule is to have fun!
One of the most common recipe questions I receive is how to turn my gingerbread cookies into a house. I’ve never really had a solid answer until now. I have it all for you today including:
- solid gingerbread cookie dough recipe
- a free gingerbread house template with the exact shapes you’ll need
- all my decorating tips and recommendations
- links to the products I use if you want to replicate this
Trust me when I say that I am NOT a crafty person, but I could EASILY decorate this beauty and I’m showing you exactly how I did it. This is perfect for beginners!
Let’s get started. 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.
Gingerbread House Video Tutorial
Starting Your Homemade Gingerbread House
We’re using a cookie dough that’s similar to my gingerbread cookies. The gingerbread cookies are soft in the centers and crisp on the edges, but the gingerbread house shapes are much more sturdy and solid. Let’s compare the house recipe to the cookie recipe:
- small amount of baking soda for less puff
- less butter so the house shapes are harder
- less molasses so the dough isn’t as sticky
- add water to make a smoother dough
Other than that, the recipes are pretty similar. Chilling the dough is imperative—otherwise the house pieces will lose shape and constructing will be impossible. The dough is a little sticky from the molasses, so I recommend chilling in two discs before rolling out.
Why two discs? It’s easier to roll out smaller portions of cookie dough.
How to Construct a Gingerbread House
Use my gingerbread house template. This template will give you a small-medium house that’s totally approachable. I find large houses difficult to construct and decorate.
This house is approximately 7 inches tall with the chimney and 6 inches wide.
Click this link for the PDF: Sally’s Baking Gingerbread House Template
Print out the template and cut out the shapes. Each shape will be used TWICE. For example, two roofs, two sides, etc. Use a pizza cutter or small knife. The chimney is totally optional, but I think it’s a cute addition.
Best Method for Rolling the Dough
The most successful way to roll out this gingerbread cookie dough is between two sheets of parchment paper. It will stick to your counter no matter how much you flour it.
Re-roll the scraps so you have enough dough for the entire house.
Gingerbread House Icing
Every house needs sturdy walls, right? Royal icing is the “glue” that holds the house together. 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.
TIP: Use as much royal icing as you need to for constructing the house. It dries hard and will look like snow. Plus, you can cover up any messy parts with buttercream or candy.
Crusting Buttercream for Decoration
Though I love working with both, I’m much better at decorating desserts with buttercream compared to royal icing. And maybe you’re the same? So let’s use some STURDY and THICK buttercream called Crusting Buttercream. Made with both shortening and butter, crusting buttercream “sets” and doesn’t stay sticky—it’s ideal for decorating gourmet cakes, cookies, and gingerbread houses.
Two tools I highly recommend:
- A squeeze bottle for the royal icing “glue” around the edges of the house.
- A piping bag (reusable or disposable) + tip for decorating with buttercream. I only used 1 piping tip for the entire house: Ateco piping tip #32. This is a small open star piping tip and you can watch me use it in the video above. Makes a lovely design.
These baking tools would be great to add to your holiday wish list. And while you’re at it, be sure to check out my complete guide full of Holiday Gifts for Bakers. Lots of fun ideas in there, either for yourself or other baker friends!
Candies for Decorating a Homemade Gingerbread House
- gumdrops
- M&Ms
- candy canes (mini or regular size)
- peppermint swirl candies
- sprinkles (I used a holiday mix from Sweetapolita)
- edible metallic beads/dragees (also from Sweetapolita)
- marshmallows
- coconut for “snow”
- cinnamon sticks, Hershey’s Kisses, chocolate chips, cereal pieces!
- icing decorations such as these snowflakes
I absolutely love the Wilton brand icing decorations you can find online or at craft stores. I bought them at Michaels craft store, which had a ton of gingerbread house decorating candies in the seasonal section including the pictured holly and these similar snowflake icing decorations. (Not sponsored, genuinely LOVE Wilton and Michaels craft store.)
Gingerbread House Ideas
I gathered a few links for you to use as decorating inspiration. There are so many beautiful (and SIMPLE) decorated gingerbread houses out there.
- picture of fun roof ideas
- slideshow of 40 cute gingerbread houses
- even more adorable gingerbread houses
- log cabin gingerbread house
- you could also cut windows out of the house’s walls before baking and add crushed hard candies, just as we do with stained glass window cookies
Ditch the “pinterest perfection” goal and get messy. The piped crusting buttercream on my pictured gingerbread house hid about 100 mistakes. Remember, there are no rules when it comes to decorating. The ONLY rule is to have fun.
Watch me decorate a gingerbread house in the video above. I added two decorated sugar cookies to the “yard.”
I can’t wait to see your gingerbread house creations! This was truly one of the most fun projects; it was a complete joy testing, decorating, photographing, and filming this recipe. I truly hope it brings exciting memories to your family this holiday season. And even though they make a beautiful Christmas decoration, don’t forget to eat all your hard work!!
Love to create and decorate? You’ll enjoy making this yule log, too! And of course, Christmas sugar cookies.
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
Gingerbread House Recipe (VIDEO)
- Prep Time: 1 day
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 1 day
- Yield: 1 house
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Here’s my completely homemade gingerbread house recipe including how to bake, construct, and decorate with royal icing and buttercream. Everything can be prepared in advance, see my make ahead tip after the recipe instructions. House structure must completely set for at least 4-6 hours before decorating.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) water
- royal icing (the “glue”)
- assorted candies (see post for suggestions)
Crusting Buttercream
- 1/2 cup (95g) shortening, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Print out my Sally’s Baking Recipes Gingerbread House Template and cut out the shapes. Set aside for step 6.
- Make the cookie dough: Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, molasses, and water on high speed. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. On low speed, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Cookie dough will be very thick.
- Divide cookie dough in half, flatten into discs (about 4-5 inches in diameter), and wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Cut into shapes: Remove each disc from the refrigerator and roll each out in between two pieces of parchment paper. Watch me do this in the video above—gingerbread cookie dough will stick to your counter no matter how much you flour it. Parchment is best. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. You want thick pieces for your gingerbread house. Lightly flour the underside of gingerbread house template shapes. (The dough is sticky and the paper may stick to it otherwise.) Using a pizza cutter or small knife, carefully cut the dough into the gingerbread house template shapes. You will need TWO of each shape. Re-roll dough scraps so you have enough dough for the whole house. Use any extra dough to create fun shapes using cookie cutters. I made a few gingerbread stars!
- Carefully arrange gingerbread house shapes onto prepared baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. If they lost some of their shape transferring to the baking sheet, straighten out the edges (see my video above).
- Bake house pieces for about 18-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Bake chimney pieces for about 12-13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow shapes to cool completely on the baking sheets or on the counter. A flat surface is KEY for cooling—the gingerbread house edges very slightly curl up otherwise. Cooled gingerbread house pieces can be made up to 1 week in advance, cover tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months, thaw at room temperature before using.
- Construct the base of the house: Select a base for your gingerbread house. I used a wooden cake server. Watch my video above to guide you through constructing the house. Start with two pieces: the front of the house and 1 side. Using a squeeze bottle, run a thick line of royal icing on one long edge and one short edge of the side of the house piece. Stick it to your base. Use whatever you have around the house to help it stand up. You can see in my video that I use snack bag clips. You can also prop it up with soda cans, a tall cup, water bottle, etc. Run a line of royal icing along the bottom of the front of the house piece. Stick it to your base, adhering it to the side of the house piece. Hold the two in place for a few minutes until the icing is partially set, propping them up as necessary. Repeat with the 2nd side of the house piece and back of the house piece. Pipe royal icing inside any seams, inside and outside of the house, to fill any voids. Don’t be afraid to go heavy on the royal icing “glue”—when it dries, it looks like snow! Allow it to set at room temperature for at least 1 hour before adding the roof pieces.
- Add the roof: The roof pieces will be placed on top of the house base. Run a thick line of royal icing on the inside edges of one of the roof pieces and adhere it to the base. Hold in place for a few minutes. Repeat with 2nd roof piece. Run a thick line of royal icing where the two roof pieces meet at the top of the house. Hold in place for a few minutes.
- Optional Chimney: The chimney is optional, but it’s a lot of fun. I recommend putting together the chimney separately, then adhering to the roof. It’s easiest to glue the chimney pieces together upside-down. Use thick lines of royal icing to assemble the chimney in the same way you put together the base of the house. (Except you’re not adhering it to a base because it’s going on the roof!) Allow icing to set by propping it up as necessary. Once set, adhere onto the roof. The chimney may not fit to the exact angle of the roof because both puffed up or lost some shape during baking and cooling, so use as much royal icing as necessary and you can cover any bare spots with buttercream during decoration.
- House must set: Before decorating, the icing on the entire house must completely set. Allow the entire house to set at room temperature for at least 3 hours, preferably 4-6 hours or even overnight before decorating. Cover and store leftover royal icing at room temperature or in the refrigerator during this time. It will be the glue for adhering candies to the house.
- Prepare the buttercream: Buttercream can be prepared up to 1 day in advance—cover tightly and store in the refrigerator overnight. Bring to room temperature before piping/decorating. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the shortening and butter together on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Frosting will be very thick, which is what you want. If much too thick, add another splash of milk. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. (I add 1/8 teaspoon salt.)
- Use buttercream, leftover royal icing, and candies for decorating. See my candy suggestions in the blog post above. I only used 1 piping tip for the entire house: Ateco piping tip #32. This is a small open star piping tip and you can watch me use it in the video above. Makes a lovely design.
- Don’t forget to chow down on your beautiful creation if you’re in the mood for eating it. Use your best judgment here, obviously the food will taste old after a few days!
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Royal icing can be prepared the day before, see recipe note below. Crusting buttercream can also be made the day before, see step 13. Cookie dough can be made up to 3 days in advance, see step 4. Baked and cooled house pieces can be made up to 1 week in advance or frozen for up to 3 months, see step 8. House can be completely constructed up to 1 day in advance, see step 12.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats | Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin | Pizza Cutter | Wooden Server (or similar base for gingerbread house) | Squeeze Bottle | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Ateco Piping Tip #32 | Christmas Tree Decorations | Snowflake Decorations | Mini Candy Canes | Candy Canes | Gum Drops
- Recipe Yield: One gingerbread house plus 6-8 3-inch cookies. Gingerbread house is about 7 inches tall (with chimney) and 6 inches wide.
- Royal Icing: Decide how much royal icing you want to use. I suggest making the entire royal icing recipe so you have plenty for constructing and decorating. You can make the royal icing the day before—cover and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator overnight. Let it come to room temperature before using. You can freeze leftover royal icing (instructions in that recipe) or use it to decorate Christmas cookies. As you can see in these photos, I covered the roof with royal icing before piping the buttercream on top. (Let the royal icing dry before adding the buttercream on top.) As the royal icing dried, it gently dripped off the sides and looked like snow!
- Shortening: Shortening is what makes this buttercream “crust” or “set” after a couple hours. If you want a sticky buttercream, you can replace the shortening with unsalted butter.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Question can I freeze the dough? if yes how do I de frost to make sure it still is good and isn’t overly sticky from freezing, how long can I leave it in the freezer? what do you recommend if I want to bake the dough later but make it now?!
Hi Nela, you can freeze the discs of dough for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before you’re ready to use.
Is this for one house?
Hi Melanie, yes, this yields one gingerbread house.
Hi Sally!
Just came across this recipe and it looks amazing!
Is there any way to substitute the molasses? In South Africa, molasses isn’t really available here.
Have a great day!
Hi Hannah, molasses is a key ingredient in this gingerbread recipe and there isn’t a good substitute that will give the same taste. Instead, these direction with our regular sugar cookies. You may need to 1.5 or double the recipe to have plenty to construct 1 house. We would make a few separate batches of dough so there’s plenty to work with. We’ve also done it with our chocolate sugar cookies and you need a lot of royal icing to hold it together since the cookies are a bit denser than gingerbread cookies. Have fun!
I just found some at cab foods. Try there ❤️
I am hosting a gingerbread decorating party. I will need 16 houses. Any suggestions for quadrupling the recipe x 4?
Hi Bobbi! A quadruple batch would likely be too much dough for most home mixers. We would try making a double batch, twice, instead.
Thank you for your reply. Good to know! Looking forward to this great adventure. We have been gathering for this tradition for now 15 years and always made graham houses. This year will be our first Gingerbread houses! Very exciting!
Hi Sally I love your baking recipes! My son has an egg allergy so I can’t use royal icing as the glue. Do you have any substitutes you would recommend that will still hold the house together? Thank you!
Hi Kelly! I just discovered this hack, and have not attempted it myself yet but it does sound like it would work nicely. Melt down granulated sugar on the stove-top. See this article for details: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/how-to-make-a-gingerbread-house-stay-together/
The sugar hardens quickly.
This hack works amazingly!! Just be careful not to burn yourself. This would be something an adult should do.
Look up recipes for vegan royal icing using aquafaba instead of eggs
Hi Sally and team, I’m so excited to find you have a gingerbread house recipe!! My son is keen to make gingerbread houses with me for our family Christmas celebrations this year, and I know we can always rely on your recipes for both taste and beauty! I have a question about the crusting buttercream. We live in Australia, and we don’t use generally use shortening here. If I used all butter in the buttercream, would it still be suitable for use on the gingerbread house? (Otherwise we might just omit the buttercream..)
Hi Kelly, yes, you can use regular buttercream here (without shortening) to decorate the house. It just won’t crust/harden as quickly. Hope it’s a big hit with your family!
Thanks, we’re looking forward to beginning the baking and construction this week! Merry Christmas!!
I always use Copha where her recipes call for shortening, works brilliantly in the pastry recipes.
Thanks Danielle, I wondered about that. We may just end up using royal icing and a lot of lollies!!
Has this recipe been tried with gluten free flour?
Hi Katie, we haven’t tested it, but let us know if you do!
Is there a way to make the recipe printable?
Hi Karen, there is a “Print Recipe” button at the top of the gray recipe card. This will open a print-friendly version of the recipe in a new tab. Hope this helps!
Hi there, would there be any difference if baking at altitude?
Hi Maggie, we wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Reading through and haven’t tried the recipe yet, but I wanted to suggest that folks could also just trace the printed template onto parchment paper to avoid having to add any extra flour (and avoid potential cracking.) Can’t wait to make my house!!
Can I substitute vegetable shortening for the butter?
Hi Angei, we do not recommend that swap in the cookie recipe.
Hi Sally. This recipe sounds great. Just one catch for me…I can’t eat dairy. Can the unsalted butter be substituted for a dairy-free option? Please let me know what you recommend.
I would probably ice with Royal Icing only as it looks dairy free.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Heather, We haven’t tried it that way, but you certainly can! Vegan butter (such as Earth Balance brand) is usually great in cookie recipes as a replacement for butter.
I need some help! I have used this recipe 4x (the past 4 years) and each time the dough is so so sticky I have a really hard time rolling it out. I have just added an extreme amount of extra flour to make it work. I am an experienced baker, I have tried the parchment paper, I have tried switching things up but always end up in the same place. In the end it works fine especially because either am baking for houses that generally do not get eaten but I am frustrated with this….. Just keep adding more flour? I know I measure everything correctly but am wondering if there are any other tricks or if others are having the same experience.
Hi Nicole, This is a very sticky dough. Be sure it’s sufficiently chilled, at least 3 hours but overnight is even better. You can definitely flour the dough, your rolling pin if needed, and even the surface you are rolling the dough out on – the extra flour will bake off!
Hello Sally, this was a fantastic recipe even for a first-time gingerbread house maker. I read ma y online recipes before settling on yours. I’m an experienced baker so wasn’t worried about making the gingerbread but I felt very nervous about constructing the house! I made this with my kids. The recipe is written superbly and clearly. Every potential pitfall is highlighted here. The girls LOVED decorating the house and it brought them so much joy. It’s still good being eaten 7 days later thank you so much x
Thank you so much for the positive feedback, Anna—we’re so glad it was a hit for you and your kids!
Would you recommend this gingerbread recipe for making gingerbread men garlands or your gingerbread cookie recipe? Thanks Much!
Hi Joan, if they are decorative garlands, we’d recommend using this gingerbread house recipe. This dough is much more sturdy and solid.
Thank you, Lexi! Yes, they are going to be decorative garlands. Can’t wait to make them now.
I am looking forward to making a gingerbread house, I’ve always wanted to make one but never got round to it so this is the year
Would love to hear how it goes, Debbie!
My grandchildren will be entering their gingerbread house in a competition. it will be nearly two weeks between making the house and picking it up from the venue. Will the buttercream crunch icing hold up that long? I worry that it will soften and things will start sliding off the roof or falling over. Thanks for this great tutorial!
Hi Pamela, the buttercream crusts. So, it won’t slide off. Good luck to them in this contest! How exciting.
Experienced baker, rookie gingerbread maker here. I’m using this to test out making a bunch of smaller houses using cookie cutters. I’m also cutting out shaped windows (music notes, stars) and doing the crushed candy method. The gingerbread puffed up so much that I’m losing all the detail in the shapes and you can barely see the “stained glass” windows. Even the separate trees I made on the side lost their definition after baking. Any tips? Am I rolling the dough too thick?
Hi Laura, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. How thick are you rolling the dough? We recommend about 1/4 inch thick, but if your pieces are much smaller then you might be able to roll them a bit thinner. Is your butter perhaps a bit warmer than room temperature? That’s often the culprit for overspreading cookies. Chilling the dough is imperative here, too. You can even place the cookie sheets with the cut out pieces of dough back in the refrigerator for a bit before baking. Place them straight from the refrigerator into the oven–the super cold dough should keep its shape better. Hope this helps for next time!
Thank you! I just finished this recipe about 10 minutes ago! And my kids loved it it was really fun to make with my kids! It’s really nice we made a ginger bread house with this recipe even though we are a little late for the season But this recipe it really nice!
This was so much simpler than I thought it would be. The video is very helpful. Couldn’t find meringue powder so just used store bought decorator’s icing for the “glue” and used your recipe for crusting buttercream (which I could have eaten by the bucket). Loved building this with my kids. And it was tasty, too! Thanks for the recipe.
This recipe worked very well! I only had to trim a little from expansion during baking. I was very excited to have a recipe that worked well and the cookie was firm enough to handle construction. Thank you so much for sharing this!!
What a wonderful recipe. We made this last night. Me and my Daughter love doing together. This will be our recipe for many more years to come . Wish I could attached the picture here .
I have never made a gingerbread house before (baking experience but never made a gingerbread house before) and this recipe worked really well. My dough wasn’t actually very sticky at all (refrigerated for about two hours) and didn’t have any issues with just a light dusting of flour on the counter and baking paper. I had a slight bit of trouble building it, but that was my fault for not reading the recipe (was just watching the video for the construction and didn’t realise you had to leave the walls set for an hour before putting the roof on). It also tasted really good as well!
Will definitely use this recipe again!
This is a recipe with lots of good smells and flavor. The reason I’m giving it 4 stars, is that after frustration & tears trying to roll & cut without it sticking horribly, I floured my counter well, cut and removed cookies to the baking sheet with no problem. This recipe says you can’t do that, but you can! Gingerbread houses turned out beautifully.
My dough wasn’t that sticky – although I used golden syrup instead of molasses (didn’t have molasses) so I wonder if that might have helped! I used a moderate dusting of flour on everything but I didn’t have issues with it sticking.
Good flavor, bad for shaping and making a house
Hello Sally 🙂 I was wondering why on the template it says windows? Am I missing something? I have never made a gingerbread house from scratch (or any kind of gingerbread for that matter) and super excited to try your recipe! Thanks so much <3
Hi Reagan, The windows are optional. If you wish to add them, you can cut out 4 of the squares from the template. You’ll need two squares of dough for the sides of the chimney and you can cut the same square shape “holes” in the side pieces of the house before baking for windows. The pictured house does not include them.
In the middle of making this and my dough is super crumbly, What can I do to savage this ? Currently in fridge until I can figure this out. Thank You
Hi Laura, how did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level or use a food scale to unsure the flour isn’t over measured, which can dry out the dough. If you continue to mix, the dough should begin to come together. Feel free to even use your hands, as the warmth should help bring the dough together, too.
I did the scoop and dump then after leaving the comment and looking the at the recipe. I realized what I did smh (rookie move) but mixing by hand an adding a tad of water made the dough moist again. Told my husband I need a scale for Christmas lol . Thank you for replying, I absolutely love all your recipes and get many compliments. Have a Happy Holidays and New Year.
I’m about to make this dough RIGHT NOW. But Sally, where are the gosh darn measurements for the templates?? I’m sorry for the two question marks but I’m super frustrated!! If you see this on Dec 19/22 PLEASE RESPOND ASAP and to my email!
P.S. I have MS & need help understanding so I need really easy to follow directions for the templates. Thank you!
Hi Trinda, see section titled “How to Construct a Gingerbread House.” The text “Click this link for the PDF: Sally’s Baking Recipes Gingerbread House Template” contains the link to the template.
This recipe worked perfectly and was easy to make. We made a lovely gingerbread house together – it was a lot of fun!
This recipe worked perfectly and was easy to make! We made a fantastic gingerbread house, and had a lot of fun!