How To Make Gingerbread Houses
Make Christmases extra festive by whipping up your own gingerbread houses at home! They’re deliciously spiced, and put together with sweet royal icing.
Serves:
Ingredients
For House:
- 5cupsall purpose flour
- 1tspbaking soda
- 3tspground ginger
- 1tspnutmeg
- 1tspcinnamon
- 1tspkosher salt
- nonstick cooking spray,for greasing
- 1cupvegetable shortening
- 1cupgranulated sugar
- 1cupmolasses
For Royal Icing:
- 4large egg whites
- 1tspcream of tartar
- 6cupspowdered sugar,sifted
- water,as needed
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
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Grease the bottom and sides of a heavy-bottomed pot such as a Dutch oven with nonstick spray.
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Melt the shortening in the greased pot over medium heat. Add the molasses and sugar, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat.
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Gradually stir in 4 cups of the flour mixture, 1 cup at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each addition before adding more.
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Dust a work surface with some of the remaining flour mixture. Carefully turn the dough out onto the floured surface and work in the flour mixture.
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Once the flour is incorporated, shape the dough into a 12-inch log and cut into 3 portions, 1 piece slightly larger than the others for the roof.
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Set aside the smaller pieces of dough in the pot , cover with plastic wrap, and put the lid on.*
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On the floured surface, roll out the larger piece of dough to a rectangle about ½-inch thick. Using a house template, cut the 2 pieces of the roof and set on a prepared baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart as the dough will expand while baking.
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Roll out the rest of the dough and cut out the front, back, and sides of the house using the templates. Place on a baking sheet.**
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Bake the gingerbread house pieces for 12 to 15 minutes, until they have hardened and baked through. Let cool completely.
Royal Icing:
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In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric hand mixer until frothy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until the icing is smooth and thick.
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To use the icing for decorating, add about 1 teaspoon of water at a time to thin the icing to the desired consistency.
To Assemble:
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Put the roof pieces side by side with the underside up and the eventual exposed part of the roof down. “Glue” a cut piece of a paper shopping bag across these two pieces with royal icing.
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Place 2 small glass bowls on either side of this upside-down roof to prop the pieces up into a “V” shape. Let dry completely. This will help ensure that the roof doesn’t slip down the sides of the house.
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Decorate the house with more royal icing and desired decorations.
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Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- *You’ll want to work with the dough while it’s warm as it tends to harden at room temperature. If it hardens, simply microwave for about 30 seconds.
- **Wrap the leftover dough in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 1 day. Microwave to soften and roll out to make decorations for the house or another gingerbread creation.
Nutrition
- Calories: 749.43kcal
- Fat: 19.72g
- Saturated Fat: 4.54g
- Trans Fat: 2.25g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 8.36g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 5.60g
- Carbohydrates: 138.60g
- Fiber: 1.62g
- Sugar: 96.55g
- Protein: 6.65g
- Sodium: 295.21mg
- Calcium: 70.23mg
- Potassium: 535.13mg
- Iron: 3.93mg
- Vitamin A: 0.05µg
- Vitamin C: 0.02mg
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