• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Beyond the Butter logo

  • home
  • recipe box
  • about
  • work with me
  • subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • home
  • recipe box
  • about
  • work with me
  • subscribe
    • Amazon
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • home
    • recipe box
    • about
    • work with me
    • subscribe
    • Amazon
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Published: Dec 5, 2018 • Modified: Mar 3, 2023 • This site generates income via ads and may contain affiliate links. See my privacy policy linked in the footer.

    Homemade Gingerbread Houses

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    I have wanted to make some Homemade Gingerbread Houses for quite some time now and finally got the chance to this past week! Many, many thanks to my mother-in-law for all of the gingerbread house books she lent me, as well as her go-to gingerbread house recipe! This woman has probably made enough gingerbread houses to fill an entire football stadium, so I am super thankful for all of her help!

    Welcome to the Christmas Festival Blog Hop! If you're coming here from Walking on Sunshine Recipes, hello! I'm so glad you decided to stop by!

    Homemade Gingerbread Houses - 3 gingerbread houses with trees in the background | All Images © Beyond the Butter, LLC
    Jump to:
    • The 5 Keys to Building a Successful Homemade Gingerbread House
    • Should You Decorate a Gingerbread House Before or After You Build?
    • Decorating Gingerbread Houses with Candy
    • Download this FREE Gingerbread House Template and Step-by-Step Guide!
    • The Best Order to Build Your Gingerbread House

    The 5 Keys to Building a Successful Homemade Gingerbread House

    1. Use a really good gingerbread dough that's evenly rolled out for cutting,
    2. A good homemade gingerbread house template and step-by-step build guide,
    3. Royal icing with a glue-like consistency,
    4. Factor in ample drying time, and
    5. Patience...lots of patience.

    This homemade gingerbread house recipe comes together quickly and has a wonderful flavor thanks to the full-flavored molasses that's used.

    I rolled the dough out to an even ¼", which, to me, was a good level of thickness for building the houses.

    The other key ingredient that is beneficial to a structurally sound homemade gingerbread house is royal icing which has a glue-like consistency. Too thick, and it will be too hard to pipe out. Too runny, and it will run all over the place.

    While the recipe for these homemade gingerbread houses is an easy one (same for the royal icing), the part that takes the longest is the building part.

    You really need to allow for a lot of drying time for each section of the house. If you rush it, then it will more than likely collapse on you. Patience is your friend here.

    I must note that while this is a flavorful gingerbread recipe that can be eaten, this tutorial is really meant for those that are creating gingerbread houses that will be used as a fun display in your home. If you plan to eat your gingerbread houses, they're best enjoyed within a day or two of making them and stored properly to avoid drying out. 

    Should You Decorate a Gingerbread House Before or After You Build?

    This really comes down to preference, in my opinion. I decorated each panel prior to building them, but you can most certainly decorate after!

    If you have little kids that want to get in on the fun but are maybe not quite there yet with the building part, you could do that part first and then let them go crazy with the decorating!

    Homemade Gingerbread Houses - Overlooking the roof of one gingerbread house with wreaths on each side | All Images © Beyond the Butter, LLC
    Homemade Gingerbread Houses - front view of gingerbread house with a wreath above the door and trees in the background

    Decorating Gingerbread Houses with Candy

    There are so many options to choose from when it comes to decorating your homemade gingerbread houses! One thing you may want to keep in mind is the size of your house (your gingerbread house, not your actual house!) and how it will look in comparison.

    The homemade gingerbread houses I made are on the small side, so I stuck to very small decorations like red and green sparkling sugars, small red and green balls, small candy canes, blue & white snowflake sprinkles, and these small candy cane sprinkles. I also used a little red-colored royal icing for the berries on the wreaths that are on some of the gingerbread houses.

    Other candy ideas to consider are M&M's, gumdrops, crushed candy canes, licorice, mini Reese's peanut butter cups, and the list goes on and on!

    If you go on Pinterest and search for gingerbread house candy ideas, I'm willing to bet you'll see a lot of other great ideas! And speaking of Pinterest, make sure to pin this along with the free homemade gingerbread house template and a step-by-step guide to your holiday Pinterest boards!

    Download this FREE Gingerbread House Template and Step-by-Step Guide!

    Homemade Gingerbread Houses - front view of gingerbread house with a wreath above the door and trees in the background

    The Best Order to Build Your Gingerbread House

    When it comes to building your homemade gingerbread houses, you'll first want to determine whether you should build them onto a cardboard base (maybe if you're giving them out as gifts) or if you can just build them within a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.

    I chose to build mine in a jelly roll pan for a few reasons: 1) it made decoration clean up easier where I could just lift the dry and completed houses to empty the extra sprinkles and candies out; 2) I intend to use mine for cake toppers; and 3) I wanted to be able to photograph them without a cardboard base.☺️

    • Step 1. The order that worked best for me was to start with the front of the gingerbread house and add the sides one at a time, using a piping bag filled with royal icing as your "glue." In between adding each side, I waited an hour to allow it to dry completely.
    • Step 2. Next, I added the back of the house, again waiting an hour to ensure it fully dried. The next step to building your gingerbread houses is probably the trickiest, but it requires some extra support.
    • Step 3. When it's time to add the roof panels, you'll want to ensure you have something to support the bottom of the roof so you don't have to sit there for an hour holding it in place. Without the added support, the roof panel will just slide because of that lovely thing called gravity. I used some spare gingerbread house parts, but you can probably use a book or two or maybe some cardboard. Anything that will stay in place long enough to allow the roof panel to dry.

    Additional Gingerbread House Building Tip

    One thing I didn't share in the step-by-step build guide, is if you have pets that like to jump up on tables, chairs, or anywhere you might be working on these gingerbread houses...keep the house somewhere higher up where they can't get to them.

    Nothing stinks more than discovering your pet has jumped up on the table to go all Godzilla on your cute houses (speaking from experience), haha!

    Homemade Gingerbread Houses - Overlooking the rooftops of 3 gingerbread houses
    Front view of gingerbread house with a wreath above the door and trees in the background.

    Homemade Gingerbread Houses

    Author: Jennifer
    Grab some family members or friends and make a day of building and creating these fun, Homemade Gingerbread Houses! Design your own from scratch or download this FREE gingerbread house template!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 minutes
    Active Time 12 minutes
    Total Time 42 minutes

    Materials

    homemade gingerbread houses

    • 5 cups All-Purpose Flour
    • 1 tablespoon Ground Ginger
    • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
    • 1 teaspoon Gingerbread Spice
    • 1 teaspoon Salt
    • 1 cup Unsalted Butter
    • 1 cup Full Flavor Molasses, like Brer Rabbit's brand
    • 1 cup Granulated Sugar
    • Candy Decorations

    royal icing

    • 8 tablespoon Water
    • 3 tablespoon Meringue Powder, I use Wilton's brand
    • 4 cups Powdered Sugar

    Instructions

    homemade gingerbread houses

    • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, baking soda, gingerbread spice, and salt. Set aside.
      5 cups All-Purpose Flour, 1 tablespoon Ground Ginger, 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon, 1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg, 1 teaspoon Baking Soda, 1 teaspoon Gingerbread Spice, 1 teaspoon Salt
    • In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the unsalted butter, then add in the granulated sugar and full flavored molasses. Stir continuously until combined, then remove from heat.
      1 cup Unsalted Butter, 1 cup Granulated Sugar, 1 cup Full Flavor Molasses
    • Slowly pour the molasses mixture into the dry mixture and, using a baking spatula, blend it all together. Once it starts to form into the dough you can switch to using your hands. Trust me, it will be much easier this way! Keep mixing the dough with your hands until the flour has absorbed more of the moisture. The dough will be soft at first, but will firm up as you work with it.
    • Adjust your oven rack to the 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat your oven to 350ºF.
    • Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper and set aside.
    • Roll out some of the gingerbread cookie dough onto a floured surface to a ¼ inch thickness. Carefully cut out your pieces using my homemade gingerbread house template (or a template of your choice or gingerbread house cutters). Carefully transfer the pieces onto a parchment lined cookie sheet using a serving spatula.
    • Bake at 350ºF for 12-15 minutes (mine only took 12 minutes). Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Allow the pieces to dry out for several hours (or overnight) in a warm, dry environment before using to build your houses.
    • See my step-by-step gingerbread house build guide for the best way to build your gingerbread houses. Before building, you can choose to decorate the pieces first or wait until you've built all the houses.

    royal icing

    • Using your hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the water and meringue powder on high until frothy. Switch the speed to low and add in 1 cup at a time the powdered sugar. Beat on high once all the powdered sugar has been incorporated.
      8 tablespoon Water, 3 tablespoon Meringue Powder, 4 cups Powdered Sugar
    • The icing should be like glue and should take some time to blend back into the bowl of icing. To test this just lift the head up on your stand mixer and allow the icing to fall back into the bowl. If it blends immediately back in with the icing then it's too runny.
    • If the icing is too runny, add a little more powdered sugar. If it appears to be thicker than glue, add a teaspoon of water at a time to get to the glue-like consistency.
    • I used a No. 6 Wilton piping tip to pipe the icing on the the houses to "glue" the pieces together. For detailed decorations likes the wreaths, windows, etc. I used these piping bottles from Sweet Sugar Belle. What's nice about these is you can swap out the piping tips if you want. I used the tips that it came with for the houses.
    • As you wait for the houses to dry, you can wrap the piping tip end of the bottle/piping bag with a little plastic wrap or aluminum foil. I like to use these silicone decorating piping tips from Wilton. You may need to take a toothpick or a damp paper towel to clean out any royal icing that may have dried up inside the piping tip. After that, give it a little shake and you should be good to go again with any piping that needs to be done.

    Recipe Notes

    • While this is a flavorful gingerbread recipe that can be eaten, this tutorial is really meant for those that are creating gingerbread houses that will be used as a fun display in your home. If you plan to eat your gingerbread houses, they're best enjoyed within a day or two of making them. 
    • To make the best gingerbread houses, the dough should be very dry and firm when cooled. If it is not completely dried out, the pieces will continue to pick up moisture as they stand, and your house could eventually collapse.
    • When building homemade gingerbread houses, it's best to use royal icing. Buttercream frosting—or any frosting made with shortening—contains moisture that will lead your house to collapse. Royal icing dries super hard like cement and will hold your house together much, much better!
    • If you're piping on any decorations like the wreaths I did and you make a mistake, fear not. Take a slightly damp paper towel and very gently wipe it off. I had to do this a few times with the roof panels because I goofed.
    • You can also pipe wreaths separately onto wax paper, then let them dry completely before carefully placing them onto the house. Use royal icing again as the "glue".
    Keyword best candy for gingerbread houses, building a gingerbread house, christmas desserts, christmas recipes, christmas treats, gingerbread, gingerbread house, gingerbread house template, gingerbread houses, homemade gingerbread houses, how to make a gingerbread house from scratch
    SHARE YOUR TUTORIAL CREATION!Mention @beyond.the.butter and tag #beyondthebutter!
    How to Make Homemade Gingerbread Houses | All Images © Beyond the Butter, LLC

    Thank you to Kendra from Joy in Our Home for hosting this Christmas Festival Blog Hop! Make sure you check out all the other bloggers that have contributed this week as well, like Bethany from Crisp Collective!

    Christmas DIYs on Monday

    Joy In Our Home | 2 Bees In A Pod | My Creative Days

    County Road 407 | Chatfield Court

    Christmas Front Porches on Tuesday

    The Tattered Pew | The Crowned Goat | Little Brags

    Follow The Yellow Brick Home | The Painted Hinge 

    Christmas Recipes on Wednesday

    Crisp Collective | Love In My Oven | Countryside Cravings 

    Walking On Sunshine Recipes | Beyond The Butter 

    Christmas Mantles on Thursday 

    anderson + grant | White Arrows Home | Elizabeth Joan Designs 

    Red Brick On The Lake

    Christmas Tablescapes on Friday

    The Inspired Hive | Curly Crafty Mom | Making It In The Mountains

    Rain and Pine | Timeless Creations

    « Holiday Jamboree Cookies
    Chocolate Pinwheel Cookies »

    © All images & content on BeyondtheButter.com are copyright protected. You may not republish, redistribute, or otherwise use any images, recipes, or content, in part or in whole, without express written permission from the author. Beyond the Butter® is a registered trademark of Jennifer Switzer. All rights reserved. For more information, please read my Policies page.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Review and Star Rating Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *






    1. Lois Christensen says

      December 05, 2018 at 12:59 pm

      These are so beautiful! Thanks for sharing with the Christmas Blog Hop!

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 05, 2018 at 3:46 pm

        Thank you so much, Lois!

        Reply
    2. Lindsay Eidahl says

      December 05, 2018 at 1:04 pm

      These are the sweetest thing I have ever seen! Thank you for sharing! It was fun touring with you this week! Pinning these cuties!!

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 05, 2018 at 3:47 pm

        Thank you, Lindsay!! I had fun making them for sure! And likewise, it was fun touring with you as well!

        Reply
    3. CoCo says

      December 05, 2018 at 2:49 pm

      These are so gorgeous Jennifer! This is the first year I've tried to make a gingerbread house with a kit and it was so much fun. I will definitely need to step up my game after seeing yours though because they are just beautiful. I can't wait to try your recipe and technique. Thanks so much for sharing! Hugs, CoCo

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 05, 2018 at 3:48 pm

        Aww, thanks CoCo! This was my first time making them and I wanted to make it as simple as possible. I hope you get to try this one out and would love your feedback too! Have a good rest of the week!

        Reply
    4. Katherine | Love In My Oven says

      December 05, 2018 at 4:20 pm

      Such a fun craft to do with kids, and so much better than the storebought houses!! I love your recipe!

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 05, 2018 at 5:49 pm

        Thanks Katherine!!

        Reply
    5. kelly ballard says

      December 06, 2018 at 3:15 pm

      Love all the inspiration you give!! These are so cute and I can't wait to try them!

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 07, 2018 at 12:33 am

        Aww Kelly, thank you so much!! You're incredibly sweet for saying that!

        Reply
    6. Malinda Linnebur says

      December 06, 2018 at 4:00 pm

      My kids have been begging me to make gingerbread houses with them this year! This is great so now I don't have to buy one of those premade kits! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 07, 2018 at 12:34 am

        You're very welcome, Malinda!

        Reply
    7. Christine Vandormolen says

      December 06, 2018 at 5:04 pm

      Hi Jennifer, oh how I luv gingerbread houses. These are soooo beautiful. So what if one has no patience???? ummmm just wondering! LOL ....maybe one day I will be brave enough to try making them.

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 07, 2018 at 12:35 am

        LOL, that's an excellent question. I'm still working on mine! haha!! Thank you so much, Christine! I mean this when I say, if I can make these, so can you! This was my first time making them...EVER and it went well. I think you should give them a try!

        Reply
    8. [email protected] says

      December 06, 2018 at 5:30 pm

      Oh My Golly, how we NEED these tips! We've been unsuccessful many a time and are eating the cracks and crumbles. We've learned to quickly take a picture before it collapses. Thanks for sharing and hopping! Love this! Pinned

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 07, 2018 at 12:36 am

        You're so welcome Cindy!! And thanks for the pin!

        Reply
    9. Michelle @ The Painted Hinge says

      December 06, 2018 at 8:12 pm

      These are adorable and way to pretty to eat! Making the tutorial available for download is a great idea. So happy to be hopping with you!

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 07, 2018 at 12:38 am

        Thanks Michelle! Likewise! For the tutorial, I just know for myself I do well with visuals, so I thought it would hopefully help someone else too!

        Reply
    10. Kristen says

      December 09, 2018 at 10:31 pm

      These gingerbread houses look so cute! You did a really good job on them!

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 10, 2018 at 5:54 pm

        Thank you so much, Karen! It was my first time making them so I wanted to keep them on the smaller side. I felt like it would be a little less intimidating this way (for me and everyone else just getting into it)!

        Reply
    11. Kendra | www.joyinourhome.com says

      December 10, 2018 at 2:54 pm

      This is the cutest village, Jennifer! I love anything homemade but honestly never thought to make your own! Thanks so much for sharing!

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 10, 2018 at 6:50 pm

        Thank you, Kendra! That means a lot to me! I'm super happy to share this with you and everyone!

        Reply
    12. Carrie @ Curly Crafty Mom says

      December 16, 2018 at 10:36 am

      Oh gosh, these are decorated so beautifully I love the wreaths on them! I've never attempted homemade gingerbread houses, but I bet they smell great and are much better than the prepackaged store ones! So beautiful! Enjoyed doing this fun holiday blog hop with you! 🙂

      Carrie
      curlycraftymom.com

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        December 31, 2018 at 9:55 am

        Hi Carrie! I'm so sorry for just seeing your comment now! I enjoyed doing this holiday blog hop with you as well! I love this gingerbread recipe because it smells wonderful for sure!

        Reply
    13. cristina says

      November 01, 2020 at 2:12 pm

      Hello, i notice that there is no egg on the recipe?

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        November 01, 2020 at 4:10 pm

        That’s correct, no eggs!

        Reply
    14. Sara says

      November 25, 2020 at 9:15 am

      Hi, I made the gingerbread dough but it’s too crumbly and doesn’t seem to be coming together like an actual dough... any advice? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        November 25, 2020 at 10:23 am

        Hmm, the dough should be pretty soft. Is it possible you added too much flour or not enough butter? It does firm up as you work with it, but it shouldn't be crumbly.

        Reply
        • Sara says

          November 25, 2020 at 12:44 pm

          Hmm, I measured very carefully but I halved your recipe ... for 2.5 cups of flour I put 110grams of butter (I looked up what one American stick would be in grand because I’m in the UK!) does that sound roughly right? I fixed it by adding some water, not sure if that was right but they are baking now, fingers crossed!!

    Primary Sidebar

    hello! image

    Welcome to my blog! I'm Jennifer, and I love creating and sharing dessert recipes that are sweet, simple, and fun to make and bring me—and hopefully you and your loved ones—wonderful memories! Learn more about me and my inspiration for starting Beyond the Butter!

    Beyond the Butter® Favorites

    • Baking tray filled with bakery style lemon blueberry muffins garnished with slices of lemons and blueberries.
      Bakery Style Lemon Blueberry Streusel Muffins
    • Slice of 2 layer chocolate chip cake on it's side on a brown paper background.
      Chocolate Chip Cake
    • Overhead image of small batch chocolate cupcakes in vintage metal baking tin.
      Small Batch Chocolate Cupcakes
    • Stack of three lemon bars on white background.
      Super Easy Lemon Bars
    • Overhead image of classic peanut butter blossoms on a parchment lined blue dessert platter.
      Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms
    • Angled image of sliced single layer chocolate cake on parchment paper with slices of cake on small dessert plates around it and a knife on parchment paper.
      Single Layer Chocolate Cake

    Cake Recipes

    • Slices of moist banana cake on ceramic dessert plates on a dark wood background.
      Moist Banana Cake
    • Slices of chocolate chip ricotta cake on a marble cake round with small bowl of mini chocolate chips nearby.
      Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cake
    • Stack of three pumpkin pie cake bars on a parchment paper lined bottom.
      Pumpkin Pie Cake Bars
    • Slices of mini strawberry sheet cake topped with strawberry buttercream frosting and fresh strawberries with one slice on its side.
      Mini Strawberry Sheet Cake
    • Individual no-bake strawberry cheesecakes topped with strawberry glaze and a fresh strawberry on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
      Individual No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecakes
    • Small lemon cream cheese pound cake slice on a small dessert plate on white background.
      Small Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

    Featured On

    Beyond the Butter features

    Follow Me On Pinterest

    Follow Beyond the Butter® on Pinterest | © Beyond the Butter®

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Resources

    • Privacy Policy
    • Recipes
    • Shop

    Newsletter

    • Subscribe
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest

    Contact

    • Work with Me
    • About

    © 2023 Beyond the Butter®, All Rights Reserved.