Ready for some classic holly-jolly fun? Level up your holiday decorating game with a homemade gingerbread house (with an included template!) that’s completely ‘you’!

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Close up side view of a homemade gingerbread house.

The Gingerbread House Recipe you’ve been waiting for!

It’s the most wonderful (edible) craft of the year! Gingerbread houses are a seasonal must make for me. And making them from scratch only amps up the fun! Plus, it’s cheaper (& prettier & more customizable) than the pre-made house kits you buy at the store.

And I know, I know, you won’t believe me, but I promise this Gingerbread house recipe is actually a lot easier to make than you’re probably thinking it is! A couple notes for making your house the most successful homemade gingerbread house ever:

Give your house ample time to dry! You’ll want to let your decorations dry before assembly + let the house dry after assembly before moving. Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through all the steps!
Part way through baking, use a template to cut out the gingerbread shapes you’ll need before it finishes cooking! This is WAY better than trying to cut the baked cookie.
Decorate your house before you assemble it! I know it sounds counterintuitive to decorate a gingerbread house that way, but it really works.

Ingredients for Homemade Gingerbread Houses

Gingerbread

All-purpose flour – Surprise! Simple All-purpose is exactly what we need here.
Salt
Ground cinnamon
Ground ginger
Ground nutmeg
Baking powder
Brown sugar
Egg
Canola oil – I haven’t experimented with other baking oils, but Vegetable Oil or Olive Oil will likely be a good sub here.
Molasses – This sticky-sweet ingredient is a must for flavoring & stability.

Gingerbread House Glue

Meringue powder – This is the magic maker. Do not skip or try to substitute!
Powdered sugar
Water – You can adjust the thickness of your frosting by adding more water. But be careful! A little will go a longggg way.

++ Any decorations you desire!

How to Make Gingerbread Houses

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, combine all of the gingerbread ingredients until a very thick and sticky dough forms.
Remove dough from the mixer and place in your parchment lined cookie sheet. Press & roll the dough into the pan, flouring as needed, until all of the dough is rolled out in a thin and even layer.
Use a sharp knife to cut a 1/4 inch border around the edge of the pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place the gingerbread house template onto the hot gingerbread. Using a sharp knife, cut the template into the gingerbread.
Once the template is all cut out, return the entire pan to the oven to bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Once done, remove from the oven and allow the gingerbread to cool completely before using a spatula to remove the cut out pieces from the pan.
Once completely cool, make the gingerbread house glue by combining all of the ingredients (starting with 1/3 cup water) in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. The glue will be quite thick, you can add more water if needed, but add a very small amount at a time. A little goes a long way!
Add your decorations to the walls and roof while the pieces are laying flat on the counter.
Allow the decorations to dry for 30 minutes before assembling the entire house.
Assemble the entire house using the gingerbread house glue, again allowing everything to dry for 30 minutes before moving the house.
Display your house on a board or pan, as desired. Yay!

Gingerbread house roof decorated prior to assembly.

Can I eat my homemade Gingerbread House?

You sure can (but you may not want to!). Everything in this recipe is edible, it just probably doesn’t taste that great after it is assembled.

Best Candy for Decorating Gingerbread Houses

OOOH! The sky’s the limit here!! Here are a few of my faves:

Novelty-shaped Christmas candies
Mini marshmallows
Chex mix + other cereals
Gum drops
Pretzels (stick & classic)
M&Ms (mini & classic)
Peppermints
Candy canes
Sprinkles (I really like Pearl Sprinkles here!)
Twizzlers
Sixlets
Gumballs
Red hots

How long will my Gingerbread House last?

This will stay presentable for pretty much as long as you’d want to look at a fake house on your counter! Even if you decorate early in mid-November, this fella should still be looking fine come Christmas time.

A collage of pictures for making a homemade gingerbread house. Across the top it says "how to make gingerbread houses completely from scratch"

Other Festive Recipes

Gingerbread House

Ready for some classic holly-jolly fun? Level up your holiday decorating game with a homemade gingerbread house that’s completely ‘you’!

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Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 50

Servings: large house (4 small)

Calories: 4840kcal

Ingredients

Gingerbread

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup molases

Gingerbread House Glue

1/4 cup merengue powder
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup water, plus more as needed

Template

This is the template I used

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer, combine all of the gingerbread ingredients until a very thick and sticky dough forms.
Remove dough from the mixer and place in your parchment lined cookie sheet. Press & roll the dough into the pan, flouring as needed, until all of the dough is rolled out in a thin and even layer.
Use a sharp knife to cut a 1/4 inch border around the edge of the pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and place the gingerbread house template onto the hot gingerbread. Using a sharp knife, cut the template into the gingerbread.
Once the template is all cut out, return the entire pan to the oven to bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Once done, remove from the oven and allow the gingerbread to cool completely before using a spatula to remove the cut out pieces from the pan.
Once completely cool, make the gingerbread house glue by combining all of the ingredients (starting with 1/3 cup water) in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. The glue will be quite thick, you can add more water if needed, but add a very small amount at a time. A little goes a long way!
Add your decorations to the walls and roof while the pieces are laying flat on the counter.
Allow the decorations to dry for 30 minutes before assembling the entire house.
Assemble the entire house using the gingerbread house glue, again allowing everything to dry for 30 minutes before moving the house.
Display your house on a board or pan, as desired. Yay!