How to build the Best Gingerbread House *This post contains Amazon Affiliate links to make a commission* Jump to Recipe It’s #TuesdayTips and with it being the holiday season, why not bring you the best recipe and tips to creating awesome gingerbread houses. We create gingerbread houses yearly and based on our mood we will either get a kit or not. I know the kit is technically cheating as a pastry chef but sometimes there’s just too much other things going on that you don’t have a chance to bake and put together. No matter how you choose to make your gingerbread houses, these tips and tricks will help you. First let us start with the best cookie cutters for the job. Here are two versions I recommend, the first is easier in terms of placing together as it is a puzzle style. 18PC Christmas House Cookie Cutter Set 3D Gingerbread House Cutters Kit DIY Stainless Steel Christmas Series Cookie Cutter Including Christmas Tree, Snowman, Reindeer, Sled Shapes with Box Package including 18 Pcs/set 3D Stainless Steel DIY Gingerbread House Cutters Kit . ✨Made of premium stainless steel,not easy to rust,non-sticky, easy cleanup and no special care required. ❄️Our 3D christmas house cookie cutter set edge is sharp, and the holding edge is folded to be soft on hands; To clean, just wipe under hot water and towel dry. 🎄Unique design: package includes 18 different Christmas patterns for a variety of Christmas muffins. Molds can be used to cut Christmas-shaped cookies, muffins, breads, sandwiches, cheeses, etc. 🎁Our christmas cookie cutters suitable for most adults and children,so you can use them to make decorative desserts with your family or friends , make baking more meaningful Gingerbread House Kit,10pcs 3D Stainless Steel Cookie Mold Cutters Set for Christmas Halloween Holiday Thanksgiving Festival,Gingerbread House DIY Kit Baking Pastry Tool with Gift Box 3D Gingerbread House Cookie Cutters : Holiday Cookie Cutters Kit Contains 10 pieces parts which give 3D effects of your favorite gingerbread house shapes including wall, floor, window, cross, chimney and star decor Durable and Food Grade : Christmas Cookie Cutter Set is made of premium food grade 430 stainless steel, with welded seam won’t come unstuck, thus these cutters will hold their shape for years Safe and Beautiful Cookies Mold : The cutting edge is sharp, and the holding edge is folded to be safe for hands. With beautiful and eye-catching gift package, this cookie cutter set is a wonderful gift for friends and family members Multi-functional Cookie Cutter Set : Suitable for making cupcake/Jelly/Chocolate/Candle Cookies, Fondant Cakes, sugar paste, petal paste, marzipan DIY cooking or craft clays DIY Kit for a Variety of Occasions : Such as Home use,Birthdays Party,Valentine’s Day,Thanksgiving, Halloween,Christmas,Anniversary Day,Fundraising and etc. The recipe is below but before you get to that, I want to cover the best tips on how to actually build the house. You can make a soft caramel or royal icing. Most kits contain royal icing but I would save it (or make it) for the decor. That recipe will also be below. Now for the decor. It is perfectly okay to use any candy you want but if you want to be more intentional about it, here are the best uses for these products. For Roofs: Crispix CerealMini starburstAnn’s Swedish ThinsNonpareils and Sno-CapsPretzel SnapsAirheads Extreme BitesNecco WafersTwizzlersSlices AlmondsPecansGum Drops For Doors: Sugar WaferVienna CookieTea BiscuitPretzel sticksrolled out gum dropSpearmint Gum For Windows: Oreo cookieStarburstsLemon Tootsie ChowMelted jolly rancher (glass stained window)melted Gelatin sheets (glass window) For Siding: PretzelsJelly BeansCandy BloxCandy Coated Chocolate For Chimney: Tootsie RollRed HotsPayday barJelly beansCandy Coated Chocolate For Paths: PezChocolate SprinklesPeppermintsNecco WafersJelly BeansLint White chocolateCandy BloxCandy Coated Chocolate For Extras: Snowman – sugar cookie or marshmallows Porch – White chocolate covered pretzelsWreath – gummy ring with thin licorice ribbonLights – Mike and Ike with M&MsTrees – Shredded Wheat Ice cream cones, Sugar ice cream cones with royal icing, stacked mint M&Ms, Rice Crispy treat Cereal Trees, Chocolate covered grape stems for realistic treesLogs – Mini Charleston chews, Pirouette Wafers, Chocolate WafersFire – Pretzels with flattened gum drops If you don’t want to bake gingerbread houses, you can buy the kits, I do highly suggest the prebuilt kit. You can also use graham crackers. For more tips check out: The BEST Gingerbread House Recipe and Printable Gingerbread House Templates – Tikkido Ten top tips for Making a Gingerbread House – Craft Invaders We hope you enjoy and have fun. Gingerbread Cookies This recipe is also great for Gingerbread houses just don't add baking powder Print Recipe Prep Time 8 minsCook Time 20 minsResting time 2 hrsTotal Time 3 hrs 30 mins Course DessertCuisine Slovakian EquipmentMixer with whiskCookie cuttersCooking sheetsRolling Pin Ingredients 1/2 Cup Room Temperature butter1 Cup Brown sugar1 Egg3 Cups All purpose flour1/4 Tsp Baking Powder2 Tsp Ground Ginger2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon2 Tsp Ground All Spice1/4 Tsp Salt1/2 Cup Molasses1/2 Cup Milk onlt if the dough doesnt come together Instructions Begin with creaming the butter and the sugar. Add the egg in.Now add the molasses and mix in.Mix in your dry ingredients, Flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, baking powder, and salt Until it forms a dough. If it is still crumbly the add the milk little by little.Refridgerate for 30 minutes to 2 hoursPreheat the Oven to 350.Prepare your counter with extra flour and roll it out, You can also roll it out between parchment with some flour to keep it off the counter. Roll to a 1/4 thick. Cut out your cookies using your cookie cutters Bake for 13-15 minutes for smaller cookies and 18-20 minutes for larger.Allow to cool before decorating Keyword Gingerbread Cookies Royal Icing Frosting alexandra neznamy Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 6 mins1 hr 30 mins Course DessertCuisine American Servings 24 EquipmentMixerBowl(s)Pastry bagsTipsFood coloringtoothpick or a scribe Ingredients 8 cups Powdeered Sugar best if sifted5 tbsp meringue powder6-8 tbsp warm water Instructions In your bowl, mix the powdered sugar, merungue powder and water. Start eith a little water (5 tbsp), Mix until your icing peaks (7-10 on low or 10-12 on high)Tap the bowl to get the air bubbles out and stir to release the bubblesIf you are coloring the royal icing, add it before you tap out the bubbles. Prep your piping bag, put in 3/4 of the way and twistBegin with outlining your cookies then flood. Use the toothpick to gently release the air bubbles. If you are dipping, do that instead of outlining. Once you have your cookie covered, you can go ahead and paint (vodka and food gel) or add piped designes on top as just 2 of those fun options NotesThere are a few ways to actually decorate cookies. Most have royal icing as its easier to pipe and decorate using the methods I list below but some do use a buttercream. Pipe on Dip from the top two, either pipe designs or paint (food coloring and a little bit of vodka, check out the video for example) Keyword Decoated cookies, Iced Sugar Cookies