Tips for Making a Gingerbread House

Last Updated on January 13, 2023 by Ellen Christian

Looking for tips for making a gingerbread house? Most of you know that I don’t do a lot of baking recipes here. Check out these easy tips.

Tips for Making a Gingerbread House

You will rarely (OK almost never) see me include a recipe that requires me to roll the dough out with a rolling pin.  Rolling pins don’t like me and I have a horrible time rolling things flat so they are the same width all over. 

Keep in mind that I am a total novice when it comes to making a gingerbread house.  This is my very first one.  These tips helped me but if you’re an old pro, they may be a bit basic for you.

Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong way for your gingerbread house to look. You can make it as big or as small as you like. Just make sure you follow these gingerbread house construction tips.

What you need to make a gingerbread house:

Parchment paper – You’ll want a roll of good quality parchment paper to roll the pieces out on and to bake on. Do not use wax paper. It will melt in the oven.

Silicone mold – Using a silicone mold is so much easier than cutting out individual pieces. The silicone lets the pieces pop right out and they are all the same size.

Gingerbread Kit – If this is your first time making a gingerbread house, you may want to consider a kit that has everything you need.

Edible or Not

Decide if you want the gingerbread house to be edible or ornamental. If you don’t plan on eating it, you can cheat and use hot glue or super glue. If you want to eat it, stick with frosting and royal icing. I wanted the kids to be able to eat mine so I made sure everything was edible.

The Right Recipe

Use a recipe for gingerbread cookie dough that is intended to be used in a gingerbread house.  Some recipes may be too soft and others too brittle. Not all gingerbread recipes can be used for a house.

Consider a Kit

Unless you have precision measuring skills, use a kit to cut out the pieces of your gingerbread house.  I am not an architect. I’m not even very good at building with blocks.  A kit makes it much easier.

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Parchment Paper

Roll the gingerbread cookie dough between two pieces of parchment paper.  That eliminates the problem of the cookie dough sticking to the rolling pin.

Plus when you are done rolling and cutting it out, you can just take the entire cookie on the parchment paper and cook it on a cookie sheet. Removing an uncooked piece of cut out gingerbread cookie from the parchment paper to put it on the cookie sheet results (for me) in torn cookies.

Have Patience

After you make the gingerbread house pieces, let them cool and harden for at least a day. The harder they are, the more easily they will stand up. This is very important when making a gingerbread house.

Decorate and Wait

Decorate the pieces of the gingerbread house before you put it together. Let all of the pieces and their decorations dry before you start assembling the house.

Be aware that every single piece of candy or decoration you add to your house will weigh it down. Too much weight and your house will collapse. If the kids want to go all out with candy and icing, you may need extra support.

Add Support

If you find that your house needs extra support, you can set something in the center like a box or upside down water glasses. No one will see it because it will be surrounded by the house.

Frost and Wait

Frost the top of a plate or piece of cardboard with frosting. Assemble your haunted house on the frosting and it will give added support to your walls. Let the base of the house (the walls) dry before you add the roof.  Once the base is dry, very carefully add the roof pieces.

Pro tip:

Want to add some fun to your gingerbread house? Let the kids add their Lego or action figures around the outside of the gingerbread house. Bonus points if they are Christmas themed.

You’ll notice that there is a lot of waiting involved in creating a gingerbread house. This is not something that you can do start to finish in one afternoon. But, if you follow my tips for making a gingerbread house, yours should turn out wonderfully!

I hope that these easy gingerbread house decorating ideas have helped.

You may also like:

• Chocolate crinkle top cookies
• Sugar cookies with maple frosting
• Easy 5 minute Christmas ornament
• How to make a healthy Christmas treat

Ellen Christian

Ellen is a busy mom of a 24-year-old son and 29-year-old daughter. She owns six blogs and is addicted to social media. She believes that it doesn’t have to be difficult to lead a healthy life. She shares simple healthy living tips to show busy women how to lead fulfilling lives. If you’d like to work together, email info@confessionsofanover-workedmom.com to chat.