A Look Into the Gingerbread House’s Past

Gingerbread first arrived in Europe around 992 AD, thanks to Gregory of Nicopolis, an Armenian monk who introduced the treat to French Christians and taught them how to bake it. As gingerbread was often used in religious ceremonies, monks made sure it was firm enough to be molded into intricate shapes, often depicting saints.

The concept of the gingerbread house, however, owes its origin to the Brothers Grimm. In their famous tale Hansel and Gretel, they tell of an evil witch who resides in a house made entirely of gingerbread. This imaginative story inspired German gingerbread makers, who soon began crafting their own gingerbread houses. These festive creations, often designed as charming snowy cottages, became a beloved holiday tradition that we still partake in today.

Lets Get to Baking!

Today, it’s a joy to spend time baking, cutting, and building to create the perfect gingerbread masterpiece. Gingerbread kits simplify the process, removing some of the steps and allowing for a smoother transition into constructing a charming winter wonderland.

Grab some icing, candy, and gingerbread to build the perfect house! To make things easier, make sure to buy a gingerbread kit. If you want to be more creative, here are some ideas:

A Basic Gingerbread House

Ingredients For Dough:

• 6 cups (828g) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough (see recipe note)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (170g) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups (284g) packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 tablespoon water

Ingredients For Icing:

• 2 large egg whites
• 2 2/3 cups powdered sugar, divided

Special Equipment:

• Stand mixer
• Piping bag or freezer bag

Instructions:

1. Whisk the flour and spices:

   In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves or allspice, and salt. Set aside.

2. Make the butter, sugar, egg, and molasses mixture:
   Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy and well blended. Beat in the eggs, molasses, and water until well combined.

3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, and knead the dough:

   Beat half of the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until well blended and smooth. Add in the remaining flour and continue to mix until well blended and a soft cohesive dough forms.

   Turn the dough out onto a slightly floured work surface and knead by hand 5 or 6 times until the dough is smooth and combined. If dough is too soft, add a little more flour.

4. Divide the dough, wrap and chill it:

   Divide the dough in half, pat into disks, and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight.

   You can make it up to 3 days ahead of time. Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before rolling out.

Preparing the Gingerbread House Pieces

1. Create and cut out the pattern pieces:

   Create a gingerbread house pattern by cutting out pieces from our printable Gingerbread House Templates. They should print out with the correct proportions (1 inch on the pattern = 1 inch in real life), but if not, the dimensions are also given on the pattern so you can use a ruler and create your own.

   You can either use the regular paper template pieces as-is or, if you prefer, you can trace the pieces onto stiffer paper like a manila folder or cardboard.

2. Prepare the oven and cookie sheets:

   Preheat oven to 350°F, with the oven rack in the middle. Have 2 to 3 flat cookie sheets ready.

3. Roll out the dough:

   Spread parchment paper on a large flat surface for rolling. Dust the paper lightly with flour.

   Working with one portion of the dough at a time, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to an even thickness of 1/4 inch. Add a little flour to the surface of the dough, and check for sticking as you roll it out.

   If it sticks to either your rolling pin or the rolling surface, dust with more flour. If the rolled out dough is very soft, you may want to freeze it for an hour before cutting out the patterns.

4. Cut out shapes in the dough with pattern pieces:

   Rub a little flour over the surface of the dough. Place the pattern pieces on the dough, as many pattern pieces as will fit on the dough. Use a small sharp knife to cut out the pattern pieces from the dough, wiping the knife surface clean frequently.

   Depending on how soft the dough is, you may need to use scissors to cut the parchment paper. You can cut out the patterns through the dough and parchment paper, placing the dough pieces with the paper directly on the cookie sheets.

   If you are not using parchment paper, you may need to use a large metal spatula to transfer the dough pieces to a greased cookie sheet.

   Space the pieces on the cookie sheet an inch apart from each other. If dough pieces stretch during the transfer process, push them back into shape.

   You can cut out a door and window(s) at this point, or you can wait until after baking, soon after the pieces have come out of the oven while the cookies are still warm.

5. Bake:

   Bake in a 350°F oven until the edges are just beginning to darken, 11-15 minutes for the large pieces, 6 to 8 minutes for the small pieces.

   Rotate the cookie sheets halfway through the baking for more even browning. Remove the sheets to racks to cool, about 15 minutes.

6. Trim the pieces while warm:

   While the pieces are still slightly warm, lay the pattern pieces over them and use a large straight chef’s knife to trim off any parts of the pieces that have through cooking spread beyond the pattern.

   Remove pieces to cool directly on racks to cool completely.

Make the Royal Icing

1. Make the royal icing:

   Whisk the egg whites and 1 1/3 cups of the powdered sugar together until smooth .

   If you are planning to eat your gingerbread house and are concerned about the safety of raw eggs, you can cook the egg white powdered sugar mixture in a double boiler until the mixture reaches a temperature of 160°F, but not higher than 175°. You can also use pasteurized dried or liquid egg whites.

2. Add more powdered sugar, beat to stiff peaks:

   Add the remaining 1 1/3 cup of powdered sugar to the sugar egg mixture. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until the icing holds stiff peaks. If it doesn’t form stiff peaks, add more powdered sugar.

3. Place a dampened clean towel over the bowl of royal icing:

   Keep this towel over the icing to prevent it from drying out while you work with it.

4. Pipe the icing with a pastry bag or cut freezer bag:

   When you are ready to mortar or decorate, fill a pastry bag with the icing. If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can make your own with a re-sealable plastic freezer bag, just cut off the tip (a small cut) of one of the corners of the bag. Plastic or metal piping tips are available in supermarkets which you can also use with a freezer bag, for more controlled piping.

This is just one recipe for making a gingerbread house. If you have allergies to gluten, there are plenty of recipes for gluten-free gingerbread house out there, as well as other allergen-sensitive recipes. There’s also many ways you can decorate your gingerbread house–really, it’s up to you, but here are a few ideas.

Gingerbread Lodge

With a little effort, a basic A-frame gingerbread house kit becomes this snowy ski lodge. It’s actually pretty easy to make. You can use candy rocks to make it look like the house was built with stones, using the icing to set them in place. You can also use rolled wafer cookies for exposed beams, and don’t forget a heaping helping of royal icing and coarse sugar for the snow-kissed rooftop.

Gingerbread Farmhouse

This is a fun way to make a gingerbread house in an East Texan style! Grab some red icing, and get to work on those walls. Use candy rocks for a stone path, and use candy canes for the trees. You can use pretzels for some of the animals, and cookies, as well as the fence. To add a snowy look to the fence, you could either add icing on top or use white-chocolate covered pretzel sticks. For the doors, try using gram crackers! You can even use the icing for a design on the door.

…And So Forth!

You get the idea–be creative. Sure, it’s easy to just use a gingerbread house kit and get it done, but its more fun to think outside the box. Make some new memories this year by trying fun and crazy designs for your gingerbread house with family and friends!

Fun Facts

In 2013, the Texas A&M Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas, made history by building the world’s largest gingerbread house, as recognized by Guinness World Records. The project not only earned them a place in the record books but also helped raise funds for charity. By paying an admission fee, visitors could tour the life-sized gingerbread house, which featured working gingerbread doors.

Another noteworthy achievement in the world of gingerbread comes from Jon Lovitch of New York. Every year, Lovitch crafts an intricate gingerbread village, which is showcased at the New York Hall of Science. His dedication to the craft earned him a Guinness World Records title in 2017, when his village, featuring an astounding 1,251 buildings, was officially recognized as the largest of its kind.

Make Some Sweet Memories

Now that you know what you need to make a gingerbread house, go do some shopping! Making gingerbread houses is always a fun tradition to do with friends and family. You can even hold a competition to build the best gingerbread house, and spread Christmas cheer and sweets while you’re at it.