How to Make a Gingerbread House

A gingerbread house covered in colored icing, powdered sugar, and nuts can become a defining centerpiece of any table. You can make one with a big group of people when you’re gathered around at home.

5-Minute Crafts offers simple instructions and good tricks to help you make a beautiful gingerbread house with your own 2 hands.

Gingerbread recipe

Ingredients:

• 7 oz of butter

• 14 oz of brown sugar

• 2 cups of honey

• 4 chicken eggs

• 2.6 lb of wheat flour

• 1.2 cups of pancake mix

• 2 tbsp of ground ginger

• 2 tbsp of cinnamon

• 2.5 tbsp of ground cloves

• 2 tbsp of baking soda

• A few caramel lollipops (for the windows)

How to make it: Cut the butter into small pieces, place it into a small pot with sugar and honey, and put it on the stove. Stir the mix until the sugar melts and then remove the pot from the stove. Let the mix cool down for 10 minutes and then pour it all into a big bowl. Add the eggs. In a different bowl, mix the dry ingredients and flour. Add it to the first bowl. Make the dough, cover it with a towel, and put it into the fridge for 1 hour.

Tip: If this process seems too hard, go to the store and look for prepared gingerbread dough.

How to make a gingerbread house

Place 2 sticks that are 5 mm in width on baking paper. Between them, put the gingerbread dough.

Spread the dough into a sheet.

Take sheets of paper and cut out 2 parts as the picture above shows — you’ll need them to make the walls of the future house.

Use another sheet of paper to cut out a rectangle as the picture above shows — you’ll need it for the roof.

Also, prepare 3 parts for the future chimney to decorate the house.

Place the cut-out part of the dough in front of you and cut the edges with a knife. You should have a few parts now:

• 2 rectangle side walls
• 2 other walls, the front and the back
• 2 rectangles for the roof
• 2 parts for the chimney (1 short rectangle, 1 long rectangle, and 4 more pieces with slanted edges)

Put a few caramel lollipops into a zip bag. Close the bag and mash the lollipops into dust. Put the dough parts on baking paper. On the side walls, make the holes for the windows using a knife. Put the caramel dust into the holes.

Tip: To make the windows multicolored, use caramel of different colors.

Put the parts of the house into the oven for 5-10 minutes. The temperature should be at 370°F. Make sure the dough becomes a bit solid but not burned or cracked.

What you need to decorate the house

• Icing
• Food coloring (red, green)
• A pastry bag
• Marmalade ribbon with sugar
• Sugar dragees
• Salty breadsticks
• Nut mix
• Powdered sugar
• A sponge
• Scissors
• Tweezers

How to decorate your gingerbread house

Prepare 2 types of icing: a liquid one and a thicker one. First, take the thick icing and use it to outline the different pieces and the windows.

Then use the liquid icing to paint all the parts, except for the roof. Prepare the same icing but with a red colorant.

Take a small sponge, dip it into the red icing, and carefully touch the parts of the house to create the appearance of bricks on the walls.

After that, make a red outline around the window and draw bars on it as well.

Take green marmalade ribbons and cut them into small pieces as the picture above shows. Put the liquid icing on the parts of the roof, and then, before it dries, place the marmalade pieces there — they will look like tiles.

Use white icing to draw the outline for the door and use red icing to draw the inside of the door. Put a sugar dragee where the knob should be.

Use green icing to draw a spruce wreath on the wall of the house. Use a sugar dragee to imitate the balls.

Use white icing to glue the parts of the house together. Start with the walls and then put on a layer for the roof.

Hold the parts until the icing becomes solid.

Place the white liquid icing near the front door and put the nut powder there to make it look like a path. Near the window, use the icing and breadsticks to create the wood.

Take the chimney parts, cover them with thick icing, attach pieces of almond there, and fix the parts together. Put them on the roof. Add green colorant to the liquid icing and create the trees around the house.

Put some liquid icing on the house to make it look like snow. Add some powdered sugar on the top. Now you’re done!

Tip: If you want to make a glowing house, glue the roof parts together but don’t glue the roof to the walls. You will be able to remove the roof and put a small candle inside the house.