Make Your Own Gingerbread House | Day 1
Here is our step by step instructions to make and decorate your own gingerbread house, with a link to download our gingerbread house templates! The recipe we used makes moist, slightly sticky gingerbread dough that is easy to roll out and more importantly keeps it shape well when baked and doesn't break easily. A big additional plus is the gorgeously warm spicy flavor of this dough.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 13 min
- Yield
- 12 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 1/4 cup flour, 281g
- 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 cup shortening (102g) or butter (113g)
- 1/2 cup sugar, 100g
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or golden syrup, 80g
- 1 roll parchment paper
Instructions
- 1
Sift flour with ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cardamom.
- 2
In separate bowl beat shortening or butter until fluffy, then add sugar and beat in.
- 3
Add egg and beat in.
- 4
Add maple syrup and beat in.
- 5
Now add the 1/4 of the dry ingredients into butter mixture and beat until combined. Repeat until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- 6
Knead a few times until a dough is formed.
- 7
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate approx. 5 hours until dough is hard enough to roll out.
- 8
Print out and carefully cut the template shapes out.
- 9
Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC).
- 10
Prepare 10 sheets of parchment paper a bit larger than A4 size.
- 11
Roll out a A4 sized piece of dough to 1/4 inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper, one below and one on top.
- 12
Place gingerbread house paper templates on top of the parchment covered rolled out dough, leaving 1/2 inch spacing between shapes. Carefully use a sharp knife to cut out the gingerbread house shapes according to the paper templates. Don't move the shapes after you cut.
- 13
Remove paper template shapes and peel away the excess dough and top parchment paper, leaving the bottom parchment paper in place.
- 14
Use very small cookie cutters to cut out additional shapes for windows if desired, carefully removing the excess dough with the tip of your knife. Use a butter knife to lightly impress horizontal detail lines onto your window shutters.
- 15
Carefully lift the bottom parchment, which should still be in one piece, and place on to baking sheet.
- 16
Use very small cookie cutters to cut out additional shapes for windows if desired, carefully removing the excess dough with the tip of your knife. Use a butter knife to lightly impress horizontal detail lines onto your window shutters.
- 17
Cut out an 8.5 x 12 inch sized gingerbread cookie base which was big enough to put our house and have a bit of yard in front and all around.
- 18
Bake for 13 mins at 350ºF (175ºC) or until the gingerbread is just darkened at the edges.
- 19
Remove and let cool completely.