When I build a holiday gingerbread house, I’m always a tiny bit sad to have only one to decorate. I also dislike waiting for the frosting-glue to dry. Soooo impatient!
I’m solving problems all over the place: Just make the front!
These cute houses are perfect for little hands to decorate, or big-person creativity! How cute would these look lined up on a mantle?
Create your own shape or use the template below. (Print it out so it’s about 4-by-5-inches)
📖 Recipe
Gingerbread House Façades
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for work surface)
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup unsulfured molasses
- 1 Gingerbread House Façade template (see below)
- 1 cup Royal Icing (recipe graphic below)
- 4 to 5 oz assorted candy
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves and pepper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light, about 2 min. Beat in egg and molasses until combined. Add flour mixture; beat until a dough forms. Halve dough, wrap in plastic wrap, flatten into disks and chill until firm, about 45 min.
- Heat oven to 350ºF and place rack in center. Line two baking sheets with parchment. On a floured work surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll out dough to ⅛-inch thickness. Using template and a small knife, cut out houses and transfer to prepared sheets. Bake until set, 7 to 9 min. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cool 2 min. Transfer cookies to racks and let cool completely.
- Transfer 1 cup icing to a decorating bag fitted with a small plain tip (tip #3). Secure end of bag with a rubber band, squeezing out air. Decorate façades with icing and candy.
Notes
Nutrition
Royal Icing
Ingredients
- 1 pound (about 4 cups) confectioners' sugar
- 4 tablespoons meringue powder (or powdered egg whites)
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and meringue powder and ¼ cup water.
- Beat on low speed until soft or stiff peaks form (depending on the consistency you want), about 5 min. Scrape down the sides of the bowl regularly.
- Add more water near the end to adjust the consistency for flooding versus piping.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe and Food Styling Tara Bench
Photography Ellie Miller
Prop Styling Renata Chaplynsky
Recipes for Christmas
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Mary Bench says
These are so fun! Must try them.
Marie says
I love your idea of only decorating the front of the house! Cuts out so much of the mess and drying time. Genius! I can see my festive gingerbread mantle already!
Tara says
Awesome! I love the idea of putting them on the mantle!
Lori says
Have you ever tried gluten free gingerbread cookies? What flour do you use?
Tara Teaspoon says
I haven't made these gluten free but they should be great. I always use Cup4Cup brand GF flour.