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I prefer using gel food coloring, but any type will do. Sometimes, I opt to concentrate on the gingerbread men, without doing the gingerbread house. If you do this, you’ll be able to make several large men with this recipe. Through the years, I’ve collected many pages of gingerbread houses that I’ve gathered from cooking magazines to help with ideas.
Pasteurized Eggs

In 2 simple steps, you will have the perfect royal icing for your gingerbread house. Ditch the “pinterest perfection” goal and get messy. The piped crusting buttercream on my pictured gingerbread house hid about 100 mistakes. Remember, there are no rules when it comes to decorating. Store your gingerbread house icing in the refrigerator for up to three days. It can also be helpful to put a layer of plastic wrap right on the top of the frosting so it doesn’t get crusty.
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Then add the roof and wait a minute before adding more “snow” or “icing” to the top. Cut out shapes for the walls, sides, roof, chimney, and any other add-ons, including gingerbread men. Remove excess dough and carefully transfer the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Add the royal icing to a piping bag with tip and use immediately to assemble your gingerbread house or store it in an airtight container at room temperature. Finish off your house design with some landscaping.
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Hold it high over the house and gently shake allowing the sugar to fall onto the roof of the gingerbread house. After the gingerbread house is fully decorated, give it a dusting of snow! This makes it look like a snowy cottage and is the final touch in creating a beautiful gingerbread house. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the gingerbread pieces on the prepared sheets to bake. To keep your gingerbread house together you want an icing that hardens.
Gingerbread house recipe (with template) - Taste
Gingerbread house recipe (with template).
Posted: Sat, 09 Dec 2017 17:39:19 GMT [source]
Royal icing is the edible "glue" or mortar that holds a gingerbread house together and can be used to make fancy sugar decorations. I typically buy my gingerbread houses pre-built. My favorite thing to do is decorate the house, not build it! Though, with this gingerbread icing recipe, building the house is pretty stress-free too. After piping, this royal icing should harden in about 15 to 30 minutes.
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You’re going to like how easy it is to make this icing. Here is a quick run-down but make sure to scroll all the way to the printable recipe card. It might also help your inspiration by browsing the Internet to see how other people have decorated houses. It helps to divide the candies in little bowls so you know how much candy is available to decorate the parts of the house. I like to begin decorating the house with the roof, using candies as desired.
Please see our FAQ page for many answers to common questions. I'm Lisa Longley, and I am committed to giving you simple dinner ideas and recipes that are easy to make; recipes that will fill your home with joy. I am the owner and author of SimpleJoy.com and I'm so glad that you are here. This is a brief overview of how easy this recipe is.
Once it’s hardened, it will be very sturdy and will hold up your gingerbread house. It is easy to make and work with and really forgiving. The best way to use the icing is to transfer it to a piping bag. You will be able to be more detailed using a bag and can get into the cracks and crevices better. Gingerbread house icing is more than just icing, it’s the glue to hold your gingerbread house together. This is most definitely the most difficult part of making a gingerbread house… but not anymore!
Other Royal Icing Recipes to Try:

I like to start shopping for these early to get items that may not last long in stores. Dollar General is a great place to shop for specialty items like marshmallow snowmen, Christmas trees, or Santa on a stick. It smells so wonderful with all it’s spices, sugars, and molasses. And of course, children love to help decorate them with all the colorful candies.
Re-roll the scraps so you have enough dough for the entire house. It’s easier to roll out smaller portions of cookie dough. Consuming raw and lightly cooked eggs poses a risk for foodborne illness.
If you plan to eat the gingerbread house after it has served its decorative purpose, we recommend using pasteurized egg whites since the icing is not cooked. You can also use pasteurized fresh eggs (you'll need 3 to 4 large eggs). Build amazing holiday traditions with your family by assembling and decorating a gingerbread house together! A fun and festive project to do with the kids, building a gingerbread house is a great activity to do on a snowy, cold winter weekend. Honestly, using this homemade gingerbread icing will be your secret tool to keep a gingerbread house together. Simply add it to the back of the pieces and hold them together.
As you use the Royal Icing, be sure to keep the end of the decorating bag closed, to keep the icing as fresh as possible, without it hardening. Next, add the other side wall to the front, followed by the back. Add the roof top, attaching along the top of the side walls, front, and back. If desired, you may glue the center of the roof together. If you are baking gingerbread men, too, feel free to spread a little brown sugar over the dough for a jacket to keep the little guy warm this winter.
As you can see in these photos, I covered the roof with royal icing before piping the buttercream on. As the royal icing dried, it gently dripped off the sides and looked like snow. Make holiday memories together by building and decorating this Season’s Greetings Gingerbread Cottage with the kids. Decorated with colorful candies, this gingerbread house is a sweet addition to any holiday display. Royal icing is really easy to work with but more importantly is essential to the successful construction of a gingerbread house. The icing will become rock hard when it air dries.
Chestnut Hill bakery teaches art of making holidays sweet - The Philadelphia Inquirer
Chestnut Hill bakery teaches art of making holidays sweet.
Posted: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Whisk in more confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thicken the icing. You can adjust the consistency of royal icing, depending on how you plan to use it for your baking project. As a general rule, whisking more sugar will thicken royal icing, while adding water will thin it out. This template will give you a small-medium house that’s totally approachable. I find large houses difficult to construct and decorate. You can watch me make this gingerbread house from start to finish, including rolling out the dough and decorating the house.
Royal icing will crust over and dry out very quickly. Press some plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the icing then put an air tight lid on the container. If you keep air from touching the surface of the icing, you can make it up to 3 days in advance.
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