Ginny’s Gingerbread House Instructions

To make the house, you will need:
- Ginny’s Gingerbread House Templates
- 1 recipe of Grandma’s Gingerbread Recipe
- 1 batch of Royal Icing
- Assorted candy to decorate
You will also need:
- wax or parchment paper/pop-up parchment
- a pair of scissors
- a sharp knife to cut away excess dough
- Two cookie sheets (to make the baking go faster)
- Gingerbread cookie cutter(s)
- Thin metal spatula
- A cooling rack
- a serrated knife
- A round or rectangular foil covered cake board
- a piping bag(s), couplers & tips, tall drinking glass

Make the Gingerbread House Pieces

To start, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375F.
Print out the templates and cut them out.
You will make a total of six cut-outs using the Gingerbread House Template: Front and Back of the house, Roof x2, and Walls x2
The sidewalls can both go on the same baking sheet. But each side of the roof, the front, and back of the house will need to bake separately.
Start but cutting the dough crosswise into four pieces so that it is more manageable when you are rolling it.
Place the dough in the center of a piece of parchment paper that is sized to fit the baking sheet. Note: You can also use pre-cut pop-up parchment paper which is very convenient.
Place the second piece of parchment paper or wax paper on top of the gingerbread.
Roll the dough to an even ¼ inch thickness.
Remove the top parchment or wax paper.
Then place a template on top and cut along the edge with a sharp knife.
Peel back the excess dough and squeeze it together to form a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and save for later.

Remove the template from the top of the dough. The baking sheet is ready for the oven.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
To make things go more efficiently, use two baking pans. While the first tray is baking, prepare a second baking sheet for the same or another template. This way as soon as one is ready, you can take it out of the oven and pop in the next one. Repeat this process until you’ve made all the pieces.
Save the the remaining dough to roll out and make cookies. When you do this , make sure the cutouts are at least ¼ inch apart as they will swell slightly. This dough does not spread as much as sugar cookie dough because shortening does not spread as much as butter. Combine the scraps and re-roll to make more cookies.
The gingerbread is soft when it comes out of the oven, so let it cool for a while before attempting to move it. When it is cooled, slide a thin metal spatula underneath the gingerbread to release it. Move it to a cooling rack. The gingerbread will continue to harden as it cools.
The gingerbread will need to be trimmed as it spreads slightly during baking. Trim the gingerbread per the template using a serrated knife and a back and forth sawing motion. The straight but slightly rough edge helps the icing to stay on and provide a strong and tight fit.

Once all the pieces are trimmed, make the icing.
Make one batch of Royal Icing.
Once the icing is ready you will want to keep it covered until it is ready to use. Plastic cling wrap works well for this.
Use a piping bag. Insert the plastic coupler on the inside of the bag. Place tip #47 on the outside and screw on the remaining coupling ring.
Put the icing in a bag. To avoid making a mess, stand the piping bag in a tall glass.
Turn the excess plastic over the glass.
Fill the icing in the bag.
Twist and secure with a twisty tie.
Snip the end, slide on the icing tip and screw on the coupling.

Construct the house by piping the outline on the cake board floor for the front and sidewall.

Pipe the sides where there meet. You only need to do this to one of the edges. Use just enough icing to cover the edge. Too much will take time to dry. Stand the walls together and hold for at least a minute or until they hold their position.

Repeat with the other walls. If you feel you need to support the walls of the house as the icing is drying, consider using skewers.

Wait until the next day to put on the roof. Put icing on the top exposed edge of the house.

Place one side of the roof. Hold in place until set. Wait for the icing to harden before putting on the second roof piece.

Decorate as desired, using Royal Icing as glue to hold the candy in place. Make another batch as necessary. Here is a picture of one of the gingerbread houses that we have made at home.