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Is there anything more charming than a quaint fairytale cottage? How about a fairytale cottage made entirely from gingerbread? Just like in Hansel and Gretel, this adorable little edible cookie house will fill you with wonder and surprise… Though this house, thankfully, does not come with a witch inside! In this step-by-step tutorial, I will be sharing how I made this adorable gingerbread house with beautiful royal icing details, a chimney, and a snow-dusted shingled rooftop.

My gingerbread house was inspired by the amazing gingerbread houses by Aimee Twigger of Twigg Studios. This is Aimee’s recipe, slightly adapted for my own use!

A History of Gingerbread Houses:

Gingerbread itself has a rather long history, with some of the earliest written recipes dating back before the Middle Ages, but gingerbread houses are a slightly newer concept in the scope of history. These houses made from sweet and spicy gingerbread are believed to have originated in Germany sometime between the 16th and 18th centuries. Though many scholars believe they came into popularity closer to the 19th century, when the Grimms’ fairytale of Hansel and Gretel inspired bakers to create their own ginger cake and icing houses. In the story, the house is actually made of bread, roofed with cakes, and the windows are made of transparent sugar. Then, gingerbread was more of a bread-like treat so the houses were constructed of lebkuchen, which are spiced ginger and honey biscuits… similar to what we make gingerbread houses from today!

Gingerbread Fairytale Cottage: Step-By-Step Gingerbread House Tutorial

Why You will Love Making Your Own gingerbread House:

Learn a New Skill. Making a homemade gingerbread house from scratch can be an intimidating project, but it’s always wonderful to learn a new skill! It took me a few years of making gingerbread houses to get to where I am today, and I still have a lot to learn.
Showcase Your Creativity. If you are a creative at heart, then decorating and building your own gingerbread house can be a lot of fun! You can build your gingerbread house into any shape that you please with a little bit of engineering. It would even be so charming to build your own house from gingerbread!
Festive Decor. This gingerbread house is entirely edible, though it’s a bit tougher than your average cookie so that it can hold up for several weeks on display. This gingerbread house can be made a month or more in advance of Christmas, making it the perfect festive decor for the holidays and beyond!

Supplies You Will Need:

To make your own homemade gingerbread house, you will need a few key supplies! These supplies will help you to make and build your gingerbread house. Not all of them are 100% necessary, but they can make the process easier!

House Inspiration. Before you get started on your gingerbread house, you will need to find some building inspiration! I was inspired by this photo, which is actually AI generated. All the same, it served as the base for my little fairytale cottage. I also had to look at several other houses with similar connected roofs to figure out the angles and slants needed to fit the two sections together.
Cardstock. Cardstock is a heavier paper that is useful when making your gingerbread house template. I made the house so that each of the pieces fits on an 8.5 x 11-inch sheet of paper.
Tape. You will want some tape, any kind, to piece the template together to make sure that the structure works and the angles are correct.
Large Baking Sheets. If you are making a house similar in size to mine (remember, each piece fits within the size of a single sheet of paper!), then you will want some large baking sheets to fit some of the bigger pieces on. I love these baking sheets for all of my baking needs!
Parchment Paper. Parchment paper is necessary to prevent the gingerbread pieces from sticking to the baking sheets. Even though they will easily pop off from most ungreased baking sheets, if the pieces do get stuck they are more prone to breaking in half when you are trying to free them from the sheet as they are so large. Try using pre-cut parchment paper for ease!
Pizza Cutter. A pizza cutter can be really helpful when it comes to cutting out all of the pieces. This prevents the dough from stretching or breaking while cutting, and just makes the entire cutting out process much faster.
Candy Thermometer. To make the sugar glass windows, you will need a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature of the sugar while it is boiling.
Piping Bags and Piping Tips. You can use various different piping tips to decorate your gingerbread house! I chose to keep it simple and use a round piping tip, but French star tips can be really adorable for a classic gingerbread decoration.
Kitchen Scale. To ensure that your recipe turns out perfectly, I highly suggest using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients when making the dough.

Gathering Ingredients:

Butter. You will be melting the butter, so there is no need to bring it to room temperature before baking.
Light Brown Sugar. You can also use dark brown sugar, but it will create a darker shade of gingerbread.
Molasses. Aimee’s recipe suggests using treacle, but this ingredient is not readily available in the US, so I opted for molasses instead. I suggest using unsulphured molasses for better flavor if you plan to eat your gingerbread house.
Light Corn Syrup. Aimee’s recipe also uses golden syrup, an ingredient that is also not easy to find here in the US. A good substitute for this is light corn syrup!
Egg. Aimee’s recipe does not suggest using egg, but I found that it was helpful to add so that the dough had more stretch to it. With the addition of egg, the dough does puff up a bit more after baking, but it is only a slight amount.
Cinnamon.
Ginger.
Allspice.
Nutmeg.
Baking Soda.
Flour. All-purpose flour works best for this recipe.
Salt.
Powdered Sugar.
Egg Whites.
Cream of Tartar.

How to Make a Gingerbread Cottage:

Step One: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, water, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg. Heat the mixture until the butter is fully melted and the sugar has dissolved, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and leave the mixture to cool for about 5 minutes. Then, whisk in the baking soda for about 1 minute.

Step Two: Transfer the melted mixture to a large bowl or a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the egg, flour, and salt and mix on low to medium speed until a soft dough forms. The dough will be pliable and springy, rather than soft and spreadable like most cookie doughs.

Step Three: Divide the dough into two equal sized pieces and wrap tightly with plastic racks. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Step Four: After the dough has chilled, bring it out onto the counter to warm for about 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2-inch (1-cm) thick.

Step Five: Using your template pieces, cut out the gingerbread house with a pizza cutter. The pizza cutter helps to prevent the dough from stretching or breaking, though a sharp knife can also be used. If you would like, you can add texture to any of the pieces before they are baked by pressing gently into the top of the dough with various tools, such as the tines of a fork or the rounded side of a spoon. Don't forget to leave a large opening at the back of your gingerbread house to push a light inside!

Step Six: Lay the pieces on the prepared baking sheets, at least 2-inches (5-cm) apart and bake. The various pieces will bake at different times. The largest pieces take around 15 minutes to bake, while very small pieces take about 5 minutes to bake. Aimee's recipe suggests baking the pieces for half of the guesstimated time and removing them from the oven. Then, lay the template pieces over the gingerbread to make any cuts or adjustments to the pieces to match up with the template while the cookies are half-baked. I did not find that I needed to do this at all!

Step Seven: Once the cookies are fully baked, meaning the edges are set and they are a deep brown color, leave them to rest on the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes. Then, carefully transfer them to wire cooling racks to finish cooling completely.

To Make Shingles:

It’s really easy to make the small details for your gingerbread cottage, like roof shingles or door and window trim. Simply roll out the dough and begin cutting a large sheet of small squares, or measure out some small rectangles. This is where a pizza cutter can really come in handy to cut out a lot of shapes in a few easy passes! Bake these smaller pieces for about 5 minutes.

To Make the Glass Sugar Windows:

Step Eight: Once the cookies have fully cooled, lay them back onto the baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Set these nearby your candy-making work station so that you are ready to pour your glass sugar windows as soon as it reaches the hard crack stage.

Step Nine: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, and water over medium heat. Continue to whisk until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 to 4 minutes. Then, leave the mixture to come to a boil over medium-high heat.

Step Ten: Use a candy thermometer to monitor the sugar, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Boil the sugar to 290 to 300° F (143° to 149° C) or the hard crack stage.

Step Eleven: Immediately pour the sugar into the windows of your gingerbread house pieces, watching to make sure that you do not overfill them. You have about a 10 minute window to pour your candy before it starts to cool and harden up. If your candy does start to harden, it can be remelted. Simply put it back over medium-low heat and whisk constantly, until it has become a thin liquid again. You can really only do this about two times before the candy starts to become over-cooked, so work quickly. The longer the candy sits or the longer it is cooked, the less transparent it becomes when it has cooled.

Step Twelve: Leave the windows to harden and cool completely, about 10 to 15 minutes, before moving the gingerbread pieces from the baking sheets.

To Make the Royal Icing:

Step Thirteen: To a large bowl or a standing electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the powdered sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and water until it forms stiff peaks, about 4 to 6 minutes.

Step Fourteen: Transfer the royal icing to 2 piping bags (this makes them easier to handle!) and tie the bags shut if not using right away. If you are planning to use it much later after making, it can be kept in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

To Construct the Gingerbread House:

Step Fifteen: You will want to either find a base to set your house on, such as a piece of cardboard or wood, or bake a large base to build your house on. Pipe some royal icing in the place for your main walls. Pipe along the edges of the walls that will touch and begin putting them into place.

Step Sixteen: Once all of the walls are fitted together, it is best to leave them to dry for at least an hour before attaching the roof. You want to make sure that the royal icing is nice and hard, and this particular icing is like cement. It hardens quickly, but I still suggest waiting to prevent any sliding.

Step Seventeen: Once the icing on the walls has hardened, then begin attaching the roof. Because these cookies are quite hard and the icing dries quickly, the roof is fairly easy to attach and should not slide if your pieces are fitted together correctly. Once the roof is on, leave it to dry for another hour or so.

Step Eighteen: Once the roof has dried, it is time to begin attaching the details such as a chimney, door, trims around the windows, fencing, shingles, and stonework. At this point, you can also begin adding your icing details on the gingerbread house, such as whimsical designs, trims, and even snow and icicles. Be as creative as possible!

Step Nineteen: Dust the top of your house with more powdered sugar to look like freshly fallen snow! Once your has is finished and fully dried, push a small battery operated light inside through the back opening and watch as it makes the entire cottage glow.

Step Twenty: This gingerbread house will last for several weeks, even months, if kept in a stable environment. If the weather is humid or too hot, the icing and candy do have a chance of melting. I do not suggest using a candle in your house if only for a few minutes to prevent the windows from melting or the house catching on fire!

Tips for Making a Gingerbread House:

Let Your Cookies Cure. If you want your gingerbread house to last for a long time, it is a good practice to leave your cookies to cure after baking for at least 24 hours. The harder and drier the are, the less likely they are to break when constructing your house. If the cookies are too soft, they are more likely to break or bend under the weight of the other cookies.
Leave Openings. If you want to add lights to your house or if you need to get to the inside, don’t forget to leave openings large enough for you to reach into. This can be done at spots where more people won’t be looking, such as the back of the house.
Use Electric Tea Lights. Instead of a candle, I would suggest using a battery operated tea light to light up your gingerbread house so that you do not run the risk of accidentally lighting your gingerbread house on fire or melting the sugar. If you have second story windows, you may want to consider adding a second level for lights as the tea lights might not make enough light to shine through the upper windows!
Add Details. Make your gingerbread house as creative and personal as possible by adding little details like window trim, a fence, a chimney, and little piped icing designs. Try to think about where snow might naturally land and build up on a house, such as in the corners of windows or on the top of door trim.

How to Enjoy Your Gingerbread House:

Once your gingerbread house is finished, it’s time to sit back and enjoy your hard work! Your gingerbread house should keep for several weeks, if not months, depending on the environment you live in. At room temperature, or anywhere around 60 to 70° F (15 to 21° C) and mid to low humidity, the house should stay standing for a long time. The more humid or hot it is, the more chance you have of the sugar windows and icing starting to melt!

You can also eat your gingerbread house, though this cookie dough is more biscuit-like than a modern day cookie. The house is entirely edible, but most people choose to use the house as decoration for the holiday season. Whatever you choose, I hope that you enjoy your little cookie cottage.

Final Thoughts:

Isn’t this just the sweetest little gingerbread cottage you’ve ever seen? I had such a fun time building this. It makes me want to try making several more, even though Christmas is now over! I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial to learn how to make your own gingerbread house from scratch. It’s a time consuming project, but one that I think is so magical and worth it this time of year. There is nothing more fun than slowing down and building something beautiful, even if it’s just for the sake of making it. I wish you the best of luck in building your own gingerbread fairytale cottage.

xoxo Kayla

Author: Kayla Lobermeier

Gingerbread Fairytale Cottage

In this step-by-step tutorial, I will be sharing how I made this adorable gingerbread house with beautiful royal icing details, a chimney, and a snow-dusted shingled rooftop. This recipe has been adapted from the Gingerbread Cottage Tutorial by Twigg Studios.

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Gingerbread Dough*:

1 cup + 2 tbsp (260 g) salted butter
1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tbsp (45 g) unsulphured molasses
2 1/2 tbsp (45 g) light corn syrup
5 tbsp (75 ml) water
2 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 cups (575 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Glass Sugar Windows:

2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (240 ml) light corn syrup
1 cup (240 ml) water

Royal Icing:

4 cups (460 g) powdered sugar, sifted
80 g egg white, about 2 to 3 large eggs
1/2 tsp (3 g) cream of tartar
2 tsp (10 ml) water

Instructions

To make the Gingerbread Dough:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, water, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg. Heat the mixture until the butter is fully melted and the sugar has dissolved, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and leave the mixture to cool for about 5 minutes. Then, whisk in the baking soda for about 1 minute.
Transfer the melted mixture to a large bowl or a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the flour and salt and mix on low to medium speed until a soft dough forms. The dough will be pliable and springy, rather than soft and spreadable like most cookie doughs.
Divide the dough into two equal sized pieces and wrap tightly with plastic racks. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
Preheat the oven to 350° F (177° C). Line 2 or more large baking sheets with parchment paper.
After the dough has chilled, bring it out onto the counter to warm for about 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2-inch (1-cm) thick.
Using your template pieces, cut out the gingerbread house with a pizza cutter. The pizza cutter helps to prevent the dough from stretching or breaking, though a sharp knife can also be used. If you would like, you can add texture to any of the pieces before they are baked by pressing gently into the top of the dough with various tools, such as the tines of a fork or the rounded side of a spoon. Don't forget to leave a large opening at the back of your gingerbread house to push a light inside!
Lay the pieces on the prepared baking sheets, at least 2-inches (5-cm) apart and bake. The various pieces will bake at different times. The largest pieces take around 15 minutes to bake, while very small pieces take about 5 minutes to bake. Aimee's recipe suggests baking the pieces for half of the guesstimated time and removing them from the oven. Then, lay the template pieces over the gingerbread to make any cuts or adjustments to the pieces to match up with the template while the cookies are half-baked. I did not find that I needed to do this at all!
Once the cookies are fully baked, meaning the edges are set and they are a deep brown color, leave them to rest on the baking sheets for at least 10 minutes. Then, carefully transfer them to wire cooling racks to finish cooling completely.
Repeat this process with the remaining dough.

To make the Glass Sugar Windows:

Once the cookies have fully cooled, lay them back onto the baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Set these nearby your candy-making work station so that you are ready to pour your glass sugar windows as soon as it reaches the hard crack stage.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, and water over medium heat. Continue to whisk until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 to 4 minutes. Then, leave the mixture to come to a boil over medium-high heat.
Use a candy thermometer to monitor the sugar, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Boil the sugar to 290 to 300° F (143° to 149° C) or the hard crack stage.
Immediately pour the sugar into the windows of your gingerbread house pieces, watching to make sure that you do not overfill them. You have about a 10 minute window to pour your candy before it starts to cool and harden up. If your candy does start to harden, it can be remelted. Simply put it back over medium-low heat and whisk constantly, until it has become a thin liquid again. You can really only do this about two times before the candy starts to become over-cooked, so work quickly. The longer the candy sits or the longer it is cooked, the less transparent it becomes when it has cooled.
Leave the windows to harden and cool completely, about 10 to 15 minutes, before moving the gingerbread pieces from the baking sheets.

To make the Royal Icing:

To a large bowl or a standing electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the powdered sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, and water until it forms stiff peaks, about 4 to 6 minutes.
Transfer the royal icing to 2 piping bags (this makes them easier to handle!) and tie the bags shut if not using right away. If you are planning to use it much later after making, it can be kept in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

To construct the Gingerbread House:

You will want to either find a base to set your house on, such as a piece of cardboard or wood, or bake a large base to build your house on. Pipe some royal icing in the place for your main walls. Pipe along the edges of the walls that will touch and begin putting them into place.
Once all of the walls are fitted together, it is best to leave them to dry for at least an hour before attaching the roof. You want to make sure that the royal icing is nice and hard, and this particular icing is like cement. It hardens quickly, but I still suggest waiting to prevent any sliding.
Once the icing on the walls has hardened, then begin attaching the roof. Because these cookies are quite hard and the icing dries quickly, the roof is fairly easy to attach and should not slide if your pieces are fitted together correctly. Once the roof is on, leave it to dry for another hour or so.
Once the roof has dried, it is time to begin attaching the details such as a chimney, door, trims around the windows, fencing, shingles, and stonework. At this point, you can also begin adding your icing details on the gingerbread house, such as whimsical designs, trims, and even snow and icicles. Be as creative as possible!
Dust the top of your house with more powdered sugar to look like freshly fallen snow! Once your has is finished and fully dried, push a small battery operated light inside through the back opening and watch as it makes the entire cottage glow.
This gingerbread house will last for several weeks, even months, if kept in a stable environment. If the weather is humid or too hot, the icing and candy do have a chance of melting. I do not suggest using a candle in your house if only for a few minutes to prevent the windows from melting or the house catching on fire!

Notes

*To build my house, I used the cookie recipe x4! This recipe works great for a small gingerbread house, but you will need more cookie for a larger scale house like mine.

**Do not forget to cut out a hole in the back of the house before baking so that you can add a light inside!

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.