Gluten Free Gingerbread House

5 from 1 vote

Create your very own magical gluten free gingerbread house perfect for the holiday season! Our easy to follow recipe is packed full of helpful tips and a printable template. Ready for you to put your enchanting design design to life and create a beautiful and delicious holiday centerpiece thats sure to impress. Let the decorating fun begin!

Prep Time1

Cook Time15

Total Time1 15

Course: Baking

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: Gingerbread house

Calories: 5734kcal

Author: Amanda

Equipment

Gingerbread house template
Baking sheets
Parchment paper
Rolling Pin
Bowls
Stand mixer or electric beaters
Piping bag and nozzle

Ingredients

Ingredients for gluten free gingerbread house

150 grams Unsalted butter
450 grams Gluten free all purpose flour (Plus extra for dusting)
180 grams Light brown sugar
2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons Ground ginger
½ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon Baking soda
½ teaspoon Xanthan gum Omit if the flour blend already contains xanthan gum
¼ teasppon Salt
100 grams (4 tablespoons) Molasses Unsulphured, dark molasses or Black treacle will work well (Do not use blackstrap molasses).
1 large Egg Room temperature

Ingredients for royal icing

500 grams Powdered sugar
1 teaspoon Cream of tartar
3 large Egg whites (Room temperature) You can use pasteurized egg whites if preferred

Instructions

How to make the gluten free gingerbread dough

Cut the butter into cubes and place in a microwave-safe bowl or jug and melt the butter in the microwave on short bursts. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients (Gluten free flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum) in a large bowl.
Add all the wet ingredients (egg, melted butter, molasses) to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon.
Mix well and knead together with your hands to form a dough.
Shape the dough into a large disk, wrap the dough in plastic wrap, then place it in the refrigerator for around 1 hour.

How to roll and shape the dough

Print the gingerbread house template and carefully cut out the shapes (you need to cut 2x side sections 2x end sections, and 2x roof sections). Cut out the parchment paper to the size of the baking sheets.
Remove the dough from the fridge and cut the disk in half.
Lightly dust the rolling pin with a little flour. Roll out one of the disks of dough directly on top of one sheet of parchment paper until it is ¼ inch thick.
Lightly dust the back of the paper template with a little flour to help prevent it from sticking to the dough, using a sharp knife carefully cut the dough into the gingerbread house shapes. Leaving space between each section of house.
Gently peel away any excess dough and add it to the other gingerbread dough, as you will need all the dough to make the house. You can straighten up any sections or edges of the house with the back of a knife that might have slightly lost its shape (By rolling and cutting on the parchment paper will help keep the shape as you won't need to lift the gingerbread after cutting helping it to maintain its shape).
Carefully move the parchment paper with the gingerbread shapes onto the baking sheet. Continue with this process until all the gingerbread house sections have been cut out. If you have leftover gingerbread dough you can use a cookie cutter to make additional shapes (I made some gingerbread trees).
Place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up again, as this will help them keep their shape when baking.

Baking the gingerbread house

Preheat oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas mark 3
Place the baking sheet in the oven for 14-18 minutes until house shapes look golden brown. The cookies will feel slightly soft when removed from the oven. Leave the house shapes on the baking sheet to fully cool as they will firm up as they cool.

Making the royal icing

Sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl and add the cream of tartar.
Add the egg whites into a separate bowl or stand mixer. Whisk the egg whites with the stand mixer or electric beaters on low until bubbles appear.
Add a few tablespoons of powdered sugar at a time while keeping the mixer on low. Scrape the sides in between adding more sugar to be sure that it is all being incorporated. continue until all the sugar has been added.
Once all the sugar has been added turn the mixer up to high and whisk until the icing has thickened with glossy stiff peaks (This usually takes around 10 minutes).
Cover the top of the royal icing with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.

Decorating and building the gingerbread house.

Wait until the gingerbread house is fully cool and firm before decorating.
I kept my icing white but you can add some icing into small bowls with a few drops of food coloring and then transfer it into various piping bags if you want to decorate the house with various colors.
Place some royal icing into a piping bag with your preferred piping nozzle. Decorate each section to your preferred design. By decorating the gingerbread house before building helps with a neater finish.
Leave the decorated gingerbread house sections to dry fully before building the house.
Once the decorated house sections are dry, choose a base for the gingerbread house. I used a square cake board but you can use whatever you like such as a chopping board, tray, or large plate.
Take the front and side pieces, and with the royal icing pipe thick lines along the side edges and join the pieces together holding it in place for a few minutes. Use something to keep the pieces upright and as a support to help them stand up ( I used drink glasses but anything such as cans of soda will work).
Continue to add the remaining side and back pieces and use supports to help keep it in place. Leave the base of the gingerbread house to fully firm up and the icing to set before adding the roof as this will help it be more of a stable base (Approximately 1 hour depending on how thick the icing is).
Once the base of the house has set pipe a thick line of the royal icing along the top edges of the house. Carefully hold the roof pieces in place for a few minutes to help them stay in place. Once the roof has begun to firm up, pipe a thick line of icing down the center to join the two pieces together.
If you want to add additional decorations to the gingerbread house wait for at least 4 hours for the royal icing to firm up and the house is fully set.
Save any leftover royal icing by covering it with plastic wrap and storing it in the refrigerator for decorating other Christmas cookies.

Notes

You can make the gingerbread house sections a day or two before decorating. Once fully cooled store in an airtight container until you are ready to decorate.

Tips:

- Tip #1: Quality Ingredients - Use high quality butter, spices and molasses for the best flavor. The quality of the ingredients can make a significant difference in the overall taste of your gluten free gingerbread house.

- Tip #2: Chill the Dough - After mixing the gingerbread dough, allow it to chill in the refrigerator for the recommended time. Chilled dough is easier to handle, and it helps the house sections maintain their shape during baking.

- Tip #3: Rolling the Dough - Roll the dough directly on the parchment paper that it will be baked on this prevents unnecessary moving of the dough once cut to shape. Roll to a consistent thickness to ensure even baking. Aim for around ¼ inch thick.

- Tip #4: Cool Completely - Allow the house sections to cool completely on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack. This helps them set without breaking.

- Tip #5: Decorate the gingerbread house before building. This helps with more intricate designs and makes it easier to pipe the royal icing.

- Tip #6: When building the gingerbread house hold the sections in place for a few minutes for the royal icing to take hold and then use some household items to help support and keep them in place while the icing firm up and sets.

- Tip #7: Wait for the base of the gingerbread house to fully set to create a stable base before adding the roof.

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