Can you believe that it has already been 12 weeks? I am amazed at how quickly this fall and winter flew by me (and that I actually did all 12 weeks, I may have a habit of starting things and not finishing them). I love the holidays, but I am really ready to get everything done and hunker down on the couch with my family for a few days. We are pretty mellow and low key about Christmas. When my husband and I got married years ago, we said that Santa would always come to our house and that we would not travel. I am so glad that we made that decision. We love to visit family, but the hustle and bustle of holiday travel with three little ones is not something that I am eager to do. So I look forward to my husband’s time off where we can cuddle and watch movies or take a day trip or two. And to do some of my favorite Christmas activities and traditions.
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is making a gingerbread house. I remember being a little girl and making one with my Nonnie. I would go to her house after school and we would work on the house together. I loved doing it with her and told myself that I would do it with my own children. I have done many houses since then and I look forward to it every year.
This is the gingerbread dough that I use to make the houses and regular gingerbread cookies. I make a few batches and chill them overnight. When you are making a house, you want to use a cold dough. It will be easier to work with. Over the next few days, I will give you some tips for making houses, but today, I am just going to start with the dough.
5 to 5 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup room temperature butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 room temperature egg
1 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Pour in the molasses. I spray the measuring cup with cooking spray so that it slides right out.
Scrape the bowl.
Slowly add the flour mixture.
As soon as the flour is incorporated, turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper.
I use the paper to form the dough into a rectangle shape. Wrap up the dough and chill for at least four hours, preferably overnight.
Roll out the dough onto a floured surface, about a 1/4 inch thick. Flour the rolling pin and use either a cookie cutter, or your gingerbread templates. Put on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or tin foil. Bake for about 15 to 17 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Let the pieces cool completely on the cookie sheet before you move them.
From here, you can decorate them as you wish, or build a house with them.
Gingerbread
Gingerbread Cookie Recipe - use to make cookies or a gingerbread house. This gingerbread dough is stable enough to build a house and also makes a really good gingerbread man for snacking.
Ingredients
- 5 to 5 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup room temperature butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 room temperature egg
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Pour in the molasses. I spray the measuring cup with cooking spray so that it slides right out.
- Scrape the bowl.
- Slowly add the flour mixture.
- As soon as the flour is incorporated, turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper.
- I use the paper to form the dough into a rectangle shape. Wrap up the dough and chill for at least four hours, preferably overnight.
- Roll out the dough onto a floured surface, about a 1/4 inch thick. Flour the rolling pin and use either a cookie cutter, or your gingerbread templates. Put on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or tin foil. Bake for about 15 to 17 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Let the pieces cool completely on the cookie sheet before you move them.
- From here, you can decorate them as you wish, or build a house with them.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0g
This Post Has 42 Comments
5 5 1/2 cups of butter? plus an extra cup…. do you mean 5 cups of flour by chance?
I did, thanks for catching that for me!!
Your gingerbread looks way better than mine, must say mine was not that neat!!! So props to you!
thank you Lynn. Some pieces were not so neat, don’t worry!
Gorgeous! What a fabulous holiday tradition!
thanks girls! Have you ever made one before?
WOW!! these are the most impressive! Merry christmas to u !
thank you! We had so much fun making them.
beautifully simplistic!!! i want to make one!
thank Autumn! Come on over and make one with us. I liked the all white this year. I tend to go nuts sometimes and go overboard.
I love your darling gingerbread house! I also love the idea of a low-key Christmas:) Have a merry one!
Thank you Sue! I like a low key Christmas too.
Oh your little gingerbread house is perfect! I love hoppin on over here to see whatcha got cookin! I ave always made gingerbread cookies, but never a house…it looks so tedious! It’s great that you and your family are home-bound for the holidays, I wish I could say the same about mine. But we hop to granny’s and nana’s every year for everything! Thank goodness they are just a minute from home! Happy Holidays
A little tedious, but come back tomorrow, I have instructions how to make one. You are lucky, our families are 3,000 miles away.
I love this post!! My mom and I took a gingerbread house class once when I was little and made our own gingerbread and then got to decorate. A memory that has stuck with me for many years! Thank you for conjuring that up again for me. Your house looks absolutely adorable!
You are welcome. I loved doing it with my grandmother. Have you made one since then?
That gingerbread looks so yummy! My Aunt used to make some type of gingerbread creation every year and my two girls now have a tradition of making a house together every Christmas. I think we will try your recipe this year. By the way, just wanted you to know that your two recipes from thanksgiving (Bobbies Berries and the Green Bean Almondine) were fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing them. Have a great day!
I love these kinds of traditions. Glad that you liked the Thanksgiving recipes.
Awesome! I love how you decorated it and seems so easy to make. I will try this at home and see my daughter’s reaction upon seeing them. I am very much excited to make this. Thank you so much for this recipe and instructions.
You are welcome Rose!
I’ve always wondered how to make the homemade version of a gingerbread house. It’s a lot simpler than I had imagined!
It is if you are patient. I make one every year and I love doing it.
What temp do you bake them at?
350. Thanks for pointing this out, I’ll edit the post.
how many houses can you bake with those quantities only one??
It depends on the size of the house. But probably one.
Nailed it! Sort of! Thanks so much for this tutorial, I’m looking forward to making my second house. My friends are already turning this into a gingerbread ruin. 🙂
https://sunandcake.wordpress.com/2012/12/16/gingerbread-house/
LOL! It just looks “rustic”!
How many cookies or houses does this recipe make?
It completely depends on the size of the cutters and house. I think that you will need to at least double to make a house. You want to have more than enough dough than not enough.
What a great tutorial, I’ve always wanted to make a gingerbread house but thought it would be way too difficult, will certainly give it a try, hope it turns out as well as yours did, super cute!
It is not difficult, but it does take time. If you break it into steps and do it over the course of a few days, it is easier I find.
I was so excited to try this recipe (your pictures looked amazing and I’d never made homemade gingerbread before), but I think I did something wrong. :/ They tasted very flour-y. I’m wondering if I didn’t use enough brown sugar. I didn’t see an amount in the recipe, so I guessed 1 cup. Did you use more than that? Thanks so much!
It says 1 cup brown sugar in both places.
Oops! Not sure how I missed that. I even had my sister double-check since I wasn’t seeing it. Thanks!
Hi. I’m wondering how You decorate them? With frosting only? They look amazing. Thanks for reply. Greetings from Poland 😉
Usually just white frosting.
do you leave the dough to come back to room temperature if you chill overnight? My dough is rock hard!
Not room temp, but soft enough to roll.
Do you have a pattern to print out??
I used one from Family Fun.
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