It’s become a tradition of mine to make a gingerbread house every Christmas season. As usual, I turned to Teresa Layman’s books Gingerbread for All Seasons and Gingerbread: Things to Make and Bake for templates and inspiration. This is what I ended up with:
Below is the back:
The fondant snowman is all edible except for the toothpick as his nose.
To make the icicles, use a #2 piping tip and use flood icing. For the recipe see here.
Begin at the roofline and pipe a enough of a bead of icing so that it adheres, then squeeze and pull. Let go of the pressure when you’re happy with the length of the icicle and gently pull down.
I made the back and interior of the the house a bit more whimsical with royal icing ‘run-outs’ or ‘flood-work’. {Basically royal icing piped on parchment paper or acetate paper. If you’d like to use acetate paper, make sure you lightly coat it with shortening/lard}.
As usual, I couldn’t resist using disco dust
The inside was pretty basic with a Christmas tree, candy gifts and some sticker-inspired flood work.
I seem to get a lot of questions regarding the trees every year. They’re so simple to make!
Begin with ice cream cones of any size. Various sizes look nice as well. You can gently break your cones or stack them to make the ‘trees’ larger or smaller.
You’ll need to use a thick or stiff icing for the trees. I used Teresa Layman’s
Holding the cone by the tip, pipe stiff green ‘stars’ using a #18 tip. Any star or leaf tip works really and you can pipe small, tight stars or larger, longer ones. Whatever your preference. Begin at the base, piping one row at a time, and work your way upwards until you almost reach the top.
Since you need a place to grip the cone, stop piping near the tip and let the icing dry. Once it is firm, you can gently hold on to the bottom of the tree and finish the rest. Voila!
This tree has a little bit of icing sugar dusted over it as well.
I did end up entering the house into my first competition.
Every year our local museum holds a Gingerbread House Competition to raise money for Christmas Cheer - a charity for local families in need.
I ended up with silver in the professional category, representing the school where I teach and Sweetopia.
First prize went to Cakes by Design with their adorable house and figurines.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the award ceremony as I was in class with Peggy Porschen, but I was able to get a few shots of the other houses when I delivered my house. I loved Whoville and so many of the unique ideas!
Happy gingerbreading if you decide to make one this year!
xo,
Marian
I love this site, I am 14, and I used some of your amazing ideas for my Christmas Gingerbread house, instead of Christmas colours, I used light pastels
Thanks
@ Bella: I love it! You’re welcome to post a pic on my Facebook fan page if you’d like. I’d love to see it.
So glad to hear from you!
How did you make the bushes on the window ledges?
@ karli: I used little holly sprinkles and adhered them with royal icing, using tweezers.
I absolutely love the houses!
hey the houses look so kool!!!
but how did you do the ledges on the doors!!???
Hi@ gemma: Do you mean the holly sprinkles on the windows? Or do you mean the lines on the doors? Those were done before the dough was baked. I used a knife to ‘score’ the lines into the dough, and then baked it. Voila!
Hi, the gingerbread houses look so amazing, and I love how you did your trees! This is the first time on this site and I will SO visit it again:) Thank u!
Beautiful, what a nice custom to do. Is the house after the holidays still eatable??? Do the houses actually get to be eaten?
Thanks @ Kelsey. =)
@ claudia: Lol. So true, often times the houses are left uncovered for weeks, and the gingerbread gets hard and stale. Still okay if you dunk it in hot chocolate like I did as a child, but not the best I’m sure!
If you’d like to eat it, the best thing to do is to wrap it up in cellophane right after the icing has dried. Here’s a photo of houses wrapped up:
http://sweetopia.net/2009/11/bombay-sapphire-gin-gingerbread-houses/
And whether or not they get eaten, well that’s up to the person who recieves them. =)
I can’t tell you how much I love looking at your gingerbread houses~ they are perfect! I am inspired to do another one this Christmas…in 8 months
Thanks for sharing!!
I know this is an old post but I am IN LOVE with the whoville gingerbread village. I want to try that one next christmas for my son. Please can you do a tutorial or tell me where you got the ideas I saw two books listed above.
Hi, can you send me a link for the templates? Your gingerbread house is one of a kind!
Yay @ Holly! I’m looking forward to doing mine too! Let me know how yours goes. I’ve got a facebook page if you’d like to share there.
Hi @ Cathy: The books are what I used for my house, the Whoville is what I saw at the gingerbread house competition… so I’m not sure what they used to help them. (I’m guessing the illustrations, as I have almost every gingerbread book out there, haha, and have never seen that in a book).
@ jerrah revilles: I wish I could send them to you, but they are from the books I have listed in the post. (copyright issues for me to share).
What a lovely webpage! I was looking for some gingerbread house ideas for young adults to make. From the first time my mother read Hansel and Gretel I LOVED gingerbread houses! We love gingerbreading at Christmas time too! Every year my kids and grandkids do a project together…one year we did a small town in gingerbread, one year we did the north pole complete with a stable for the reindeer…We have done Noah’s Ark and a beautiful Nativity. I let the grandkids pick out any animal they wanted for the Nativity…We had farm animals, zoo animals, jungle animals and our granddaughter insisted on a dinosaur! It was the sweetest Nativity we had ever done! Keep up the beautiful work and keep gingerbreading! We are all children at Christmas!
That’s wonderful, @ Maggie Lynch: I can imagine how special each one you’ve made is! They take on a personality somehow, and just the experience of making them is magical. I’d love to see pics some time if you’d like to share them on my facebook page.
xo
Hi Marian
I absolutely LOVE your cake and really want to copy it this Christmas. It will be my very first gingerbread anything to be honest so I wanted to know how long did it take to make? And secondly was your exact cake in the 2 books you mentioned above?
Looking forward to hearing from you
X X X
GOOD DAY,
We have just launched new and exciting website http://www.gingerbread-house-patterns.com/.
We have reviewed your website and we were wondering if you guys are offering back links & advertising options.
We also have some great articles and photos you can use for free in exchange for a simple text link.
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The Gingerbread House Patterns Team
know it is an old post but I have onequestion. What did you use to make the roof?
Hi, Marian,
It’s incredible what you’ve done with flour, sugar, eggs, etc. I would love to know what you made you get so interested in decorating cookies.
(I hope you see my post.)
I have tried to find boxes like the ones you used to stack your edible image cookies in for giving away. http://sweetopia.net/2011/10/halloween-edible-image-cookies/Please let me know where you bought those. I’ve been all over the web trying to find them.
Again, thank you for freely sharing your knowledge and talent with the rest of us. I know it takes time to answer questions, post tutorials, and the photos! It’s all just great.
I’m wishing you a Merry Christmas in 2012!
Janet
Do you have a tempalet for the ginger bread houses?
Hi! This house is amazing! What were the demensions of gingerbread walls? And what is the roof tiling made of? Thank you!
@ Bella:
oh really send a cake for me too on cristmas
@ Bella:
Did you buy the little logs??????
hiya Marian, I love this version of the gingerbread house. This is my first time making one, and I have already made my own version for the patterns but what did you use for the roof? Is it cereals? Lovely work as usual xx
Hi @ Ismini Jones:
Gosh, I’m not sure exactly how long this one took anymore. Longer than a whimsical simpler one, of course. I’m guessing about 24 hours in total. And yes, the exact pattern is in the book, Gingerbread for All Seasons. I just changed the decorations a bit.
Cereal, @ Natalie. I’m sorry I can’t remember the name anymore, but check your cereal aisle.
Hi @ Janet Golden: Thanks for your interest and for your nice comments! I explain a little bit of my journey into the ‘land of sweets’ on my About page (you can find that from the home page sweetopia.net).
I’m not sure what boxes you mean as the halloween post you showed as an example didn’t have boxes, but if you mean the Vintage Edible Image Cookies which were in boxes with a clear top, I believe I got them from here http://www.creativebag.com/boxes/food-boxes-and-containers It was a few years ago though.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas 2012 too!
@ Christopher Vining, @ Liv: The template is in the book I link to in the post, Gingerbread for All Seasons. I can’t share due to copyright.
@ Charlene: The roof tiling is made of cereal. (not sure of name but it should be in your local grocery store cereal aisle).
@ Lucy: The little logs are thicker pretzels from a store around here called Bulk Barn. I just cut them into smaller pieces.
Hi! That was one of the cutest gingerbread houses I’ve ever seen! Good job
But I was wondering, do you cut out the different parts after the gingerbread is baked, or do you cut the parts out first and then bake them?
This house is so cute! I was just wondering, how did you make the little light by the front door? It looks like a lemon drop lined with black frosting, but there’s a little hooking holding it to the side of the house. Is the light attached with fondant or royal icing?
Hi @ Vilde: I usually use a pizza wheel or paring knife and cut out the dough pieces, and then bake them.
That’s right, @ Calli, it’s a lemon drop with black lines piped on it. The little detail below I piped separately (it’s a royal icing transfer… Glossary here; http://sweetopia.net/glossary/ ). Once it was dry, I added it under the lemon drop with royal icing. (and the lemon drop is also attached with thick royal icing).
Okay I have to know… How did you do the little light beside the front door?
Absolutley, @ Kaitlin! I explained it in the comment above yours.
Mariam, I actually liked your house the best in all the pictures above.
I think your work (even cookies) has a certain clean and elegant finish to it. All your work is absolutely professional. I love your cookies and only wish I had the patience. I do cookies as part of my business and it’s an effort but I specialize in cakes. I would rather do a cake anytime.
Thanks for sharing your tutorials, they are very helpful.
Veena
Hello,
I was amazed about how you made that fantastic gingerbread house, I was just wondering how you made the chimney. Is it fondant decorated with royal icing or else?
Thanks a lot and Merry Christmas.
Bianca from Italy
Aw, so sweet, @ Veena Azmamov, thank you!
@ Bianca: It’s gingerbread dyed pink, then scored chimney lines and then baked.
ok, this gingerbread house is just amazing! it looks amazing and reeeeally yummy! I wish I could do something like this!
A kiss from Spain!
Laura
Hello, your house is beautiful! I saw it and I decided to try to make a gingerbread house for my first time. The result is not so perfect like yours, but I’m satisfied! I love it. Thank a lot!:-) Merry Christmas.
If you would have a look you can find photos on my blog! ciao!:-)
Marian,
I have never seen a gingerbread house as beautiful. Thank you for posting.
Could you please tell me what did you use for the roof on the very first gingerbread house up here? Look like a real roof. Beautiful. I have been looking for something like that I couldn’t find one.
Thank you for taking your time responding.
wwwooooowwww it’s absolute a great masterpice….it’s a big home very nice,and the decoration are so’ lovely ..
@ Laura, @ Maria Luisa, @ Maria Antonietta: Thanks so much, your comments mean so much to me
@ Minh Barrow: Sure, they are cereal… called Shreddies.
Hi, this looks AMAZING i would love to make it for this year. Is there any chance i could have the recipe. If you can thanks alot, if not then no worries.
Dear Marianne,
congratulations, yuo are the best.Please, I have read here and saw your videos in you tube but I can not find your recipe for gingerbread houses,please dear,I really would like to do it for Christmas ,because the last year I made one but it got very hard ( I am soory for my basic English).Iwill be very grateful if you answer me with the recipe.I use my husband e-mail because I have not one.God bless you.I suposse you already know, but a secret a friend of mine gave me for macarons is to let the white eggs uncovered in the fridge for two days and then using them.
Thanks a lot for your generosity.
A big hugg from the last country of the map
Norma Josefina Madrid de Apaz
Dear Marianne, I do not know if my request was sended,my grandchilds,even the youngest handle the PC in a way I never will,please,dear, I wrote a moment ago in order of beging you the recipe of gingerbread houses,but I do not know to use the PC properly, just in case you have not receive it,I ask you again for it.The last year I made one but the dough was very hard.
You are the best.God bless you.
Thanks a lot
I used my husband e-mail and his website because I have not one.Thanks again and again and congratulations.
Norma Madrid de Apaz
HI @ Sophie and @ norma josefina madrid: Yes, the recipe is in my recipe section (top of blog) under the cookie section. (You can look there if you’d like to see other cookie recipes). To make it easy for you, here it is:
http://sweetopia.net/2010/11/gingerbread-cookie-recipe/
Have fun baking! xo