How To Make a Gluten Free Gingerbread House - Recipe + Video! (2024)

By Nicole Hunn | Published: | Posted In: Cookies, Desserts, Holiday season recipes, Holidays

How to make a gluten free gingerbread house, the easy way. All you need are two different shapes of gingerbread cookies, and plenty of icing!

How To Make a Gluten Free Gingerbread House - Recipe + Video! (1)

Does your family have a holiday tradition of making gingerbread houses?There are probably as many ways of making a gingerbread house as there are families that make them.

This is my new favorite way to make a gluten free gingerbread house. Because it can be so hard to describe the assembly using words, I knew a short how-to video of my assembling a house was the way to go.

I've dressed up my house a little bit with some extra little shapes, and some royal icing decoration. You certainly don't have to do that. In fact, the messier the gingerbread house, the more fun was likely had by little hands “helping.”

How To Make a Gluten Free Gingerbread House - Recipe + Video! (2)

I've used all sorts of templates in the past, but I've always longed for a simpler version. The cookie cutter set(affiliate link) that I used is as simple as they come, with only two types of shapes necessary. One is an end piece, and one a side/roof piece.

If you don't want to order the cookie cutters that I used, no worries. I've created a simplepaperGingerbread House Templatefor you to print out. And it's very easy to use.

How To Make a Gluten Free Gingerbread House - Recipe + Video! (3)

Once you've printed the template, cut out the 6 shapes (2 end pieces + 4 side/roof pieces) along the black lines. Make and roll out the dough according to the recipe instructions below. Then, place the paper shapes on top of the dough, and slice around them with a sharp knife.

The dough should be rolled about the thickness of a graham cracker, and in any case no less than 1/8-inch thick.

How To Make a Gluten Free Gingerbread House - Recipe + Video! (4)

For “perfect” decorating, the royal icing should be thicker or thinner depending upon its use. For finer decorations, like piping little dots on miniature evergreen tree cookies, it's helpful for it to be thinner. Forusing as glue to assemble a gluten free gingerbread house, it's helpful to have thicker royal icing.

But the truth is that it just doesn't matter that much. Once it dries, the thinnest lines of royal icing have a tendency to crack off anyway. The one thing you absolutely need your royal icing to do is to “glue” together the pieces of the gingerbread house. Everything else is nice, but not necessary.

This is the simplest way I know of for making a sweet little gingerbread house to celebrate the season. And I've tried plenty of ways. Have some fun! And have a happy, healthy holiday, with love from me. ?

<Print

How To Make a Gluten Free Gingerbread House - Recipe + Video! (5)

Print

Save Pin

How To Make a Gluten Free Gingerbread House

Prep time:

Cook time:

Yield: 2 small gingerbread houses

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter), plus more for sprinkling

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (56 g) cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (75 g) granulated sugar

1/3 cup (73 g) packed light brown sugar

6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 tablespoons (63 g) unsulphured molasses

2tablespoons (42 g) honey

1 egg (50 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Royal Icing

Gingerbread House Cookie Cutters, or my Paper Templateand a sharp knife

Instructions

  • First, make the gingerbread cookie shapes. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.

  • In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the brown sugar and whisk again to combine, working out any lumps. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, molasses, honey, egg and vanilla, mixing to combine after each addition. The dough will be thick and soft.

  • Sprinkle a large sheet of unbleached parchment paper lightly with flour, and place the dough on top of it. Sprinkle with more flour, and roll into a rectangle about 3/8-inch thick (more than 1/4-inch, less than 1/2-inch).

  • Dip the cookie cutters in flour, and use it to cut out shapes from the cookie dough. You’ll need 4 rectangular pieces and 2 side pieces. With each cut, jiggle the cutter back and forth to create a neat shape. If you’re using the paper template, print out the template and cut out all 6 shapes along the black lines. Lay the template pieces on top of the rolled out dough and, using a sharp knife, cut around each shape. Remove the templates.

  • Place the dough, with the cutout pieces still in place, in the refrigerator or freezer until firm.Once the dough has chilled, peel back the rest of the dough from around the cut-outs and gather the scraps. Then carefully peel off the cut-out shapes and place them, about 1 1/2-inches apart, on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat the process with the remaining dough until you have used it all. You should have enough for two full houses (6 pieces each).

  • Place the baking sheets in the center of the preheated oven and bake until golden brown all over, about 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.

  • Decorate and assemble the house. Prepare the royal icing according to the recipe instructions. Decorate the panels with royal icing and allow it to dry for at least 2 hours before proceeding. Place the royal icing in a piping bag (or zip-top bag with the corner snipped off) fitted with a medium open piping tip.

  • Select one end piece and one side piece and place them together on a clean, lined surface. Pipe a thick, straight line of royal icing on the surface, underneath each piece and another line along the edge of the end piece. Assemble the two pieces and hold for 1 minute to allow the icing to begin to set. Repeat with the second side, and then the second end piece, holding the pieces in place for 1 minute after each placement. Allow the 4 walls to sit at room temperature for about an hour or until very stable. Ice all of the exposed top edges of the 4 walls, and between the two remaining cookie panels, and place the roof pieces. Fill in the any gaps with more icing. Allow the house to sit until completely set (about 4 hours).

How To Make a Gluten Free Gingerbread House - Recipe + Video! (2024)

FAQs

Are gingerbread houses gluten-free? ›

Most typical gingerbread houses are constructed with wheat flour, so this means they are not gluten-free, and you should not eat them if you are gluten-sensitive.

What is the best ingredient to keep a gingerbread house from falling? ›

She recommends using granulated sugar instead of royal icing to hold the walls together. How? Just melt the sugar in a pan over low heat. You want to allow it to turn brown, but make sure not to burn it (otherwise it won't taste so great).

What is the trick to putting gingerbread house together? ›

Fit Everything Together with Melted Sugar or Royal Icing

The second way is to use burnt sugar as your glue. Just melt C&H® Pure Granulated Cane Sugar in a pan on the stove, dip the gingerbread parts in and hold them together for a few seconds. Then, presto! You've created a solid house.

How do you make foods gluten-free? ›

Cook from scratch: To avoid hidden gluten, use whole, fresh ingredients. Avoid "convenience" ingredients such as gravy mixes, soup mixes, bottled sauces, salad dressings, condiments, and seasoning mixes, since these may contain gluten-based ingredients. Check a list of gluten-free foods for safer ingredients.

Is ginger safe for celiacs? ›

Spices sold singularly—ie, there's only one ingredient in the ingredients list—should be safe. This includes, but is not limited to: salt, pepper, garlic powder, garlic salt, ginger, bay leaves, turmeric, onion powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, paprika, coriander, basil, oregano, rosemary, marjoram, and thyme.

Can celiacs eat gluten-free cookies? ›

If you're celiac with a sweet tooth, welcome. These gluten-free cookies (and bars and brownies) are for you—and for anyone who doesn't take well to gluten or just wants a little break from it.

How do you make a gingerbread house that won't fall apart? ›

Cement the pieces together

The traits that make it great for decoration—it's flimsy and crumbly—do not work so well for holding walls together. Enter: white chocolate. Unlike icing, white chocolate dries into a very firm solid—namely, back into solid chocolate. (Yes, we know, it's not really chocolate.

What is the best glue to hold a gingerbread house together? ›

It's royal for a reason because royal icing is the king of glues for gingerbread houses. As my go-to choice for edible cement I can't really fault it's versatility and strength. Royal icing for the uninitiated is a mix of egg white and icing sugar.

Why does my gingerbread house always fall apart? ›

“Most gingerbread disasters, collapses, and frustrations happen because the icing hasn't had an adequate amount of time to dry. It's not always easy for kids to be patient, so it's a good idea to have some other activity lined up in between steps to distract kids while they're waiting to work on the house.”

How do you make the strongest gingerbread house? ›

So to make sure our walls could stand strong, we sandwiched melted marshmallow cement between two graham crackers. The marshmallow adds weight, which helps stabilize the structure. It also acts as a sealant, ensuring that the cracker won't crumble.

Why won't my gingerbread houses stay together? ›

Caramelized Sugar Works Like 'Magic Glue' To Hold a Gingerbread House Together. Avoid a Christmas decorating disaster.

Does gluten-free take longer to bake? ›

Gluten-free goods tend to brown faster and take longer to cook through. So they need to be baked at a slightly lower temperature, for a slightly longer time. Every recipe is different, but in general, try lowering the temperature by 25 degrees and baking the item for 15 minutes longer.

What are 5 ingredients to avoid in a gluten free diet? ›

Avoid all foods and drinks containing the following:
  • Wheat.
  • Barley.
  • Rye.
  • Triticale — a cross between wheat and rye.
  • Oats, in some cases.

What are gingerbread houses made out of? ›

Making gingerbread houses is a Christmas tradition in many families. They are typically made before Christmas using pieces of baked gingerbread dough assembled with melted sugar. The roof 'tiles' can consist of frosting or candy. The gingerbread house yard is usually decorated with icing to represent snow.

Are graham crackers gluten-free? ›

Most of today's graham crackers are made from refined wheat flour. If you are on a gluten-free diet, this is a problem. However, gluten-free grahams are easy to make at home. And even if you aren't gluten-free, making homemade graham crackers is a fun—and tasty—way to experience classic graham crackers in a new way.

What is gingerbread dough made of? ›

For making the gingerbread house dough, you will need the following ingredients: flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, unsalted butter, light brown sugar, molasses, an egg and vanilla extract.

What kind of cookies are gluten-free? ›

Types of gluten-free cookies include:
  • Chocolate chip cookies.
  • Flourless peanut cookies.
  • Shortbread cookies.
  • Macaroons.
  • Coconut cookies.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Kieth Sipes

Last Updated:

Views: 6010

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (47 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Kieth Sipes

Birthday: 2001-04-14

Address: Suite 492 62479 Champlin Loop, South Catrice, MS 57271

Phone: +9663362133320

Job: District Sales Analyst

Hobby: Digital arts, Dance, Ghost hunting, Worldbuilding, Kayaking, Table tennis, 3D printing

Introduction: My name is Kieth Sipes, I am a zany, rich, courageous, powerful, faithful, jolly, excited person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.