Categories: Do-It-Yourself / EASY / dessert / Christmas
C&H® Gingerbread House Tips
This beautiful treat is fun for kids to make and is a classic staple in homes during the holiday season. Now building it, on the other hand, that can be a different story. Despite your best-laid plans, sometimes, these holly jolly creations just don’t turn out the way you had envisioned. But have no fear.
With the right C&H® recipes and a few gingerbread house tips, you’ll be crafting your merry and bright masterpiece in no time at all.
Five Gingerbread House Hacks You Have to Know
1. Start with a Plan
Gingerbread houses take careful preparation and a clear vision. Before you get started, you should draw it out on paper first. We recommend measuring your gingerbread house on parchment paper, so you know how much cookie batter you’ll need. This will ensure you don’t run out of supplies midway through building and decorating your sweet creation.
2. Bake the Perfect Gingerbread House Recipe
Your gingerbread house recipe is only as good as the materials you use to make it. We recommend creating your walls and roof with our Gingerbread Cookies. This festive recipe made with C&H® Dark Brown Sugar will give your structure plenty of strength. Just cut your cookies to the desired shape, toss them in the oven, and ta-da! You’ve created the rich, flavorful foundation for your winter wonderland. 
3. Stick Your Gingerbread House Together with Melted Sugar or Royal Icing
Wondering how to stick together a gingerbread house? There are two great approaches.
The traditional technique is to use icing, such as our Royal Icing (with Meringue Powder). Generations of home bakers have used this tried-and-true method, and it works like a charm and tastes amazing.
The second way is to use burnt sugar as your glue. Just melt C&H® Pure Cane Granulated 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.
4. Use Roll-up Fruit Leather for Stained Glass Windows
Stained glass windows are one of the best gingerbread house ideas. But, we’ve all spent too much time trying to create frosting windows in the past. Instead, try using Roll-up Fruit Leather. This creative hack looks just like stained glass, and tastes amazing.
5. Use Buttercream Frosting for Paint
Filled with the delightful flavor of C&H® Powdered Sugar, our Buttercream Frosting is wonderful for decorating gingerbread houses. You can color it with food dye to transform your yuletide creation into any hue you want, or leave it white to turn your gingerbread house into a snow-covered winter cottage.
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