Easy Gluten Free Gingerbread House Recipe

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This Easy Gingerbread House Recipe is simple, beautiful, and delicious! Plus, it is a gluten-free and allergen-friendly gingerbread house, so everyone can enjoy it!

This Easy Gingerbread House Recipe is simple, beautiful, and delicious! Plus, it is a gluten-free and allergen-friendly gingerbread house, so everyone can enjoy it!

Easy Gingerbread House Recipe

Thanks to Elise for this guest post!

Gingerbread houses are the epitome of Christmas. Everything about them – from the warm, spicy scented gingerbread to the sweetness of the icing, to the snowy look of them (that you probably created for fun as a family) all do their part to let us know that Christmas time is here.

Ironically, I’ve never made a gingerbread house. Not that I haven’t wanted to; it’s just not something my family ever did. But this year, that changed. We made one, and we loved it!

There are a few things that set this house apart from the more traditional, candy-laden gingerbread houses:

a.) It’s gluten-free gingerbread house.
For those of you with gluten intolerance/celiac disease who like to eat your gingerbread, this is for you. I admit that I strongly considered buying a bag of wheat flour for this project because I wasn’t sure how well gluten-free gingerbread would hold up, but I’m glad I didn’t. It not only held up beautifully but my husband (who is allergic to wheat) really enjoyed getting to partake in the house-building and scrap-eating.

b.) This house isn’t decorated with candy.
I’m happy to let my kids eat homemade gingerbread, but I know that if we covered this house with candy, it would eventually end up in their mouths. Ick! No thanks.

c.) It’s very simple.
This seemed prudent since I’d never made a gingerbread house before. Besides, I’ve most often found that simplicity is beautiful. To make things super easy, we piped icing doors and windows, rather than cutting them out. I think this helped keep the house sturdy, too. There were no weak points to break on us as we connected the sides with icing.

So, with all that out of the way, let’s get to work! This recipe makes just enough for one house using the measurements specified, with very little excess. It’s sturdy enough to make a larger house though, so feel free to double the recipe and increase the dimensions or use a different template. You don’t need any special gingerbread house cookie cutters to make this recipe! Just a sharp knife will do.

Tip: Keep your Holidays Simple and Organized by Using a Christmas Master Checklist!

Ingredients in Gluten-Free Gingerbread House

For this recipe, we will be making our own gluten-free flour with a variety of gluten-free flour and starches. I have not used a basic gluten-free all-purpose flour in this recipe.

To make this recipe dairy-free, replace the butter with shortening or vegan butter.

Step By Step Instructions for Making Gluten Free Gingerbread House

Preheat oven to 350 (or 325 in a Convection oven).

Combine shortening and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with a paddle until light and fluffy. Add in molasses and vanilla and continue to mix.

Separately, combine all of the dry ingredients together. Add to the wet mixture. The dough will be crumbly at first but will soon come together.

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The dough should be very stiff – perfect for rolling out!

Measure out and make your own gingerbread house templates on paper ahead of time. You might be able to find these on the internet and print them out too. Roll out to 1/3-1/2 inch thick and arrange your gingerbread house templates on top.

Cut out each piece (two long sides, two short sides, and two roof pieces) on a parchment-lined sheet pan.

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Bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly risen with a touch of color at the edges. Cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.

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Print this Gluten-Free Gingerbread Recipe to add to your Recipe Binder below:

Homemade Gluten Free Gingerbread Recipe

How to make your own gluten free gingerbread house recipe.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword gluten free gingerbread house
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 1 house
Calories 2908 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Butter
  • 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Unsulphured Molasses
  • 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 2-1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Ground Nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
  • 1-1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Guar Gum
  • 1/2 cup Corn Flour
  • 3/4 cup Light Buckwheat Flour
  • 1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
  • 1/2 cup Cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup Millet Flour

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 (or 325 in a Convection oven).
  2. Combine shortening and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with a paddle until light and fluffy. Add in molasses and vanilla and continue to mix.
  3. Separately, combine all dry ingredients together. Add to the wet mixture. The dough will be crumbly at first but will soon come together.
  4. The dough should be very stiff – perfect for rolling out!
  5. Roll out to 1/3-1/2 inch thick and arrange your gingerbread house templates on top.
  6. Cut out each piece (two long sides, two short sides, and two roof pieces) on a parchment-lined sheet pan.
  7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly risen with a touch of color at the edges. Cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a month.
Nutrition Facts
Homemade Gluten Free Gingerbread Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 2908 Calories from Fat 909
% Daily Value*
Fat 101g155%
Saturated Fat 60g375%
Trans Fat 4g
Polyunsaturated Fat 7g
Monounsaturated Fat 26g
Cholesterol 244mg81%
Sodium 2289mg100%
Potassium 3650mg104%
Carbohydrates 489g163%
Fiber 22g92%
Sugar 238g264%
Protein 27g54%
Vitamin A 2848IU57%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 622mg62%
Iron 17mg94%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

How to Make Royal Icing

The big key to royal icing is making sure that your tools and work area are free of grease. Since royal icing is a meringue, it begins to break down as soon as it comes into contact with oil.

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So, if you use your decorating bags or tips for buttercream, make sure you clean them with vinegar before using them. I also recommend using either a new bag or making one out of parchment paper rather than risking using a greasy bag.

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Print this Simple Royal Icing Recipe to add to your Recipe Binder below:

Homemade Royal Icing Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 egg whites
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Beat the egg whites until frothy.
  2. Add 1 lb. of powdered sugar and continue beating until the icing is stiff.

Recipe Notes

The big key to royal icing is making sure that your tools, and work area, are free of grease. Since royal icing is a meringue, it begins to break down as soon as it comes into contact with oil. So, if you are using your decorating bags or tips for buttercream, make sure you clean them with vinegar before using them. I also recommend using either a new bag, or making one out of parchment paper, rather than risking using a greasy bag.

Decorate Your Gingerbread House

Gingerbread-6

Decide where you want to put the windows and doors and decorate the roof if you want to.

The key is to do all of this before you put your house together. It is so much easier to pipe icing onto a flat surface or a cookie that’s being propped up on something solid rather than trying to decorate the standing house without knocking it down.

Assemble Your Gingerbread House

  1. Prepare the surface on which you intend to stand your gingerbread house. I used a large wooden cutting board. You’ll want it cleared off and handy for the next step.
  2. Working quickly, pipe icing around the inside perimeter and bottom edge of one of the long side pieces. Place the piece firmly down onto your cutting board (or preferred surface). The icing on the bottom will help it stay put.
  3. Now, pipe icing onto the outside edges of the sides and bottom of one of the short sides. Place it firmly up against the insides of the long side.
  4. You may need to reinforce the sides by piping additional icing along the inner and outer edges, but if it’s too sloppy, consider whether your icing is stiff enough. If so, go back and thicken it up.
  5. Repeat with second short side.
  6. Finish the sides of your house by piping icing onto the bottom of the second long side and attaching it to the open side of your house.
  7. Now pipe icing all along the top edges of the standing sides and carefully place the roof on top. You may need to hold it while the icing dries a bit.
Gingerbread-3

Landscaping your Gingerbread House

Pipe icing on your board to create landscaping and walkways. To keep things really simple, use liberal sprinklings of powdered sugar as snow.

If you want to add a few little candies or treats to your Gingerbread House, you can do that now, too. If you’d like to add a little something and still have a more natural gingerbread house, you could use dried fruit or nuts to add some color. It’s easier now to find gluten-free candy from the store than it was in the past including candy canes and colorful candy drops.

Tip: Homemade Blueberry Gummies or Strawberry Orange Fruit Snacks would also make a cute addition to your Gingerbread house landscape.

That’s it! Read through the assembly instructions a few times before you start, and I promise you, you’ll find that it’s not as complicated as it first sounds. If this is your first ever gingerbread house like it was mine, you may make mistakes but the creation process is half, if not more, of the fun! Whatever the case, be proud that you made a gingerbread house 100% from scratch!

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This Easy Gingerbread House Recipe was originally published on Little House Living in December 2014. It has been updated as of December 2023.

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9 Comments

  1. Thank-you. That was a very nice newsletter. I put it in my browser and was able to view it all. I especially liked the goulash recipe, My
    Gram always made this for us. She called it Ground Beef and Noodles.
    When I make it I like to use stewed tomatoes. Good after the holidays
    after all the turkey etc… I also liked how you broke it all down to show how much you spent and save. I never did this before but I will now. I have a lot of time on my hands due to an injury. Thanks again till next week.

  2. Fantastic as usual, thank you for the gingerbread house, you make it look so easy, I am definitely going to give it a go. Happy Christmas to you and your family.

  3. This so adorable….my daughter and I are about to make our own gingerbread houses….it’s my fav part of Christmas with her!

  4. I love these DIY ideas that are inexpensive to make and so much more fun to make together with your kids instead of just buying them expensive stuff for the holidays. Thanks for this recipe and how-to!

  5. I am definitely a gingerbread house fan! So glad I read this post & that you linked it up at the Thoughtful Spot!

  6. Would Bob’s Red Mill One to One flour work with this recipe – I don’t have the various flours and guar gum mentioned
    Thank you!