Making Gingerbread Houses

Making a gingerbread house is such a sweet, quaint Christmas season activity.  Once a German tradition, making houses from gingerbread now feels like classic Americana for those of us that have grown up in the U.S.  Some prefer a simple version with graham cracker walls and pre-made icing, which is especially great if small children want to participate.  Others aim to impress with serious cookie architecture.  There is even a National Gingerbread House Display contest in Asheville, NC this year.  The contenders will be featured on Good Morning America on the morning of Friday, December 23, 2011.  You could also view a couple on Ashville's travel page here.

My family has a gingerbread building tradition and I wanted to try a few new details this year.  Namely, stained glass windows. Stay tuned and we'll see if my attempt ends in a win or a fail!  Either way, I'll learn more tricks for next year, and you can profit from my mistakes.


Here is my gingerbread house series:

The best recipe for sturctural gingerbread house dough.

Royal Icing to connect and decorate the gingerbread.

Method for creating candy "stained glass" windows.

Sugar Glass for candy "windows".  Also useful for an alternate, less visible, way to connect gingerbread.