How to Make a Mini Gingerbread House with Kids
Learn how to make a Mini Gingerbread House from scratch using the sweetest little mini gingerbread house cookie cutter, plus a no-spread gingerbread recipe and a fast-drying gingerbread house icing recipe that holds everything together. These cute mini gingerbread houses are perfect for family nights, classroom parties, and easy gingerbread house Christmas decorations. Grab some hot chocolate, pull out every sprinkle you own, and get ready for some wonderful family fun!
Love gingerbread? Check out this Gingerbread Village Cake + Spice Cake Recipe with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and Iced Gingerbread Cookies!
Originally published December 2019, updated August 2026
Mini Gingerbread House
We have lots of Christmas traditions and one of them is making cookies and/or gingerbread houses each year. When we do gingerbread houses (which is not every year), we often use the gingerbread house kits from Walmart.
But a while back (2014 to be exact… ahem), I saw this mini gingerbread house cookie cutter for making homemade miniature gingerbread house shapes. And I immediately ordered it.
Update – that cookie cutter is no longer available but you could certainly use something similar like one of these:
Mini Gingerbread House Cookie Cutters
Mini Gingerbread House Cutters
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Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter Set
Buy Now →
Gingerbread House Cookie Cutters
Buy Now →
Then a few weeks ago, my baby boy (who’s not so much a baby anymore, he’s 8!) asked if we could make our own gingerbread houses from cookies we made ourselves. And I remembered buying that small gingerbread house cutter once upon a time so I dug it out.
Then I did lots of googling and settled on recipes. I found two that turned out great for our mini-gingerbread houses adventure… a no-spread gingerbread and a royal icing for gingerbread house building that dries fast.
Why You’ll Love These Mini Gingerbread Houses
No fancy cutters or special skills required. One small metal cutter gives you every piece you need. No gingerbread house template to print, no tracing, no sharp knife work for the kids. That’s my favorite kind of holiday project.
The dough does not spread or puff. After taste-testing the extra cookies, we all agreed that this gingerbread does not make cookies we’d want to eat. Others might feel differently, and it might have been okay fresh out of the oven, but once it cooled, our cookies were really hard and not all that great-tasting.
But who really wants to eat cookies and icing after they’ve been handled that much anyway, right? 😉 Hard gingerbread is the best kind for building sturdy houses, and it worked great for cute gingerbread men and women too.
Tiny houses mean everybody gets their own. There are eight of us, so we made eight. Little kids, big kids, and grown men (ahem, Richy) can all decorate at the same table without anybody waiting their turn. And when you line up decorated gingerbread houses at the end, you’ve got yourself a little village.
Tools Needed
- Mini gingerbread house cookie cutter
- Electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer, both work)
- Large bowl and a whisk
- Rolling pin
- Cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat
- Wire rack for cooling
- Piping bag with a small tip (a zip-top bag with the corner snipped works too)
- Square cutter or a sharp knife and cutting board for the bases
Ingredients
Nothing hard to find here. Everything on this list is at most grocery stores.
For the no-spread gingerbread dough:
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves
- Salted butter, softened to room temperature (unsalted butter works fine too, just add a pinch more salt)
- Brown sugar (light or dark brown sugar are both good… this dough doesn’t use any white sugar)
- Egg
- Molasses (unsulphured, not blackstrap)
- Vanilla extract
- A splash of milk, only as needed
For the gingerbread house icing:
- Powdered sugar (also called icing sugar)
- Pasteurized egg whites
- Cream of tartar
Find the full recipe with ingredient measurements in the recipe card below.
How to Make a Mini Gingerbread House
Here’s the whole process, start to finish. Read through it once before you start so you know what’s coming… that’s the best part of a smooth baking night with kids.
- Make the dough. Whisk the flour, salt, and spices together in a small bowl. That flour mixture gets added to the creamed butter and sugar a little at a time. You can finish it by hand with a wooden spoon once the dough gets stiff.
- Roll it out. Lightly flour your surface and roll one piece of dough at a time to 1/4″ thickness. The dough is really firm and not at all sticky, so it’s easy to work with.
A note on the flour: you won’t need quite as much as Asher thought he needed. He absolutely, positively, 100% did not want his cookie dough to stick. 😉
- Cut your pieces. Cut out the house shapes with the mini gingerbread house cookie cutter. You’ll get two roof pieces and four walls (two side walls plus a front piece and a back piece with triangular peaks). Keep rolling and cutting until you have enough pieces for everyone at your table.
- Cut the bases. I recommend cutting a larger rectangle or square to build the little houses on. A square cutter is easiest. You could also build them on paper plates, a baking sheet, or even graham crackers.
- Bake. Place the pieces on a parchment paper or silicone lined cookie sheet and bake for 8-9 minutes. Thicker dough may need an extra minute.
- Cool completely. Move the pieces to a wire rack. Warm gingerbread bends, and cool gingerbread builds.
- Make the icing. Beat the powdered sugar, egg whites, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with an electric mixer) on medium speed, then finish on high speed until it forms soft peaks.
Sweet Sarah. I didn’t get a picture of us making the icing, but since Sarah seemed to really, really like it, I thought this picture was worth sharing 😁. We joked that she’d never get her “snow blizzard” house off the table, but we were able to eventually pry it loose. Ha!
- Get out all the sprinkles you own. 😉
- Build the houses. We found it best to lay down one end of the house, stand up the sides of the houses, add the other end, then gently stand them upright and add the roof. Let them dry for at least 20-30 minutes before decorating.
- Decorate. Pipe your icing with a pastry bag and a small tip, then go wild with sprinkles.
- Let them dry overnight, then display and enjoy!
No Cookie Cutter? Use a Mini Gingerbread House Template
You do not have to own the cutter to do this. Draw the shapes on cardstock, cut them out with scissors, and you’ve got a free template of your very own. There are lots of printable template options floating around online too.
Lay your homemade mini gingerbread house template on the rolled dough and trace around it with a sharp knife on a cutting board. It takes a little longer, but the end result is exactly the same.
You can also size the pieces up or down. Smaller sizes are cute for a village, and larger houses give the kids more room to decorate.
Our Gingerbread House Building Night
There are eight of us, Richy and I plus our six kids, so we used the mini gingerbread house cookie cutter to cut out enough houses for all of us plus a man or woman gingerbread each. With all that, we still had some dough left for random snowflakes and other gingerbread cookies.
The sprinkles exploded. Again, I didn’t get a picture of all of our sprinkles lined up in a pretty row. Instead, I can show you how Asher used almost every single variety I’ve ever purchased for 10 years. He said the “sprinkles exploded.” #crazykid
Even my 22-year-old son came home from work and made his own. He was very precise and it was really pretty when finished:
Lest you think we live in a fairytale land where messes don’t happen, let me share one more thing. We didn’t finish until nearly midnight, and when everybody called it quits, we were too tired to clean up. So when I got up the next morning, this is what I faced… a gingerbread house mess.
It wasn’t exactly fun cleaning all that up, but when we got everything squared away, I lined them all up the next day and took a picture of all of our work! Except we’re still finding sprinkles in every crevice of our house… oh well. We had fun, fun, fun and lots of memories were made. And the mini gingerbread house cookie cutter was declared a keeper!
Can you guess which one is mine? It’s this one:
These two below with “yards” were done by Noah (15) and Caleb (18). They might be my favorites (shhh, don’t tell the other kids). Look closely and you can see a gingerbread man sliding off the roof of Noah’s house in the middle of adding the sprinkles. Caleb’s had a little gingerbread man inside the front of the house, and I just loved the snow and stars on his roof.
This was Richy’s house on the left. He was as big of a kid as my other children. When his house fell apart, he licked off all the icing and started again… hence the smears… yuck!
Then Sarah’s “Snow Blizzard” house on the right. It was the most fun!! ❄️ ❄️ ❄️
And lastly, Joshua’s house in the middle, with his very detailed piping. And Christian’s on the end. Christian had a very cool design that sort of went downhill when he tried to go overboard! But he’s such a happy-go-lucky kid, he just rolled with it!
Pro Tips
- Roll to a consistent 1/4″. Thin spots crack, and thicker dough builds sturdier walls.
- Build on the table, not in your hand. Lay one end piece down flat, stand the sides of the houses up against it, then add the other end.
- Keep the icing covered with a damp cloth while you work. This royal icing recipe crusts over fast, which is exactly what you want for building and exactly what you don’t want in the bowl.
- Give the walls 20-30 minutes to set before the roof goes on. Rushing this step is how houses end up in pieces (ask Richy).
- Trim any wonky edges with a sharp knife while the gingerbread is still warm.
- Let the kids make a couple of extra pieces. Breakage happens, and having spares keeps the night happy.
Gingerbread House Decorations & Fun Variations
Half the fun is deciding what goes on the outside. Here are some fun ways to decorate your tiny gingerbread houses:
- Crushed candy canes for a snowy path or a sparkly roof
- Mini M&Ms, nonpareils, and jimmies for shingles and trim
- A gingerbread man peeking out the front door (Caleb’s idea and it was so cute)
- Piped icicles along the roofline with a small tip
- Shredded coconut or extra icing for a full snow blizzard, Sarah style
- Pretzel sticks for fencing and a little yard
Need more small gingerbread house ideas? Make a few in smaller sizes, line them up on a mantel or a tray, and you have instant gingerbread house Christmas decorations that cost almost nothing.
Serving Suggestions
These are really more of a craft than a dessert (see my honest note above), so serve something good alongside the building. Hot chocolate is the classic, and it keeps little hands busy between steps.
Extra dough scraps make great cutout gingerbread cookies, and those are worth eating warm from the oven. A pot of soup before you start is a good idea too, because this gingerbread DIY takes a while and everybody gets hungry.
Storage Instructions
Undecorated gingerbread pieces keep for about a week in an airtight container at room temperature. They actually get harder as they sit, which is a bonus for building.
Make the dough ahead by wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerating it. Bring it back to room temperature before you roll it out, because cold dough is really hard to roll.
Decorated houses will hold up on a shelf for weeks. Ours stayed out all the way through Christmas Day. Keep them away from humidity and direct sunlight so the icing stays crisp and the sprinkle colors don’t bleed.
FAQ
Do I need a mini gingerbread house cookie cutter? Nope! Gingerbread house cookie cutters make it faster and easier, but a homemade cardstock template and a sharp knife will get you the same pieces.
Can I use meringue powder instead of egg whites? Yes. Meringue powder is a great swap for pasteurized egg whites and it’s shelf-stable. Follow the package ratio for a royal icing for gingerbread house recipe, and add a little lemon juice or the cream of tartar for stability.
Are these gingerbread cookies good to eat? I’m going to be honest with you… not really. They’re hard and pretty plain once they cool. That’s exactly what makes them perfect for building, but you’ll want a different cookie recipe if eating is the goal.
How thick should I roll the dough? A quarter inch. Thinner pieces snap when you assemble, and much thicker pieces don’t bake evenly.
Can young kids do this? Absolutely. My 8-year-old did his own start to finish. Grown-ups can handle the rolling and the oven, and the kids can do all the building and decorating.
Why does my icing keep hardening in the bowl? That’s what it’s supposed to do! Keep it covered with a damp cloth between uses and it will stay workable.
Closing
This was one of those nights that turned into a mess and a memory at the same time, which is pretty much how all my favorite holiday traditions go. Next time we might make a whole village in smaller sizes, or maybe some larger houses so everybody has more room to decorate.
Make these your own, use whatever sprinkles are in your pantry, and don’t worry one bit about them looking perfect. The end result everybody remembers is the fun, not the piping.
Happy Christmas!
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How to Make a Mini Gingerbread House
Description
Everything you need to make mini gingerbread houses from scratch… a no-spread gingerbread dough that holds its shape, a fast-dry icing that sets like glue, and simple directions for building and decorating the houses. Perfect for a family Christmas project with kids of any age.
Ingredients
For the No-spread Gingerbread Dough / Cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 6 Tbsp salted butter,softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup molasses (unsulphured, not blackstrap)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1–3 tsp milk, if needed
For the Fast-Dry Icing:
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 3 pasteurized egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and spices. Set aside.
- With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together just until combined. Do not overmix at this point – no need for the usual “light and fluffy”.
- Add the egg and mix just until combined.
- Next add the molasses and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Begin adding the flour while mixing a little at a time. Continue mixing until all the flour is added and until a dough forms. If your dough is dry and/or crumbly, begin adding teaspoons of milk, just until it forms a firm dough. You don’t want it sticky or wet.
- Lightly flour your surface, then roll out the dough to 1/4″ thickness.
- Bake on a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or lined with parchment paper for 8-9 minutes.
For the icing:
- With an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer if you prefer), mix all ingredients in a large bowl until it forms soft peaks.
- Keep icing covered with a damp cloth until ready to use to prevent hardening.
To assemble the houses:
- Cool the baked pieces completely on a wire rack before you build. Warm gingerbread bends and sags.
- Sort your pieces into sets… each house needs two side walls, a front and back piece with the triangular peaks, two roof pieces, and a base to build on.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a small round tip with the icing. Pipe a thick line of icing along the bottom edge of one end piece and press it onto the base, holding it a few seconds until it grabs.
- Pipe icing down both side edges of that end piece, then stand up the two side walls against it, one at a time. Hold each one until it sets enough to stand on its own.
- Pipe icing along the open edges and add the second end piece to close up the house.
- Let the walls dry 20-30 minutes before you add the roof. Skipping this step is how houses come apart.
- Pipe icing along the top edges of all four walls and set the first roof piece in place at an angle. Add the second roof piece and pipe a line of icing along the peak where they meet.
- Let the assembled house dry another 20-30 minutes before decorating.
To decorate the houses:
- Pipe icing wherever you want sprinkles to stick, working one small section at a time so the icing doesn’t crust over before the candy lands.
- Pipe a line along the roof peak and press on your candy or sprinkles for shingles. Icicles along the roofline are easy with a small tip… just touch down, squeeze, and pull away.
- Add a door, windows, and any trim with piped icing. Crushed candy canes make a nice snowy path around the base.
- Spoon extra icing around the bottom of the house for snow drifts, and add a gingerbread man or a pretzel fence to finish the yard.
- Let the decorated houses dry overnight, uncovered, at room temperature before moving or displaying them.
Notes
If you’re making the dough ahead of time, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Before you begin rolling it out, bring it to room temperature. It’s really hard to roll it out if it’s cold!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 iced cookie
- Calories: 208
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 87 mg
- Fat: 3.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 42.7 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 2.4 g
- Cholesterol: 15.4 mg
