Mini Gingerbread Houses

Make your own little gingerbread house mug toppers with this recipe. These mini gingerbread houses are adorable and festive holiday treats.

The holiday season is upon us! Looking for a fun and festive way to get into the Christmas spirit? Why not try your hand at making these mini gingerbread houses!

These sweet little Mini Gingerbread Houses smell and taste of Christmas! They are lightly spiced with just the right amount of crunch. Plus these mug topper cookies are a perfect addition for any hot cocoa bar; they are adorable on the side of a mug!

This particular Gingerbread recipe will hold up really well in the oven and won’t spread much during baking making it a really versatile cookie. I’ve also included a simple royal icing recipe that works well as the “glue” for assembling these mini houses.

The Mini Gingerbread Houses are the perfect size to perch on the edge of a cup of Hot Chocolate and make perfect gifts!

How to Use Mini Gingerbread Houses

These tiny gingerbread houses are perfect used as:

• Mini gingerbread house mug toppers
• Cupcake toppers
• Cake toppers
• Give as gifts
• Table seating tags – Write names on the roof and place one at each table setting.

Decorations for the Mug Hugger Cookies

Check out these cute ideas for decorating your mini gingerbread houses:

• Heart sprinkles (For over the doors!)
• Mini candy canes
• Gingerbread icing decorations
• Holly icing decorations
• Coloured royal icing
• Holiday sprinkles
• White sanding sugar (to sprinkle over frosted roofs like snow!)
• Crushed candy canes

Tips for Making the BEST Gingerbread House Mug Toppers

• Use room temperature ingredients to make sure the dough combines well.
• Make sure you sift the flour if it is lumpy.
• Carefully spoon and level your flour – don’t pack it!
• Only just combine the batter, do not over-mix.
• Half a batch of Gingerbread will make approximately 8 Mini Gingerbread Houses. It’s always a good idea to cut a few extra pieces in case they break during the construction phase!
• Make Gingerbread men or decorations with any leftover dough or freeze it for up to a month to use in the future.
• If you like a softer cookie, bake the Gingerbread for 8 minutes. They will still hold up well even if they aren’t as hard.
• The Royal Icing should be the consistency of toothpaste. When you test it, it should be easy to pick up with a spoon and you shouldn’t have to scrape it out of the bowl. The proper consistency will fall from the spoon in a slow, wide ribbon.
• If the Royal Icing is too thick add more egg white or water a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
• If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
• It’s important to use pasteurised egg whites for the royal icing, these can be from a carton or from separated eggs.

How to Store Mini Gingerbread Houses

Store these cute little gingerbread mug toppers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. As is the nature of cookies they will soften after 24 hours.

To keep gingerbread houses looking their best, store them in a cool and dry place away from direct sunlight. Also avoid storing your gingerbread house near heat sources as this can cause it to become soft and even melt!

Unused Gingerbread dough can be frozen for up to one month. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in a resealable bag before freezing. Thaw the dough overnight at room temperature, or defrost on low power in the microwave.

Gingerbread houses can be individually frozen and stored for up to two months. Wrap each house tightly with plastic wrap and place them in a resealable bag before freezing.

About the Equipment Needed for Mini Gingerbread Houses

You will want to use an electric stand mixer or electric hand mixer with a paddle attachment to make these cookies as the dough can get quite sticky,

You will also need a baking sheet and large cooling rack, you may also want to prevent waste by using a silicone liner instead of parchment paper.

You will, of course, need this set of mini gingerbread house cutters.

About the Ingredients for Mini Gingerbread Houses

Sugar – I used granulated sugar, but you can substitute with dark brown sugar or light brown sugar if you prefer. If you do, reduce the molasses to a half cup.

Butter – You can substitute salted butter for unsalted butter, in which case you will need to add a 1/4 tsp salt to the flour and spice mix.

Molasses – Use only fancy molasses.

Egg – Make sure your egg is room temperature for the cookie dough.

Flour – Spoon and level the flour, never pack it when baking. If your flour is lumpy, sift it in.

Baking soda – Make sure your baking soda is either fresh or at least still active so that the cookies rise.

Baking powder – Make sure your baking powder is either fresh or at least still active so that the cookies rise.

Spices – We use a combination of ginger, cinnamon and cloves. You can swap all-spice for the cloves if that is all you have on hand. Adding cloves to Gingerbread gives a more complex flavor profile. If you don’t like cloves or find the flavour overwhelming you can substitute it with more ground ginger.

Egg whites – It’s important to use pasteurised egg whites, these can be from a carton or from separated
eggs.

Powdered sugar – To make a smooth icing. No substitutes for this.

Looking for More Favourite Gingerbread Recipes

Moist and delicious, this Gingerbread Bundt Cake recipe is full of warming gingerbread spices and smothered in the best cream cheese frosting.

These festive gingerbread bars are frosted with a scrumptious cream cheese frosting that perfectly balances out the spiced sweetness of the bar.

These mini gingerbread cheesecakes are the perfect holiday party dessert. Festive & spiced, they are sure to be a party favourite!

How to Make Mini Gingerbread Houses

Yields: 16 Mini Gingerbread Houses | Prep time: 30 Minutes | Cook time: 14 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup salted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 1 large egg
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Royal Icing:

• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Add the sugar, butter, molasses and egg to a large mixing bowl.

Mix on a low speed until smooth and creamy (about 3 minutes).

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices into the mixing bowl.

Mix until a dough starts to form (about 1 minute). The mixture will clump together and the sides of the bowl will look clean.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, divide it in half and work each half into a flat disc shape.

Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

When the dough has chilled, unwrap it then place it on a sheet of baking parchment.

Add another sheet of parchment on top then roll it out to about 1/8 inch thick.

Use your mini gingerbread house cookie cutters to cut shapes from the rolled out dough.

Carefully transfer them to the prepared baking sheet leaving a little bit of space in-between. Re-roll the dough and cut out more pieces using your gingerbread house cutter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until the Gingerbread Cookies are lightly golden.

Remove from the oven, leave to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Leave the Gingerbread Cookies to completely cool before you attempt to assemble the houses.

To make the Royal Icing:

Put the egg whites into a large mixing bowl and whisk until frothy.

Sift in the powdered sugar half a cup at a time and beat on a high speed until smooth.

At this point you will need to asses the consistency of your Royal Icing. If needed, you can add more egg whites or water a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. See notes.

Transfer the Royal Icing to a piping bag and snip the end off with a pair of scissors.

To assemble the Gingerbread Cookies:

Begin assembling your cookie houses by adding Royal Icing either side of the triangular house shape.

Take the two smaller squares and push them onto the Royal Icing.

Next, add Royal Icing to the other triangular house shape, and press onto the sides of the two squares to form the house..

Stand the house up and add Royal Icing to the top parts of the triangular house shapes.

Place the two rectangle shapes on top to form a roof.

Use the step by step images to help you. Put aside the Mini Gingerbread Houses to set. They should be sturdy within an hour or two.

To finish decorating the Mini Gingerbread Houses, pipe Royal Icing around the roof and doorway.

Stick on any other decorations you have using the Royal Icing.

Use the Mini Gingerbread Houses as Hot Chocolate Toppers or make a village scene with them.

Enjoy!