Description
Mini gingerbread houses made with spiced cookie dough and decorated with homemade royal icing (for about 8–9 mini houses).
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 90 g (¾ stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 75 g (⅓ cup) brown sugar
- 1 small egg, room temperature
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 80 g (¼ cup) molasses (or honey–maple mix)
- 250 g (1⅔ cups) all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Pinch ground ginger
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- Pinch ground cloves
- Pinch salt
Royal Icing
- 200 g (2 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
- 20 g (1–2 tbsp) water
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- Mix flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.
- In a large bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar for 2–3 minutes until creamy.
- Add egg, vanilla, and molasses; mix again until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.
- Wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Cut the Cookies
- Print and cut out the mini house template.
- Roll the dough between parchment sheets and freeze for 15 minutes.
- Cut 6 pieces per house using the template and place on a lined baking sheet.
- Freeze again while preheating the oven.
Baking
- Preheat oven to 170°C / 347°F.
- Bake 8–10 minutes, then cool completely on a rack.
Royal Icing
- Mix powdered sugar and water, then whip 5 minutes until thick and smooth.
- Transfer to a piping bag with a tiny opening.
Assembly
- Pipe icing along the edges of the wall pieces and glue them together.
- Add icing on top and attach the roof pieces.
- Let set 20 minutes, then decorate with more icing and sprinkles.
- Dry 1 hour before serving.
Notes
Storage:Keep mini gingerbread houses in an airtight container for up to 1 week at room temperature.
Tips:
- Weigh ingredients: Use a kitchen scale for consistent dough.
- Freeze shapes: Freezing before baking helps them keep sharp edges.
- Even thickness: Roll dough to 3 mm for clean assembly.
- Use royal icing as glue: Pipe thick lines for strong joints.
- Cool fully: Warm cookies break easily during assembly.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: cookies, shortbread
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 mini house
- Calories: 367
- Sugar: 39.8 g
- Sodium: 385.4 mg
- Fat: 10.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 65.5 g
- Protein: 4.2 g
- Cholesterol: 47.4 mg



