This post was most recently updated on January 13th, 2022
On the ‘Tenth Day of Christmas’, nothing beats the scent of gingerbread baking in your home. And sharing gingerbread houses and cookies with others is such a fun way to spread Christmas cheer and warmth!
I actually had never baked gingerbread in my life, so it was a new experience for me. And it turned out much better than I expected! So I can assure you that even if you’ve never made it before, 1) it’ll turn out just fine and 2) you’ll love making it! Oh! And it will make your house smell wonderful!
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Recipe for Gingerbread and Icing
I have a cute printable for you of the recipe for gingerbread and royal icing. You can even print it out and give it to a friend with a plate of gingerbread cookies = perfect gift!
This was all a new experience for me, but the instructions are easy to follow. I hadn’t even known that you started by making gingerbread dough in a pot on the stove! And when I added the baking soda, and it all foamed up like crazy, I was sure surprised. Your children will enjoy helping and watching this process.
I know I’ve already mentioned this, but while the gingerbread is baking, your home will smell heavenly. It’s definitely worth it to make gingerbread just for the aroma! But the baked gingerbread also tastes good, too. This recipe doesn’t make gingerbread that tastes like cardboard, and yet, it is stiff enough to build little houses with. I used a mini gingerbread house cookie cutter that cuts out all the pieces you need at one time.
Assembling and Decorating the Gingerbread
Make the royal icing according to the instructions above. It will be VERY stiff, and you may even need to add a little vanilla to make it slightly softer. Choose a tip from this writing tip set and pop it into a decorating bag. Fill one of these disposable decorating bags half full with icing and fold over the top several times, so icing doesn’t squeeze out the top while you are decorating.
Now, there’s no limit to the fun things you can do with your icing. You can even add other candies and decorations, using the icing as glue. It will dry very hard. It’s also what you use to hold together the walls of the gingerbread house.
I hope you love making gingerbread as much as I did. And do whip up a plate of cookies to share with others — it will bring a smile to their faces. I included my grandchildren while decorating gingerbread people, and I was amazed at how creative they were — wanting me to add mermaid tails and unicorn horns. And another tip I received was to dip baked gingerbread in hot cocoa before eating each bite. Delicious!
Remember, this post is just one in a series of ’12 Days of Christmas’. Just click here to see the post with links to all of the other days’ activities. Have a wonderful Christmas!
I’m excited to try this with my kiddos! We typically buy the gingerbread making kits from Trader Joe’s, but I’m eager to see how this recipe goes since you’ve claimed it’s fool-proof!