Gingerbread House Icing Recipe - I Heart Naptime (2024)

FAQs

What is the icing for gingerbread houses made of? ›

Gather the ingredients. In a large bowl, combine 1 pound confectioners' sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 1/2 cup room temperature pasteurized egg whites. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula.

Royal icing is a type of icing that sets hard, making it perfect for icing gingerbread and decorating Christmas cookies and biscuits. Its white colour resembles snow, but you can easily add a touch of food colouring to mix things up.

Fit Everything Together with Melted Sugar or Royal Icing

The traditional technique is to use icing, such as our Royal Icing (with Meringue Powder). Generations of home bakers have used this tried-and-true method, and it works like a charm and tastes amazing. The second way is to use burnt sugar as your glue.

She recommends using granulated sugar instead of royal icing to hold the walls together.

Like royal icing, cookie icing can be used to decorate your roll-out sugar and gingerbread cookies; however, unlike royal icing, cookie icing does not dry hard. Cookies decorated with cookie icing will set smooth, but the icing will remain soft and can be damaged if cookies are stacked or packaged.

Turn on a dehumidifier if the baked goods are in a humid environment. Humidity can cause your icing to dry 3 times slower than if they are placed in an area with dry air. Place the dehumidifier in the same room as your baked goods, turn it on, and place it on the highest setting.

If your kitchen is warm or the temperature is humid, the icing may melt or fall off your gingerbread house. Be careful not to overwhip your icing. Incorporating too much air may make it difficult for the icing to stick to the cookie. Keep any icing covered when not in use to avoid drying.

Store Bought Icing

If you are using store-bought frosting, mix approximately 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar per cup of icing. This will help your icing to harden.

Gingerbread houses require a specific type of icing that is made from confectioners sugar, egg whites, and cream of tartar. This icing is different from regular frosting because it is much thicker and more stable. It's also designed to harden so that your gingerbread house will hold its shape.

You have to prop up the house until it is done hardening, so it can't be done in one fell swoop. It also isn't structurally sound and often collapses during decorating. Burnt sugar (dry caramel) works almost instantly and is very hard. Your house will not succumb to the weight of the candy."

Is royal icing used for gingerbread houses? ›

Royal icing with meringue powder is perfect for a gingerbread house because of its consistency. It dries hard, and fast, making sure that your house won't break or fall apart. It's perfect not just for decorating, but for setting a strong base for your house.

White chocolate makes a terrific substitute for royal icing. It is less sweet and much more flavorful. Simply melt in the Proofer, temper, and spread over cookies to frost them.

On the other hand, cream of tartar on its own is often included in royal icing recipes, as one of its key functions is to stabilize whipped egg whites. (It's also used to stabilize whipped cream and to prevent sugar syrups from crystallizing.)

For the icing, you need confectioners' sugar, water, vanilla extract (replace with water to keep the icing stark white, or use clear vanilla extract), a touch of corn syrup, and a little salt. The icing dries firm with a very slight crisp, so you can easily stack your decorated sugar cookies and travel with them.

One of our favorite aspects about making gingerbread cookies from scratch is being able to decorate them after they cool. Sprinkles, icing, gum drops, mints, chocolates—you can use all these edible items and more to give your cookies their own unique personalities.

Caster Sugar vs Powdered Sugar

The difference between caster sugar and powdered sugar is that powdered sugar (also called confectioner's sugar or icing sugar) is more finely ground than caster sugar.