Gingerbread House Cookie Recipe - No Spread, Holds Up, Delicious!

Yield: Makes two 6 x 6 inch houses from our Gingerbread House Kit OR 2 dozen 2" cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened (You can substitute with 1 cup vegetable shortening)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
2 large eggs
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
4 ½ - 5 cups all-purpose flour (Adjust flour if the dough is sticky)

1. Preheat oven to 375º F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats. (Our Mesh Baking Mats work perfectly for this!)
2. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together butter (or shortening) and sugar until smooth. Add molasses, and mix until combined.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add cornstarch, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and clove. Mix on medium-low speed until combined.
4. With your mixer on low, add the flour, ½ cup at a time, until the dough forms a ball and pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. If your dough is still too sticky, add up to an additional ½ cup of flour.
5. The dough will look dry when you first add your flour, but will come together after a few minutes of mixing.
6. Roll out the dough to a thickness of ¼ inch between two sheets of parchment paper. Place rolled out dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours.
7. Remove one piece of chilled dough at a time from time from the refrigerator and cut shapes with the included gingerbread house cookie cutters.
8. Transfer shapes to the prepared baking sheets, and bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the cookies are set around the edges and just a little softer towards the centers.

Here are some tips on making these adorable gingerbread houses whether for yourself, gifts or for sale. 

• Gingerbread cookies are sturdier than sugar cookies, and better for construction.

• To decorate the house, you can use your our classic vanilla royal icing recipe, or add in a special flavor like butter or cream cheese.

• Using brown icing that matches the color of the cookie will help hide the “seams” in construction. 

• If you are using a Cookie Countess paint palette to paint your house, we found that one Rainbow palette was enough to paint one full house, or choose 2 of our other 4 color palates for even more options!