7 Tips to Make A

Low-Effort Gingerbread House

Quick Summary

If you’re after a gingerbread house without all the chaos of a full-on bake-off, biscuits (or cookies) are the best option. The great thing about biscuits is that you can stack them! They provide a good foundation for your house. Plus, you don’t have to deal with making, rolling, and cutting the dough for traditional gingerbread, so there’s no dough drama involved. 

Deep Dive

This guide will show you how you can create your very own festive gingerbread house in the easiest way possible, by using pre-made biscuits instead of baking your own gingerbread sheets. The focus will be on ways to provide structure to the house, tips on getting the right consistency of icing, methods for assembling the house, and ideas for decorating without making a huge mess, so you’ll be able to create something fun, cosy, and ready for the holidays without as much work as a traditional gingerbread house.

The Biscuit Shortcut Nobody Talks About

The truth is, most people don’t care if your gingerbread house is made from actual gingerbread. Biscuits (such as Marie, Digestive, Nice, or even square flat crackers) are all flat, uniform, and wide enough to use as walls for the house. They’re sturdy enough to hold all the icing you’d want on the house, but light enough that the house won’t collapse if the icing gets too heavy. They’re inexpensive, so if you make any mistakes while decorating, it won’t be a substantial financial strain—and since there’s no need for baking, you can get right to assembling your house.

Tip 1: Pick Biscuit Shapes That Make Architecture Easy

Square or rectangular shapes for cookie walls, and round shapes for roofs and paths. When building a pitched roof, use thicker cookies such as ginger snaps and digestive biscuits, as they support angles much better than thinner cookies. Thin cookies are ideal for detailing. Select one primary cookie type for use on the house to ensure a consistent scale so it does not look like mismatched LEGO bricks.

Tip 2: Use Melted Chocolate as Glue (It Sets Faster Than Icing)

While royal icing looks nice, it takes a long time to set. On the other hand, melted chocolate sets very quickly (in minutes!) and adheres to your cookie like superglue. Dark chocolate sets the quickest, but milk chocolate also works well. Pipe melted chocolate around the edges of the cookie and hold it together for about 4 seconds before letting go; as the melted chocolate quickly cools into a solid state, the risk of heartbreak mid-build is minimised. When building with kids, the melted chocolate method will minimise stress.

Tip 3: If Using Icing, Make It Thick—Like Toothpaste

If you use an icing that is too runny, the walls will slide down. To avoid this, make your icing thick enough to hold its shape when piped onto the cookie. For a smoother mixture, combine icing sugar with a small amount of milk or lemon juice to achieve a consistency similar to toothpaste or cream cheese, so the icing doesn't sag down the sides of the cookie as gravity takes over.

Tip 4: Build the House in Sections Before Standing It Up

One of the most common mistakes when building a gingerbread house is trying to create the entire house while keeping it upright at all times. Instead, it’s best to secure the house by glueing the walls together while laying them down flat.

To do it correctly, lay two walls flat next to each other on a table; insert their edges together; allow them to dry. Repeat this with the other walls. Once both L-shaped sides are thoroughly dried and stable, you can stand them erect and connect them. By building your gingerbread house this way, you reduce the chance of rocking back and forth, making it ten times stronger.

Tip 5: Use Cardboard as a Base for Stability

Another best practice when building a gingerbread house is to use a solid base. Wrapping a large piece of cardboard in aluminium foil or baking paper, then placing your gingerbread house on top, will help prevent sliding and support the finished house's weight. It will also allow you to transport the finished project without worrying that it will fall apart like your Christmas spirit.

Tip 6: Keep Decorating Minimal but Impactful

It isn’t necessary to have a massive assortment of candy. Instead, a few strategically placed pieces of candy can elevate or enhance the appearance of your gingerbread house:

• Use small items, such as Gems or M&M candies, as roofing material.

• Use pretzel sticks to create window frames and fencing.

• Use icing sugar to mimic snow.

• Use mini-marshmallows as chimney stacks.

Biscuits often do not have as much of a decorative appearance as gingerbread; therefore, the variety of candy used to decorate the house will be more noticeable. Another key consideration is the roof: using too many kinds of candy or too many pieces for roofing makes it more likely to collapse.

Tip 7: Use Biscuit Varieties to Add Texture Without Effort

Utilising wafers in several layers creates an instant siding appearance, while using chocolate-covered biscuit pieces creates a shiny roof effect. The combination of different textures in store-bought biscuits allows the gingerbread house to add more detail without requiring overly elaborate materials.

Bonus Tip: Refrigerate the House for 10 Minutes to Lock Everything In

A quick chill helps chocolate or icing set firmly. It’s the easiest way to make sure nothing shifts when you start decorating. Think of it as structural insurance.