This gingerbread house icing is a stiff royal icing made with 4 cups of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of meringue powder and 5 to 6 tablespoons of warm water. You beat it for 7 to 10 minutes until it stands in stiff peaks, and it makes about 2½ cups. Piped between gingerbread walls, it works like glue: soft enough to squeeze, then hard as cement once it dries.
The trick is thickness. Keep the main bowl stiff for building, and only thin a small portion for the decorations.
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- Ratio: 3 tablespoons meringue powder to 4 cups sifted powdered sugar
- Water: start with 5 tablespoons warm water, add the 6th only if the mixer struggles
- Beating: 7 to 10 minutes on medium high, until the peaks stand straight
- Yield: about 2½ cups of icing
- Wall set time: at least 2 hours before the roof goes on, overnight before heavy candy
- Leftovers: airtight with plastic pressed on the surface, re-whip before using
Powdered Sugar and Meringue Powder: What Holds the Walls
Powdered sugar is the body of the icing. It is so fine that it dissolves into the water quickly and packs into a dense paste. Sift it first. Skipping that step once left me with little clumps that clogged my piping tip halfway along a roofline.
Meringue powder is dried egg white with a little stabilizer. As you beat it, the proteins trap air and then dry hard, which is what lets the icing hold a wall upright and keep peppermint wheels stuck to a sloped roof. I have made it with fresh egg whites too. They whip quickly and shine a little more, but the icing breaks down sooner, so for a house that has to stand all season I use the powder.
The vanilla is optional. Clear or regular alcohol based vanilla is fine. Skip oil based flavorings: fat stops the icing from setting hard. The same base, at a softer consistency, is my royal icing recipe for decorated cookies.
Beating Gingerbread Icing to Stiff Peaks
Start with a clean, dry bowl and whisk. Any trace of butter or oil keeps meringue powder from building volume, so wipe both with a paper towel and a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar before you start.
Put the sifted powdered sugar and meringue powder in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Add 5 tablespoons of warm water and mix on low until it comes together, which keeps the sugar from flying out of the bowl. Then turn the mixer to medium high and beat for 7 to 10 minutes. A hand mixer works too; it just takes the longer end of that range.
Watch the change. At first the icing looks wet and a little translucent. By the end it is bright white, thick and glossy, a bit like marshmallow fluff, and a peak lifted on the whisk stands straight up. If the mixer is laboring and the icing looks crumbly, add the last tablespoon of water. Beat in the vanilla during the final 30 seconds.
How Thick Should Gingerbread House Glue Be?
For walls and the roof, use it straight from the mixer. The peak should not bend at all, and a line piped onto parchment should keep sharp edges instead of slumping flat. If it is any softer than that, the walls will slide before the icing grabs.
For icicles, window frames, dots and snow, scoop a cup into a small bowl and stir in warm water 1 teaspoon at a time. Detail icing is ready when the peak folds over just at the tip. If you overshoot, which I have done and watched icing run down a roof, stir in more sifted powdered sugar until it firms up again.
Detail icing also pipes clean outlines on gingerbread man cookies and Christmas butter cookies, so a leftover bowl rarely goes to waste. For cookies you want to flood rather than outline, a softer sugar cookie icing that hardens is easier to work with.
How to Stick a Gingerbread House Together
Bake and cool the pieces completely, then hold them together dry before any icing goes on. Trim uneven edges with a serrated knife or a fine grater. Icing fills small gaps, but it cannot hold up a wall that is warped.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip, or snip about ¼ inch off the end, and keep the rest of the bowl covered with a damp towel.
- Pipe a thick line on your board where the first wall will stand, and another up the side edge of that wall.
- Press the front wall and one side wall into place at a right angle. Prop them with cans or jars.
- Add the other two walls the same way, then pipe a bead along every inside and outside seam.
- Leave the walls for at least 2 hours, then pipe along the top edges and set the roof panels on. Hold each one for a minute or two before you let go.
- Let the whole house dry overnight before you add heavy candy or a lot of decoration.
The same order works for bigger builds like my gingerbread castle or a pink gingerbread house, where pastel candy needs stiff icing so it does not sag.
Royal Icing, Melted Sugar, or Buttercream for Gingerbread Glue?
Royal icing is the one I use for building. It stays workable for a few minutes, so you can straighten a wall, and it dries rock hard and white. Melted sugar heated until it turns to liquid caramel sets in seconds and is very strong, but it is dangerously hot and not something to hand to children. Buttercream and cream cheese frosting never harden, so they are fine for decorating a house that sits on a cake but will not hold walls up.
When Gingerbread House Icing Slides or Will Not Harden
- Walls slide apart: the icing is too soft or the walls were not propped. Beat in more sifted powdered sugar and give each seam a support until it sets.
- Icing stays soft after a day: too much water, or a humid kitchen. Build away from the kettle, boiling pots and the dishwasher, and give it more time.
- Icing will not reach stiff peaks: grease in the bowl or an oil based flavoring. Start again in a clean bowl.
- Gritty or lumpy lines: the powdered sugar was not sifted, or a crust from the bowl got into the bag. Keep the bowl covered while you pipe.
Keeping Leftover House Icing Soft for Day Two
This icing crusts within minutes when it is left open. Press plastic wrap right onto the surface and then seal the container. Stored that way I have kept it for nearly a week, and a short re-whip brings it back to a smooth, pipeable texture. That makes it easy to build one day and decorate the next.
If you plan to color some of it, split the batch into small bowls first so you only re-whip what you need.
Gingerbread House Icing Questions
How long does gingerbread house icing take to dry?
It firms up enough to hold propped walls in about 2 hours and dries completely hard overnight. A humid kitchen can stretch that by several hours.
Is gingerbread house icing edible?
Yes, it is only sugar, meringue powder, water and vanilla. Once dry it is very hard, so it is better for building and decorating than for eating by the spoonful.
Can I make gingerbread house glue without meringue powder?
Fresh egg whites work in place of meringue powder, but the icing breaks down sooner and should be used the same day. Pasteurized egg whites are the safer choice if children will eat the decorations.
Gingerbread House Icing
This gingerbread house icing is a stiff royal icing made with powdered sugar, meringue powder, warm water and an optional splash of vanilla. It takes about 10 minutes, makes about 2½ cups, and turns thick, glossy and bright white, then dries rock hard like cement. Beating it for 7 to 10 minutes builds the stiff peaks that let it work as gingerbread house glue, so walls stand up and the roof stays put. Use it to stick a gingerbread house together, to pipe icicles, windows and snow, to hold candy on a roof, or as icing glue for a gingerbread castle and outlines on gingerbread cookies. Thin a small bowl with water for details, and store leftovers airtight with plastic pressed on the surface.
Ingredients
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 5 to 6 tablespoons warm water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- PREP THE MIXER: Add the powdered sugar and meringue powder to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. If using a hand mixer, prepare to mix slightly longer for best results.
- ADD WATER AND MIX: Start by adding 5 tablespoons of warm water. Mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 7 to 10 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. The icing should appear thick and glossy with a texture similar to marshmallow fluff.
- ADJUST CONSISTENCY: If the icing seems too thick to pipe easily, add warm water 1 teaspoon at a time. If it is too runny, mix in more sifted powdered sugar until the desired consistency is reached.
- OPTIONAL FLAVORING: If using vanilla extract or another flavor, add it during the last 30 seconds of mixing. Avoid oil-based extracts, as they can interfere with how the icing sets.
Notes
Use a grease free bowl and whisk: any butter or oil stops meringue powder from whipping and from drying hard. Avoid oil based flavorings for the same reason. For building, keep the icing stiff enough that a peak stands straight; thin only a small portion with warm water, 1 teaspoon at a time, for details. Prop the walls and let them set at least 2 hours before adding the roof, and overnight before adding heavy candy. Humidity slows drying. Store unused icing in an airtight container with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface and re-whip briefly before using.
Nutrition Information
Yield
20Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 92Total Fat 0.0gSaturated Fat 0.0gTrans Fat 0.0gUnsaturated Fat 0.0gCholesterol 0.0mgSodium 1.8mgCarbohydrates 23gFiber 0.0gSugar 23gProtein 0.1g
