If you want the ultimate gingerbread house this holiday season then you’re going to need The Best Gingerbread Icing to build and decorate it!
All it takes is three simple ingredients to make The Best Gingerbread House Icing to create the gingerbread house of your dreams! This ridiculously simple recipe not only tastes delicious but it sticks like glue and makes it so easy to build your own unique festive masterpiece this holiday season!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Nestlé Butterfinger & SweeTARTS. The opinions and text are 100% my own.
DECORATE IT WITH THE BEST!
This gingerbread icing recipe takes all the struggle and frustration out of building an epic gingerbread house so you can truly focus on the fun! Nestle has all the best candy to help make your house your own! From crispy, crunchy Butterfingers to Frosty Nerds, PixyStix Candy Canes, SweeTARTS, and more, Nestle has everything you need to decorate the ultimate gingerbread house!
If you’re in the mood to decorate more seasonal treats, try my favorite Sugar Cookie Icing on classic holiday Sugar Cookies!
OTHER RECIPES TO SERVE WITH THE BEST GINGERBREAD ICING
- Gingerbread Cookie Fudge – Unlike your meticulously decorated gingerbread house, this is a gingerbread treat you actually get to eat!
- Gingerbread Bundts with Cinnamon Glaze – The soft and fluffy bundts are sweetly spiced and topped with a scrumptious cinnamon glaze that you’ll fall for no matter the season.
INGREDIENTS
Egg: For this recipe, separate out 2 egg whites and save the yolks to make some hollandaise sauce later.
Sugar: This icing is mainly made with powdered sugar. No surprise there. 😉
Extract: Though optional, I love to put a little almond extract in the mix. If you prefer vanilla, go ahead and use that instead. You can try other flavors too, like peppermint, just make sure the extract is clear.
Gingerbread House Decorations: Grab all your family’s favorite holiday candies. Then you can either make your own gingerbread dough and cut it into the house pieces or grab a kit from the store. While the store kits are great, I find the icing lacking and always make this recipe instead.
HOW TO MAKE GINGERBREAD HOUSE ICING
STEP ONE: Start by whisking two egg whites in a stand mixer until they are frothy. Next, add in the almond extract or the extract flavor of your choice.
STEP TWO: Slowly pour in the powdered sugar while mixing on low speed. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically as the icing mixes. Once all the sugar has been combined, increase the speed on the stand mixer to high and whisk the icing for 7-10 minutes.
STEP THREE: Once finished, fill a piping bag with the gingerbread house icing and get ready to decorate. You’ll want to use it immediately for the best result.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- After whisking the icing, stiff peaks should form and you should be able to see a path when you run a knife through the icing. If the icing is too runny, add more powdered sugar and continue to whisk it a little longer.
- If you plan on storing this icing, put it into an airtight container and put a layer of plastic wrap on top of it. This will keep the air off the icing and prevent it from drying out and forming a hardened crust on top.
GINGERBREAD HOUSE TIPS AND TRICKS
Let’s start with a confession. I typically buy my gingerbread houses pre-built. My favorite thing to do is decorate the house, not build it! Though, with this gingerbread icing recipe, building the house is pretty stress-free too.
For me, all the fun starts when I have little piles of colorful Nerds to sprinkle on the freshly iced roof or SweeTARTS Soft & Chewy Ropes to line a little gingerbread walkway with. The actual best part is that with The Best Gingerbread Icing, these tiny candy pieces actually stick the first time and don’t sag and droop! Remember- decorating a tiny house entirely in sugar is supposed to be fun!
CAN YOU EAT A GINGERBREAD HOUSE?
You can of course eat your gingerbread house! The real question is, after all that hard work, can you actually bear to consume it? One more confession, if I’m being honest, the real party starts when I can start nibbling on my Nestle candy decorations and piping little squirts of icing in my mouth while I’m meticulously placing them on the gingerbread creation of my dreams. By the time my masterpiece is complete, I’m usually pretty sugared out anyways.
Our gingerbread creations live out in the open where we can enjoy looking at the colorful Nestle candies securely nestled in The Best Gingerbread Icing. Trust me- these houses are more than capable of becoming a lasting display throughout the whole holiday season if you want them to!
OTHER FESTIVE RECIPES FOR THE HOLIDAYS
- Glazed Gingerbread Muffins
- Christmas Wreath Cookies
- Peppermint Marshmallows
- Icebox Christmas Cookies
- Christmas Crack
- Holiday Sangria
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla or peppermint extract)
- 5 cups powdered sugar plus more as needed
Instructions
- Whisk the egg whites in a stand mixer on medium speed until frothy. (You can also do this in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer.)
- Add in almond extract or extract of your choice.
- Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time on low speed. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically.
- Once all the sugar has been combined, increase the speed of the mixer to high and whisk for 7 to 10 minutes. Stiff peaks should form and when you run a knife through the icing the path of the knife should hold.
- Fill a piping bag with the icing and use it immediately for the best results. (see note)
Jane Taylor says
Hi I dont know how old your posting is or if you will respond but ….I thought your gingerbread house was terrific and I may swipe a few of your ideas. You have obviously done this many times. This will be my first. Tried a kit from Michael’s and well it sucked. Can you share how you made the roof over the door and what you used for the chimney. Loved those touches. Also can I color the icing with liquid coloring and just add extra icing ? Thanks in advance and Happy Holidays.
Aubrey Cota says
They are both just pieces of a gingerbread cookie. The roof over the door is constructed much like the roof with just a few more added embellishments and lots of icing, same goes for the chimney. It’s just one cookie cut our and icing is added to make it look like a chimney, sometimes you will have extra pieces from other sections that have to be cut down and that’s when you can add these fun little details.