Exact AIP Gingerbread House Instructions

45 degree angle looking down on aip gingerbread house

Exact AIP Gingerbread House Instructions

This Exact AIP Gingerbread House Instructions recipe provides photos, dimensions and details to make the cookie house perfectly, without any figuring or guess work. Enjoy this tried and true and delicious! recipe, one I've been making for years with my kids.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword aip, dairy-free, egg-free, gingerbread house, paleo, recipe

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 15

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 153kcal

Author Megan

Cost $6

Equipment

baking pan
parchment paper

Ingredients

1 recipe AIP Buttercream Frosting
1 recipe AIP Gingerbread Cookies or House dough, unbaked
1/4 cup arrowroot or tapioca flour for dusting work surface

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325℉. Line baking pan with parchment paper.
How to roll out dough on well-floured work surface: Use about 2 tablespoons of the arrowroot or tapioca flour listed in the ingredients. Heavily dust work surface. Separate dough so you are using only about 2/3 of it. Start by flattening the dough in your hands into a rough rectangle, then place onto work surface, and again with your fingers, press into a rectangular shape that's bigger than it was in your hands. When dough is about 1/2" thick, sprinkle dough with more flour, and use rolling pin to roll thinner, about 1/4" thick.
Here are the measurements of the 6 house pieces you'll be cutting out, with a photo to help clarify: Front and back of house - 3"x3" with the roof length 2" each side, and the middle point almost 4.25"). Sides of the house - 3"x5". Roof pieces - 2"x6". Don't worry too much about getting it exact.
Cut out the first 4 shapes: The front and back of the house and the sides (not the roof yet). Transfer these to your prepared cookie sheet. Roll out the final 1/3 of dough, and cut the roof pieces. Transfer to cookie sheet. Roll final dough into a thicker slab, and cut out one or two gingerbread men. Transfer to cookie sheet.
Bake about 11 minutes, but check at 10 minutes. The edges will start getting darker, and the cookies will look slightly risen in spots. Remove from the oven. If you feel the edges could be straighter to make assembly easier, optionally, while the cookies are still warm, use a sharp knife to cut off edges to create straighter lines (pictured below). Then, allow to fully cool.
Decorating note: Choose to decorate the walls and roof of the house before or after assembly. Both have their advantages and disadvantages: It's easier to decorate the cookies (windows, door, roof tiles etc) before assembly, but once on, it's hard not to smudge your work while you assemble.
Choose a work display surface. For mine the day I photographed, I used a cutting board. I put a small amount of frosting under a piece of parchment paper, to make the paper stay in place.
Pipe a rectangle onto display surface that fits the footprint of the house: about 6" long and 3" wide, but check your cookies to be sure. Butt the walls inside the front and back of the house for these dimensions and the roof pieces to fit.
To start: Use frosting to bind two walls together, and place onto piped rectangle. Add final two sides. (Good job! Super fun ...)
Use frosting to place final two roof pieces on top, first one, then the other. Decorate walls, and roof, as desired with frosting. If you used a piece of parchment or aluminum foil under the house, you may wish to pipe frosting around its border to seal it to the work surface you chose, and for decorative purposes.
Decorate with Paleo AIP-friendly treats. Ideas include: raisins or other dried fruits, freeze-dried berries or other fruits, crystallized ginger (can cut into shapes), carob chips, Cranberry Gummies, the Gingerbread man or men you made.

Nutrition