hot cocoa gingerbread house

There’s No Sweeter Gift Than Quality Time (Except Cupcakes!)

This year has been one for the books, and we’ll all be happy to leave 2020 in the rearview. In my household, we’re preparing for the holidays to be different than we’re used to. 

Wintertime activities are going to take new shapes and we’ll be spending much more time indoors than in previous years. 

I’m looking forward to Saturday nights spent admiring the Macy’s display windows or watching the Rockefeller Tree light up for the season. If we’ve learned anything from this crazy world we live in, it’s how to stay resilient under truly trying circumstances.

That’s why I’m excited to talk about arts and crafts projects you can do with the entire family. What I like about gingerbread houses is that they’re an arts and craft project fit for a long weekend.

Plus, you can theme this family-friendly DIY Gingerbread House based on your favorite flavors. Thankfully, the holidays will still taste the same—think warm, chocolate-y hot cocoa, pumpkin spice, gooey s’mores, candy canes, and classic sugar cookies.

Call up Grandma and Grandpa on Zoom to share in the fun, or safely meet up with your quarantine bubble to bake, decorate, and be together. Just like with cupcakes and cakes, the fun of making a gingerbread house is that you get to make it your own. Go crazy (like we do in my family)!

Classic Gingerbread House

As a Jewish girl who grew up in New Jersey, I find gingerbread houses really funny. I think they’re made to be decorated and looked at, not necessarily eaten, so I construct my gingerbread houses from old boxes (for the structural integrity lol).

If you do want to go the classic gingerbread cookie route, you can. Just be sure to use lots of royal icing to keep your gingerbread cookie walls intact. Royal icing acts like a glue, plus it’s a beautifully bright white color. Break out your hand mixer or stand mixer for this part.

Royal Icing Recipe

  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup egg whites (that’s the whites of around 4 large eggs)
  • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar 
  1. Mix egg whites and vanilla until they become a frothy foam. 
  2. Lower the mixer to the slowest speed, then add 1 cup of confectioner's sugar at a time until the icing is incorporated. 
  3. Increase to medium-high speed for about 5 minutes until the icing forms a meringue-like texture, which will hold peaks. 

Hot Cocoa Gingerbread House

Fun fact: I don’t love the taste of gingerbread. When it comes to making gingerbread houses, I make a brittle and add in a fun flavor to spice things up. My personal faves are hot cocoa, candy cane, or snowball-themed. You can decide your family’s favorite flavor together. 

Who doesn’t love the taste of hot cocoa? I love that last sip of chocolate at the bottom of a mug of cocoa. As a kid, I’d mix in just a little bit of hot water and eat the cocoa mix with a spoon.

You can transform your gingerbread house into a hot-cocoa house with only two ingredients: store-bought cocoa mix and 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder. It’s that easy! Turn on the kettle and make a mug of cocoa for yourself while you’re at it.

Brittle makes the perfect decorations for your gingerbread house, like colorful snowy windows or doorways. 

(Pro-tip: Run a knife under warm water to cut the brittle into the exact shapes and sizes you want!) 

You can even add a chocolate drizzle to your brittle. Milk, dark, or white chocolate are all perfect for drizzles. Melt your chocolate in the microwave or use the double boiling technique. With double-boiling, you take a sauce pan, fill it with 1 or 2 inches of water, and bring to a boil. Take a glass bowl with your chocolate and set on top of the sauce pan until the chocolate melts. 

Pour the melted chocolate into a disposable piping bag and drizzle melted chocolate over a bed of crushed candy canes or a sprinkle base. Let it cool and then use it to decorate. You can also spread a ¼ inch layer of melted chocolate on parchment paper, let it cool and use the chocolate brittle (aka, bark!) for walls. Decorate your melted chocolate with sprinkles or crushed candy canes while it’s still wet for added character!  If you’ve got candy canes left over, make a candy cane lane leading up to your hot cocoa haven.

For decorating, you’ll want to have a variety of sprinkles—holiday colors like red, green, and white are good bets—plenty of marshmallows on hand, and maybe even a tub of Marshmallow Fluff for good measure. 

I’ve built gingerbread houses with my family and our Baked by Melissa team, and every time I do, I’m reminded of how powerful simply being together and making something with your own two hands can be. 

Did you make this recipe? We want to know! Tag us in your baking creations on instagram @bakedbymelissa!