Here are some mistakes I see made over and over when making a homemade gingerbread house! Avoid these mistakes and level up your gingerbread game!
1. Letting your icing dry for too long before putting the candy on.
Only ice a few inches at a time before putting on your candy! It will dry if you try to ice too much at a time and the candies won't stick! If you do too much icing on accident, though, don't worry, you can just scrape it off with a knife and add more!
2. Putting too much frosting and candy on the roof - it can collapse in if it gets too heavy!
You don't need much icing to get candies on the roof to stick well! Don't layer it on too thick otherwise the roof can get too heavy and slide off or collapse in!
3. Baking the gingerbread too long or not long enough - too long and it will get brittle and can crack or break when you’re setting up the house. Not long enough and it won’t be strong enough, so it collapses.
It may take a couple of tries to figure out the right time for your oven, all ovens will vary slightly! You want your gingerbread firm but not burnt. It shouldn't be shiny on the top when you take it out. If you happen to underbake it and it's still a little too soft when you cut your pieces out, just put them on a cookie sheet and rebake for 2-8 minutes intil they harden up!
4. Not covering your edges and corners with icing.
An easy step to forget, but decorating the corners and edges of the gingerbread pieces will make your gingerbread house look more polished, finished, and "done!"
5. Not icing your base!
Even if you're building your gingerbread house on a white piece of cardboard, cover the entire base (cardboard) with a thin layer of icing to look like snow! Not only does it make it look a lot more polished, but the cardboard can form a grease stain around the gingerbread if you don't cover it in icing!
