I used my Mom's gingerbread house recipe with some slight variations (gluten-free flour and spices) to make it safe for me (the celiac in the family). I'm not sure where my Mom got her recipe. She always used Crosby's molasses so maybe it was once on the back of a molasses container or in one of those small recipe books that companies used to handout before the internet! I went to Crosby's website and their gingerbread house recipe looks similar. So, here is a link to their website https://www.crosbys.com/how-to-make-a-gingerbread-house/, so that you can check out their recipe.

This recipe uses no eggs, so it is naturally vegan. To make it gluten-free I used gluten-free flour and gluten-free spices. Note that this recipe makes a strong dough so the finished product is great for building gingerbread houses. If used for cookies they are not as soft as a recipe that would use eggs or brown sugar, but I enjoy using the leftover dough for cookies too. I find if you don't overbake the cookies and ice them, that they are yummy. But do be careful as they are harder than regular gingerbread cookies and you wouldn't want a chipped tooth at Christmas.

This recipe makes enough dough to make two small gingerbread houses or one larger house and some cookies.

I don't make a very large house as we use it for decoration only. We enjoy putting the candies on, but don't eat it at the end of Christmas. Instead we keep extra candy in bowls or tupperware containers to nibble on.

Here is a photo of the pattern I usually use. For some reason this year the sides and roof pieces shrunk a little when baked, so next year I will add a centimeter or two to each side and roof pattern piece. But this year, it was easily fixed with loads of extra royal icing!

Gluten-Free Vegan Gingerbread House Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening, melted
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 cups gluten-free flour
• 3 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (if you like cinnamon you could add a bit more)
• 1/4 cup of water (Don't add to dough right away. Add a tablespoon at a time to make the dough come together, but not too soft.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit. (* 165 Celsius or Gas mark 3)
2. Melt the shortening and let cool a bit.
3. Add the molasses and sugar and mix well. I use my standing mixer.
4. Mix the spices with half of the flour and add to the liquid ingredients and mix.
5. Now slowly add the remaining flour.
6. Add water a tablespoon at a time, as needed to make a stiff dough. Do not add too much water as you want the dough to be stiff, so that it will hold its shape when made into house pieces.
7. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours, overnight is preferred.
8. After the dough as been refrigerated, take it out and roll out on floured (gluten-free flour) surface. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness. I usually use parchment paper to minimize clean up.
9. Cut into your house shapes using a gingerbread set or you can make your own pattern.
10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, do not grease the paper. Put your gingerbread shapes on the sheet and refrigerate for about 1 hour. This step will make sure that your cut out patterns will keep their shape.
11. Bake for about 12 minutes. Keep checking as you don't want to burn the cookies. Remove carefully and cool on a cooling rack. Can be made ahead of time and frozen for use later.

*I use the site www.thecalculatorsite.com/cooking/oven-temperatures.php to convert the oven temperatures.

The royal icing I use has no eggs in it. It is just white corn syrup, water and icing sugar. Here is a link to the recipe.

Interested in alternative gingerbread houses we have made in the past. Here is a link to the blog. What types of gingerbread houses do you make? Do you use gingerbread house cookie cutters or make your own pattern? What are your favourite candies and cookies to decorate the house with?

Note: These are my personal experiences and opinions. Always seek out a medical opinion for medical concerns.