9 Impressive Gingerbread Houses That Anyone Can Make

Gingercake House

A from-scratch endeavor, from the ginger cake structure to the gingerbread cookie shingles and paved walkway, this sweet house is worth the extra effort—and delicious enough to be, well, demolished. By the time you frost the front and sides with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream, we bet you'll be mighty houseproud!

Gingerbread Cabin

This well-appointed A-frame flips the script on traditional gingerbread houses, with a rustic-chic exterior (courtesy of a faux-bois roof and pretzel-log walls) and a cozy interior complete with a "stone" fireplace. It's so atmospheric you can almost smell the pine trees and feel the snow crunch beneath your skis!

Swedish Gingerbread House

Sweet details such as piped icicles, boughs of greenery, and a cinnamon-stick woodpile lend realistic charm to this inviting Swedish-style gingerbread cottage. A light dusting of confectioners' sugar lends the illusion of freshly fallen snow.

Gingerbread Ranch

Take your gingerbread creation in a fresh new direction with this jolly gingerbread farm. It has all the features of a real barn (hayloft—check! horse in the paddock—check!), but swaps the usual candy trimmings for salty-and-sweet accents like sunflower seeds, nuts, pretzels, and cereal.

Peppermint Place

This easy, no-bake cookie cottage starts with graham cracker construction. Here's how to put it together:

The House

Use a serrated knife to cut a graham cracker into two squares. Saw the top corners off of another cracker to create a peaked roof. Repeat. Then pipe royal icing onto the bottom and straight edges of a peaked piece. Place on an upside-down paper plate; use a small object, such as a spice jar, to prop it up. Repeat to pipe icing onto the edges of a square piece, and adhere it to a peaked cracker. Remove the spice jar, and adhere to other pieces with icing.

The Roof

To make the roof, saw a cracker into two squares. If desired, spread icing onto roof pieces and decorate with candy; let dry. Pipe icing onto top edges of house, and adhere roof pieces. To display, place the plate on a tray and cover with shredded coconut snow.

The Landscaping

The cottage is studded with cinnamon candies, has a sour-belt roof, a heart-shaped candy-cane window, and a graham cracker door. Letters destined for the North Pole are hidden inside a mailbox created with a swirl candy, a piece of a candy cane, and a gumdrop; the flag is cut from a stick of gum. There's also a sled made of a graham cracker and mini candy canes, and a peppermint-ball snowman. To make the snowman. slice off the top and bottom of a white gumdrop, and press it onto a soft swirl candy; use a piece of red gumdrop for a hat and two nonpareils for eyes.

Gingerbread House Façade

Your guests may do a double take when they realize that your gingerbread house bears an uncanny resemblance to your actual living quarters. Yes, you can use a photograph of your home as inspiration for your gingerbread façade, then make it using our instructions below. Not only will it be unique, but crafting the frontal piece rather than a 3D house is a quicker route to gingerbread creation.

Gingerbread Town Square Cake

Truly impressive, this gingerbread town square has panels of two different kinds of decorated gingerbread cookies that wrap around a moist, slightly sweet sponge cake known as genoise that is layered with walnut meringue and gingerbread buttercream. Put this architectural wonder on a pedestal—it's worthy of being on display all month long.

Honey Spice Gingerbread House

Whether you turn the dough into holiday-themed shapes like reindeer or snowmen or create a country house inspired by Martha's own creation using our handy template, this gingerbread recipe is sure to win a place in your yuletide repertoire.

Pastel Village

In this quaint town, all the houses are made from graham crackers and frosting and feature roofs tiled with yellow and blue candy-coated chocolates and green mint lentils. Here's how the other details come together:

• Windows are made with pillow mints, nonpareils, and wafers
• Bits of chewing gum are used for shutters and doors, which are dotted with tiny mint knobs.
• Jelly beans form the pebble paths.

Streetlights—striped candy sticks poked into gumdrops and topped with a mini gumdrop or candy-coated chocolate—ensure Santa Claus will find his way to this hamlet. Arrange the cottages on a "snowy" tray for a festive window display or holiday centerpiece.