All the Tools Needed to Make a Gingerbread House

Gingerbread houses combine two of my favorite things: holiday desserts and real estate. There is an art to making the cookie-based chateau, and while it can seem intimidating to engineer a structurally sound gingerbread house, there are several steps you can take to make sure your own is easily up to code. As part of Eater’s You Can Do This series, Kat Lieu has already walked us through the process of how to bake and assemble a gingerbread house worthy of Hansel and Gretel, from the cookie dough to the royal icing. Consider this a companion piece (and DIY shopping list) for understanding which tools you’ll need to make your own gingerbread house this holiday season.

Every house needs blueprints and a foundation, and that includes your gingerbread creation. My hot tip is to poke around Pinterest for inspiration and free plans, or to order cookie cutter sets designed for the job.

A stand mixer with a paddle attachment

If you don’t have a stand mixer, now is a great time to scoop one from some of the ongoing Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, such as this KitchenAid classic for $120 off.

A marble rolling pin will help avoid stickiness

Whenever I can swing it, I’ll opt for a marble rolling pin over a wood model; the marble material is naturally non-stick and retains a lower temperature, which can help deliver you from sticky cookie batter.

A paring knife for cutting the dough

You’re going to need a paring knife or X-Acto knife to cut your cookie dough templates, and Misen is offering 25% off its chic, blue-handled iteration for the holidays.

You’ll need at least two parchment-lined half-size baking sheets, and, as Amy McCarthy writes in this Eater shopping guide to quarter sheet pans, Great Jones’s colorful sheet pans are more than just eye candy, writing that they far outperformed her go-to Nordic Ware sheet pans thanks to “the heat retention that the pan’s added layer of ceramic adds.”

$45

Great Jones’s Holy Sheet is oven- and dishwasher-safe and comes in five colors that look equally festive in the kitchen and on the dinner table.

Don’t skimp on size when it comes to cooling racks. The size you’ll need depends on the size of your gingerbread house, of course, but this 24-inch long rack can handle everything from a modest bungalow to a Queen of Versailles set-up.

For the icing and decorations:

Make sure you have a stand mixer whisk attachment

I would not wish “whisking the egg whites by hand” upon my worst enemy. Make sure your stand mixer has a whisk attachment, folks.

A solution for any stains and spills

Salvage that holiday sweater from any food coloring spills or icing drips with a package of Shout wipes at the ready.

Multiple bowls (for multiple colors of icing)

If you’re planning on making different colors of icing, make sure you have a handful of bowls on deck. I recommend investing in a set of tempered, microwave- and dishwasher-safe glass bowls that will make it easy to gauge the true shade of your colors (unlike with a deep green glass set, for example).

You can certainly use a spatula to transfer your icing to the inside of a Ziploc-bag-turned-piping-bag, but I appreciate the added precision (and tip options) that come with this piping bag kit.

The best part about being a home owner is, of course, the decorating. Now is the moment for you to load up on all kinds of candies and snacks, such as pretzels (great as roof shingles) and gum drops (for outlining walkways, of course) and marshmallows (for making snowmen). Consider using your sifter or fine-mesh strainer to make it “snow” powdered sugar on the roof, and order specialty candies from confectioners such as BonBon Candy, whose baggies of Swedish-inspired candies are also 20% off for the holidays.