RECIPE BELOW! The holidays are just around the corner… We’ve been busy with all the Thanksgiving activities, weddings, ice skating (ahhh so fun!), getting COVID… LOL. Yeah, I got COVID again, only this time it really did take me down a bit. Each day I would think, “I’m feeling much better!” only to be knocked down with another symptom. It took a good 10 days to really feel back to normal.

Anyway, the first couple days I really tried to keep my distance from the husband and older kiddos because they didn’t have it (just the baby and myself). So, I got to binge watch The Great British Baking Show, which has become sort of a tradition to binge watch at this time of year lol. I love it so much. Maybe I’ll throw my hat in the ring for The Great American Baking Show next year, but first, I’ve really gotta up my baking game and arsenal of recipes and techniques. (I’m seriously dreaming of and considering applying, though what a dream that would be! Baking in the tent… I would do all vegan bakes… maybe it could happen?? Sigh….)

Anyway, I’ve been watching the show long enough to know THE choice when constructing a 3D cookie bake is gingerbread. Always and forever. Sugar cookies are too brittle and can’t support weight. A shortbread could possibly be constructed with, BUT Ginger is where it’s at! And I thought “Hmm, I’ve never made gingerbread before…” So, then I did.

Overall, I really enjoyed this experience. I wanted to make a gingerbread house with the kiddos to see if A) My vegan recipe for gingerbread was good and good enough for construction and B) See if I wanted to start a new tradition of making gingerbread houses with the kids every year.

Consensus: A) Yes! It was great for construction. I can’t really comment on taste because COVID truly did mess up my taste buds, BUT my kids and husband ate half the house in 1 night lol. They loved it, said it was great, which was great because I was actually worried the kiddos wouldn’t like gingerbread because it is more of a complex and spiced cookie. They kept asking for it the next couple of days, even over fruit snacks, which is a huge feat because in this household fruit snacks reign supreme in the snack realm. Look out MOTT’s… the Gingerbread man is in town.
B) Maybe I'll start the tradition every year but haven’t decided lol. I haven’t perfected my construction of the house, as you can see below in the gallery. So it was slightly nerve-racking trying to get it to set without toppling. Time will tell if this tradition will continue…. maybe I’ll get that creative gingerbread itch that made me want to create this in the first place and that’ll keep the tradition alive.

My recipe is a really easy recipe. Just understand that the molasses in the recipe makes the dough very sticky. It’s easiest to deal with the dough with parchment paper all around, though you could probably get away with rolling it with a rolling pin without parchment in between. I didn’t try it like that because I was being extra cautious, so don’t hold me accountable if it does stick to the rolling pin.

I’ve included my first and GREAT vegan royal icing recipe!! I think I was actually more excited about how the icing turned out because it worked SO WELL! That recipe is included below too!

Let me know if you try these! You can print AND rate the recipe y’all! Whoop whoop! Until then, enjoy these pics of the “Hurricane Ginger” Gingerbread house, and happy eating!