Gingerbread log cabin template
A low cabin with a shallow roof and log lines marked on the walls. Pipe along the lines, or press pretzel sticks onto them.
Your printable pages
What you will cut
- Footprint
- 17.4 × 20.4 cm
- Height
- 15.2 cm
- Dough
- 990 g
- Baking sheets
- 2
- Candy for windows
- about 8 hard candies
| Piece | Cut | Size | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Front wall | 1 | 15 × 13.2 cm | |
| B | Back wall | 1 | 15 × 13.2 cm | |
| C | Side wall | 2 | 16.8 × 8.5 cm | Fits between the front and back walls. |
| D | Roof panel, ridge side | 1 | 20.4 × 10.7 cm | Slightly longer: it overlaps the other panel along the ridge. |
| E | Roof panel | 1 | 20.4 × 10 cm | |
| F | Chimney front and back | 2 | 2.6 × 4.1 cm | Flip one over before cutting. |
| G | Chimney, ridge side | 1 | 1.4 × 2.5 cm | |
| H | Chimney, eave side | 1 | 1.4 × 4.1 cm | |
| I | Door (optional) | 1 | 3.3 × 5.6 cm | Bake the cut-out door and stand it ajar with icing. |
How to build it
How to use this template
- Print every page at 100% and check the scale bar at the bottom.
- Cut out the paper pieces, including the window and door openings.
- Roll the dough 0.6 cm thick directly on baking paper. Lay the templates on top and cut around them with a sharp knife.
- Chill the cut pieces for 15 minutes so they hold their shape, then bake.
- While the pieces are still warm, lay the templates on them again and trim any edges that spread.
- Let everything cool flat and dry overnight. Build with thick royal icing and let the walls set for an hour before adding the roof.
Gingerbread log cabin
- Spread icing on the board where the house will stand. Pipe a thick line along the bottom and one side edge of the front wall (A) and stand it up.
- Add a side wall (C) behind the front wall's edge so they meet at a right angle. Prop both with cans or jars.
- Add the back wall (B) and the second side wall the same way. Pipe icing into the inside corners and leave the walls for at least an hour.
- Pipe icing along the top edges of all four walls. Press on the regular roof panel first, then the ridge-side panel so it overlaps the ridge. Hold each for a minute.
- Glue the chimney pieces (F, G, H) into a box and set it on the roof with icing.
- Wait two hours before decorating, so the weight of the candy does not slide the roof.
Candy-glass windows
The glowing windows in the 3D preview are melted hard candy. This house has 8 windows and needs about 8 hard candies (50 g).
What you need
- See-through hard candies, such as lemon drops, Jolly Ranchers, fruit drops or butterscotch. Yellow and orange give the warm glow in the preview.
- Baking paper or a silicone mat. Melted candy sticks to a bare tray and to foil.
- A zip bag and a rolling pin for crushing.
How to make them
- Sort the candies by color, put them in a zip bag and crush them with a rolling pin into coarse grit.
- Cut the pieces, window openings included, on baking paper and leave them on the paper.
- Bake the pieces until they are nearly done, then take the tray out.
- Fill each window with crushed candy, level with the dough, not heaped.
- Bake for another 4 to 6 minutes, until the candy has melted flat and stopped bubbling.
- Let the pieces cool on the tray for 15 minutes, until the glass is hard, then peel off the paper.
- Pipe the window crosses on the glass with royal icing. The dashed lines in each window on the template show where.
- Adding the candy only for the last minutes keeps it clear. Baked the whole time, yellow candy turns brown.
- Mix colors inside one window for stained glass, as on the church.
- Light the house with a battery LED tea light placed inside before the roof goes on. A real candle melts the windows.
Tips that save a collapse
- Rest the dough overnight in the fridge. Rested dough spreads less, so the pieces keep their size.
- Roll out on baking paper and cut on the paper. Moving raw pieces stretches them.
- Trim the pieces against the template as soon as they leave the oven. Once cool, they are too hard to cut.
- Use royal icing that holds a stiff peak. Runny icing lets walls slide.
- Fill window openings with crushed hard candy before baking for glowing glass.
Questions
How do I print the template at the right size?
In the print dialog, choose 100% or "Actual size", not "Fit to page". Then measure the scale bar at the bottom of any page: it should be exactly 5 cm, or 2 inches on the US Letter version.
Why are the side walls shorter than the house?
The side walls fit between the front and back walls, so they are shortened by twice the dough thickness. That way the outside of the house ends up exactly the size you chose. Change the dough thickness and the template adjusts.
How thick should I roll the dough?
About 6 mm (1/4 inch) for most houses. Go thinner, 4 mm, for mini houses and thicker, 8 mm, for large ones so the walls can carry the roof.
Can I build it from cardboard or paper instead?
Yes. Set the thickness to your material, for example 3 mm for corrugated cardboard, and the template adjusts the walls and roof to match.
Is the template free?
Yes. Every design and every size downloads as a free PDF, with no sign-up.
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