Whisk together your dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and molasses to the butter and sugar mixture and mix until well incorporated.
Beat egg into the wet mixture.
With a rubber spatula, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. I like to do this in thirds, and usually finish off by incorporating everything with my hands.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
After 2 hours, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment.
Remove dough from the fridge and roll out your dough on a floured surface. Roll to about ¼ thickness.
Cut your house using cutters or a template. Place on lined cookie sheets and then place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Bake for 10 minutes at 350, then reduce to 325 and bake for another 10-15 minutes (depending on the size and thickness of your pieces). The pieces are done when they are firm to the touch.
Let cool completely, assemble using royal icing, and then decorate.
For the icing
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for 10 minutes.
Your icing is ready when you can draw a line in it and it doesn’t disappear. If it is too thick, add more water. If it is too thin, add more icing sugar.
Recipe by Scratch Mommy at https://scratchmommy.com/how-to-make-gingerbread-house-dough-from-scratch/