"While gingerbread houses are technically made with edible ingredients, they're usually meant for us to admire as opposed to consume: These cookies must hold up walls, roofing, icing, and candy decorations without warping, so softness or a tender crumb aren't the goals. The gingerbread cookies used to build these centerpieces must be firm, sturdy, and dry: This means you'll be using quite a bit of flour to make a Play-Doh-like dough."
"Even though this gingerbread will likely not be eaten, each ingredient here has its place. Sugar preserves the cookie, while the molasses and egg act as binders. Baking soda is omitted from the dough because you don't want the cookies to spread thin; you also don't add baking powder, because that will make the cookies puffy, airier, and structurally less sound."
Gingerbread houses require cookies made from firm, sturdy, and dry dough to support walls, roofing, icing, and candy without warping. High flour content produces a Play-Doh-like dough suited to assembling a centerpiece rather than for tenderness. Sugar preserves the cookie while molasses and egg provide binding. Omit baking soda and baking powder to prevent spreading, puffing, or reduced structural integrity. Spices primarily contribute scent more than flavor and can be substituted. For eating, consume cookies immediately while edges remain snappable. The recipe yields about 2 to 2½ pounds of dough, enough for a medium-sized house; doubling increases house size.
Read at Eater
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