The gingerbread we use for our houses is a different recipe to the one we make our cookies out of.  It does not rise and is denser.  When cooked it does spread slightly but not much, which is what you want.

Gingerbread House recipe

4½ cups flour
¾ packed brown sugar
2tsp cinnamon
1½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup butter ( I ended up using a bit more as the dough was too dry to work with )
¾ cup molasses
1 egg yolk ( save white for icing )

Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine flour, sugar, ginger, cloves and salt in large bowl. Set aside. Slice cube of butter into 4-6 slices, put in microwave bowl and melt in microwave, about 1 minute on high, it should not boil. Mix butter, molasses and egg yolk together in a small bowl with a fork or large spoon. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until combined. The dough will be thick and slightly dry. ( I used my kitchen aid mixer because it could handle it )

When rolling it out roll it between pieces of parchment, but before you do work the dough in your hands to get rid of any air bubbles. It should only be rolled to ¼” thickness. The best way to guarantee this is to use two pieces of dowel either side of the rolling pin. Chopsticks work too.

Glue icing

1¼ cups icing sugar
1 egg white
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
food colouring

Put all ingredients in a non-plastic bowl. Mix with electric mixer on highest speed until peaks stay when you lift mixture with a spoon, about 5 minutes.