Gingerbread Houses To Make and Eat!
The most wonderful time of the year is the perfect time to create a gingerbread house with gooey icing, gingerbread, pretzels and graham crackers for building materials. Just like building a real home, perfecting one of these creative, dessert-like treats is no easy task!
That’s why we’ve gathered advice, tips and hacks to help you avoid a major gingerbread fail. Follow these gingerbread house tips and you’ll be building an entire village before Santa makes a midnight house call!
Tip #1 – Building with Pretzels
This clever pretzel log cabin from the Soccer Mom Blog, starts with sturdy pretzels and uses the icing for the caulking — just add candy! Blogger Stacey turned to pretzels after her luck ran out with gingerbread! And Michael’s at Harvest Junction in Longmont has both house and village kits starting at $7, to take the stress out of figuring out quantities.
Kristine at Gingerbread Journal recommends using brown royal icing (powdered sugar and egg whites) as the sweet mortar to hold the log cabin walls and windows together, and offers examples of iced pretzel windows and doors.
Tip #2 – Use Graham Crackers
Using graham crackers for the walls and roof makes everything super easy, and you (or the kids) can go crazy with candy embellishments. Not only does this cut down your prep time, the pieces are sturdy, uniform and forgivable! Here’s what you need:
-6 whole graham crackers
-1 pound of powdered sugar
-2 pasteurized egg whites or meringue powder
-¼ cup water
-LOTS of candy (M&Ms, gumdrops, candy canes, etc.)
-One square of cardboard wrapped in foil for the base
-A pastry bag with a round tip or plastic baggie
The contributors at Simply Recipes have a tutorial and bonus hacks – like getting your candy decorations ready ahead of time in muffin tins.
Happiness is Homemade shows you how to assemble the pieces, marking each like puzzle pieces which is helpful for those of us with zero experience building with gingerbread. My Name is Snickerdoodle has a list of suggested candies as well as year-by-year photos to inspire you – complete with icing icicles and enough candy to satisfy the sugar-holics among us!
Tip #3 – Instant Caramel Glue
Martha Stewart has a quick tip for getting the walls and roof to zip together faster than with royal icing – caramel syrup. Just put 1-1/3 cups granulated sugar in a pan and enough water to moisten (1-2 tablespoons) and cook it down to a sticky syrup that dries fast and glues cookies and crackers together instantly.
Admittedly, graham cracker houses are not true gingerbread houses, so if you love the smell of gingerbread baking in your kitchen, or are a purist and a dedicated crafter, visit Better Homes and Gardens or Pick Your Own Christmas Tree for a step-by-step (with pictures) tutorial using the real dough (with free templates!).
Gingerbread houses never go out of style – it’s one of those holiday favorites kept around for years to conjure up memories of Christmases past! You might want to try a new spin on this holiday perennial, like the Confetti Cake House from Better Homes and Gardens, or sift through the winning designs from the 2019 Disneyland Gingerbread House Tour for more inspiration!
Tip #4 – Icing in a Can for Kids
Gingerbread houses are a great holiday craft for kids, but the youngest littles may not have the manual dexterity to use a baggie full of icing or a pastry bag. Blogger Kira at Our Every Day life suggests using spray frosting that comes with different nozzle tips that little hands and fingers can manage.
Tip #5 – Trees of Sugar Cones
We love these faux trees from The Cake Blog using ice cream cones, rolled in melted white candy and sprinkled with sugar crystals to replicate snow-covered trees for a gorgeous, glittering effect!
Gingerbread House Parties in Colliers Hill
Even if you’re sequestered for the holidays in the master-planned community of Colliers Hill, you can find plenty of fun things to do during this holiday season, right in the comfort of your home. If you don’t live here yet, check out the beautiful homes available for new home buyers. From the paired offerings built by KB Home, to the Seasons product from Richmond American Homes – there are LOTS of options if you’re new to new home construction! Check out the amenities and the beautiful model homes from Century Communities. It’s still a great time to buy with rates so low and lots of possibilities from the high $300s.
