Add to: Recipe Box | Grocery List | Meal PlannerRecipe submitted by
VegSpinz, 12/21/08
Graham Cracker Gingerbread HousesIngredients (use vegan versions): 1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water (little more if needed)
1 box of vegan graham crackers
candies of choice (little ones work well)
Tools:
large board wrapped in parchment paper
squeeze bottle for "glue"
small bowls for sorting candy
paper towels
Directions:For Larger House:
First, cover your piece of foam core or cardboard with parchment paper (wrap like a present to cover one side). This will keep things from sticking! Next, make the "glue" that's gonna hold everything together. Mix the powdered sugar with the tablespoon of water, until it forms a very thick almost pastey glue. You don't want it runny like Elmer's, but thicker like ketchup. If you need to add more water, do so a little water at a time, until it combines. Now transfer your sugar glue to the squeeze bottle. Note: I will from this point refer to my sugar concoction as "glue," even though you should NEVER use real glue- someone might try to eat it, like your dogs! To construct a larger house, you'll need to glue some pieces together first. You'll need 10 unbroken crackers to build 4 walls. Take 2 crackers and glue them together by putting a line of glue between them, then laying them side by side and putting another line of glue over the seam. Wait about 5 minutes before turning them over to put another line of glue on the opposite side's seam. Do the same for all four walls. For 2 of the 4 walls, you'll need to cut out some triangles so you don't have gaping holes in your walls. Do this, by "sawing" your cracker very gently with a serrated steak knife, paying particular attention to the corners which crumble easily. Glue the triangles onto the tops of 2 of the walls in the same manner as before. Make sure to wait at least 10 minutes before moving them so the glue has time to set completely. Next, I would recommend decorating your wall BEFORE you assemble your house. Once the decorations have set, put together the walls by putting a line of glue on one wall and positioning it at a 45 degree angle to an adjacent wall. Naturally, walls with triangles will be on opposite sides- for those who never built things with Lego's. Lastly, use 1 1/2 crackers (lengthwise) to built your roof, build it by gluing lines on one cracker to fit onto the bottom of one side of the roof, using the triangles as support, then gluing the half piece on top of that. Then, do the opposite side of the roof in the same manner. Don't worry too much about the seams not looking neat or matching up perfectly, as you can cover them up with more glue and candies.
For Little Houses:
For the little houses, which are cute and much faster to make- a great craft project for kids! Break whole graham crackers in half to form squares. I would recommend scoring them with the serrated knife (gentle sawing motion), before breaking them- that
way they'll break into perfect squares every time. The hardest part is cutting the triangles, which you'll do in the same manner as the large ones- just on a smaller scale. I've been lazy in the past, and just left them open, covering them later with candy canes -mini ones are great. With these little guys, you can start assembling soon after you finish decorating, they should only take a few minutes to set. Once fully assembled, wait 10 minutes before handling.
For more picture instructions, you can go to my blog, VegSpinz. Happy Holidays!!
Source of recipe: I wanted to make gingerbread houses, but didn't want to fuss with the actual gingerbread. I also needed to make a "royal icing" that didn't have any eggs in it. This is what I came up with.
Makes: One small house, one large house, Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: no cooking
