Getting Started
Making no-bake gingerbread houses is easy, fun, and best of all, fast! This book will show
you how to make houses, castles, cottages, and more using graham crackers, cookies, ice
cream cones, waffle bowls, and candy. Thereâs no need to mix dough, roll it out, bake it,
and wait for it to harden. The house structures in this book take only minutes to make,
meaning you can get to the decorating more quicklyâand thatâs the best part. Before you
begin, you just need to know a few tips. Then youâll be on your way to having fun!
Where to Build the House
A large piece of cardboardâat least 1 foot by 1 footâis the best base to build your house
on. Itâs sturdy enough to pick up so that you can move your house easily. Be sure to cover
your cardboard with waxed paper or aluminum foil so the frosting doesnât seep through.
Even if the house is small and doesnât take up much room on the cardboard, youâll still
want a large base so that you have plenty of room for decorating. The instructions for most
of the houses in this book suggest that you spread icing around the house, such as green for
grass or white for snow. Covering the whole cardboard base with icing helps your house look
nice and neat.
Graham Crackers
While not all the houses in this book are made with graham crackers, most of them are.
Building structures out of graham crackers requires a few tricks.
Most houses in the book require that you cut graham crackers into shapes or smaller
pieces. Instead of trying to break them with your hands, have an adult use a serrated knife,
such as a steak knife, to gently saw the cracker along the lines until the unwanted piece
breaks off. If you try to break them with your hands, the pieces will usually break off
unevenly.
The diagrams for each house will show you the sizes and shapes of the graham crackers you
need. The blue parts of the diagram are the pieces of the crackers that need to be cut off
and thrown away.
For many of the houses, you will need to âglueâ two or more graham crackers together with
icing to make a larger front, side, back, or roof piece. To help the pieces stay together,
you will need to âglueâ a quarter graham cracker across the seam, as shown in Diagram 1.
This will help you make larger and more interesting houses without worrying about them
falling apart. When you put the house together, make sure the quarter crackers are on the
inside of the house.
Diagram 1
Royal Icing
Making gingerbread houses requires special icing called royal icing. It is made with egg
whites, water, and powdered sugar, and it is very strong, like glue. It dries to a hard
candy-like finish that will last for months. You can use either raw egg whites or meringue
powder (which has dried egg whites) to make the icing. While both versions make equally
strong icing, I prefer using meringue powder because itâs easier to use and safer to eat
than raw egg whites. You can find meringue powder at craft or cake decorating stores.
Egg White Royal Icing
3 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
4 cups powdered sugar
Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together until the meringue has formed stiff peaks
(meaning when you lift the beaters out of the meringue, it stands up straight and doesnât
fall over). Beat in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until mixed together and smooth.
Meringue Powder Royal Icing
1/4 cup meringue powder
1/2 cup water
4 cups powdered sugar
Beat the meringue powder and water together until the meringue has formed stiff peaks
(meaning when you lift the beaters out of the meringue, it stands up straight and doesnât
fall over). Beat in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until mixed together and smooth.
Tinting the icing with food coloring is a fun and easy way to add more color to your
houses. Gel food coloring works the best because it is super
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