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Have you ever tackled this impossibly adorable project, spending a week baking, assembling, icing and decorating, only for the structure to go down like a house of cards? Not this year. There’s an easier way, trust us, and it starts with substituting the key component – gingerbread – with store-bought graham crackers. You’ll also need a sharp serrated knife to cut the pieces. Plan on getting four or five houses from one box of crackers.
Start by removing two whole sheets of crackers from the sleeve. Carefully cut a triangle shape from the topmost of the crackers. They will form the front and back of the house. Remove two half-cracker pieces for the roof. Finally, use your knife to cut a quarter-inch from two cracker halves. They will form the walls.
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Using a fast-drying icing (like Royal Icing) will ensure that the pieces dry quickly. Be sure to put the icing in a piping bag. Once you’ve glued the house together, let it dry completely before decorating. The icing dries fast, but it still takes a couple of minutes to set and overnight to cure.
Frost the roof and use candy melts or M&Ms as shingles. Use the frosting to “glue” your other decorative candies into place: chewing gum for the door, candy melts for windows and a walking path. We used rock candy to make trees and coconut to substitute for fallen snow.
