How to Make Gingerbread Houses Using Graham Crackers

Co-authored by Ross Canter

Last Updated: October 21, 2021 References

Gingerbread houses are a Christmas tradition the whole family can make together. Instead of spending hours making gingerbread, you can make gingerbread houses using graham crackers to save yourself both effort and time during a busy season. Display your houses on your table or in a decorative corner for Christmas Day.

Ingredients

2 egg whites
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 box confectioner's sugar
1 large box of graham crackers
Hard Christmas candies for decoration
Frosting

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing the House

1
Separate your Christmas candies into bowls. This step saves the hassle of opening bags of candy with sticky fingers later.
2
Place an aluminum pie tin upside down in front of you.

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3
Combine the egg whites and lemon juice in a large bowl to make royal icing. Beat the egg whites on a high speed until they are white and frothy. Add powdered sugar 2 tablespoons at a time to combine gradually, on a speed just high enough that the sugar doesn't fly up all over the counter. The icing should have the consistency of stiff peanut butter by the time all the sugar has been combined. The icing will secure the graham cracker walls of the house and stick the candy decorations to the surface.^{[1]
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4
Place large spoonfuls of the royal icing into quart-size zipped style freezer bags. Avoid regular thickness sandwich bags because the plastic is too thin and will not hold up to the punishment of being used as a pastry tube. An unzipped plastic bag the size of a bread bag will also work, and it will hold more icing. Approximately 1 cup of icing each small bag is enough. If decorating with friends or family, make sure that each gingerbread artist has his or her own bag of icing.^{[2]
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5
Seal the bags.
6
Use scissors to snip 1/4" (6 mm) off one corner of the icing filled bag. You now have an "icing tube". As you decorate, you'll squeeze the icing toward the snipped corner and use it to dispense a bead of icing on your gingerbread house.^{[3]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Assembling the House

1
Count out six whole, uncracked, unseparated, unbroken crackers. Set four of them aside to form the roof and the two long sides of your house.^{[4]
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2
Cut the two remaining cracker sheets to form end gable pieces. Use a gentle "sawing" motion with a serrated knife. Use the short end of a cracker to measure the angled line from the center of the long side to the centerline of the cracker.^{[5]
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3
Repeat for the second gable end.
4
Squeeze icing along the edges of a gable end and 1 whole graham cracker.^{[6]
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5
Place the long edge of the wall cracker vertical to the base edge of the gable end cracker. Stick the side edge of the gable end cracker to the bead of icing on the flat side of the wall cracker. The walls should hold each other up.^{[7]
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6
Add the other gable end and wall in the same manner. Use a bead of icing along the bottom to stick the pieces to the pie tin. Also, use a bead of icing where the two walls will join at the corners.^{[8]
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7
Add the roof crackers in the same manner as the wall crackers, but pipe the icing on the flat of the roof, not on the edges. Then, stick the flat of the roof to the top edges of the gable ends and walls. Allow the icing to set for 15 to 20 minutes before handling the house again. If you place candies on it too quickly, you risk collapsing the house.^{[9]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Decorating the House

1
Line the roof with icing where you want to add shingles.^{[10]
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2
Add the shingles using your chosen candies.^{[11]
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- You can also use cereal for the shingles.
3
Use your imagination and decorate the entire house whatever way you like.

Community Q&A

Question

Will Pillsbury icing work?

Community Answer

Traditional cake frosting will not work well. You need a stiff, quick-drying icing for this, usually royal icing, which may be made easily by combining confectioner's sugar (also called powdered sugar), egg whites, cream of tartar, and/or a little extract for flavoring (vanilla, almond, or peppermint are my preference for the holidays). Frosting in a can is designed to not get dry and stiff with the use of oils.
Question

What was the aluminum cake pan to be used for? It was never mentioned again after turning it upside down.

Community Answer

The pie tin was intended to be used upside down as a rigid, mostly non-stick surface for you to build your house upon. It can be easily transported out of the way for clean up or removal to its final location. You could also create a "yard" on the bottom of the plate to enhance the cute factor of your house.
Question

Are there any possible substitutes for the egg whites?

Community Answer

Good binding agents are: flaxseed meal mixed with water, mashed ripe banana, canned chickpea water, whisked. These make an egg-white replacement for baking, souffles, etc.

Warnings

Protect your work surface with newspapers or an old vinyl tablecloth.

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Helpful 18 Not Helpful 7
Check the condition of your gingerbread house throughout the season. Make sure the graham crackers are not softened by humidity, and make sure the house is not attracting ants.

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Helpful 17 Not Helpful 7
Keep gingerbread houses out of reach of your pets or you will find them "sampling" your house. This can be especially heart-rending to a little person who has his or her creation half eaten by the family dog!

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