Saturday's Food Tip: Simple "Gingerbread" Houses

Help your children create some cute "gingerbread" houses during the holidays. There’s no baking involved. Graham crackers are used instead of gingerbread for the walls and roof of each house. Here’s all you’ll need:


GINGERBREAD HOUSES


Small milk cartons (one per child)

Graham crackers

White Frosting

Candy canes, gumdrops and other small candies, lollipops, colored sugar, candy sprinkles (for decorations)

Sturdy paper plates

Waxed paper

Plastic bag or pastry bag with decorator tip

Shredded wheat cereal


Wash out a small milk carton for each child and let it dry out, then tape it shut. Put each milk carton upright on some waxed paper on its own paper plate.

Have each child use a butter knife and coat one side of a graham cracker with frosting, then stick it to one side of the carton to make a wall for the gingerbread house. They'll repeat this process for the other 3 sides of the milk carton, then use 2 crackers to make the roof. Help each child cut another graham cracker in half to form a triangle to fill in the area between the sides and the roof.

The children will need to use lots of frosting so the house will stay together, so you’ll want to put some of the white frosting in a pastry bag with a tip (or put it in a resealable plastic bag and cut a small hole in one corner of the bottom of the bag and attach a frosting tip). The children can use it to pipe frosting into the cracks between crackers.

For a thatched roof for the gingerbread house, tear apart the shredded wheat cereal and sprinkle it onto the roof. Have the children decorate their houses with candy canes, gumdrops, colored sugar, candy sprinkles, etc.


If you're looking for REAL gingerbread ideas, check this out.