Gingerbread Houses
Monday, October 13, 2025
Sarah Gayle Silwones will be presenting a workshop at the general meeting of the club on the process to construct and decorate “gingerbread” houses. These houses are made from graham crackers, not actual gingerbread, so they are an easy, no bake project for any person or group.
Mary Jo Gardill had a practice session at her house with Jan Wolfe and Sheri Lowry for the demonstration at the club meeting.
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Gingerbread House Glue
1/4 cup egg whites (or whites from 3 large eggs)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
4+ cups powdered sugar
In a tall bowl or stand mixer, mix egg whites until frothy (one minute).
Add cream of tartar and mix to incorporate.
Add powdered sugar a cup at a time.
Mix well until smooth and shiny and drips look like icicles (7-10 minutes).
Add more sugar as necessary.
Note: This “glue” dries hard, like concrete. Clean up anything you need to while the frosting is still wet.
Sarah will be showing the whole process to build and decorate a small house.
An important part of the process is having the best glue to keep the house together. She will share a version of Royal Icing, called Gingerbread House Glue.
The program is in preparation for displays at our December Home for the Holidays Tour but members can use this skill to decorate their own home for the holidays.
The patterns for making gingerbread houses out of graham crackers and the glue recipe are on the handout below. Click on the link.
With a table pulled in the center of the room, Sarah began her demonstration of building a graham cracker house. Various items to use on the houses were on display.
Dots
Jujyfruits
Mike and Ike Original Fruits
Licorice sticks
pretzels sticks and squares
Lorna Doons
Spearmint and Peppermint candies
Various cereal squares
Graham Cracker House Construction
October 13, 2025 Meeting
The base houses were put together in a similar manner.
Graham cracker sections were glued together with the Gingerbread House Glue. Sarah suggested gluing two rectangular crackers together to make a section of the wall. Repeat as many times as needed for the size of house you are making.
To make the section for the roof, score the graham crackers with a knife to make right triangles at the top of each section, then break them apart. Glue together the right trianles to make the roof sections for each end.
Wait about 15-20 minutes until the glue sets. These sets of crackers were then glued together to make the walls and roof of the house. She used smaller pieces of crackers to reinforce the corners of the houses on the inside.
Once the base house is done, you can begin to add different features. Cereal squares were glued to the roof in rows to resemble a thatched roof. Then other features were added, such as a porch, a walkway, windows, shutters, hedges, shrubs, icicles, chimney, etc. Then add color like the examples in the pictures.
When the display season is over, the gingerbread houses can be stored in plastic in a dry place and will last for years. Keep away from moist areas. Remember they are food so will be tempting to animals, whether they are on display or stored somewhere. Enjoy!