No-Bake Gingerbread House

By: Rachel Buchanan, Chris Caspar, Taylor Gates, Lauren Vermeer

Introduction

These instructions* will teach you how to construct a no-bake gingerbread house. This craft can be created by anyone who wants to complete a fun, holiday activity by themselves or with friends and family. A no-bake gingerbread house is not only eco-friendly and affordable, but is also an edible holiday decoration. We provide optional design suggestions, but, ultimately, the user has creative license. We hope you enjoy building this project as much as we did!

Technical Ability: Beginner/Intermediate

Approximate Time: 30-40 minutes

NOTE: Dietary restrictions were taken into consideration. Any materials may be substituted, if necessary.

*If you would like to print these instructions, please do so from your web-browser. Some images will not appear if you print directly from instructables.com.

Estimated total cost: $21.50*

Materials**

• Canned icing (1): $1.50 - Pictures display white icing, but any other color(s) may be used.
• Box of graham crackers (1): $3
• Masking tape: $2.50
• Straight-edge knife (preparation)
• Plastic knife
• 8 fl. oz. cartons (2) - $1 each
• Surface to work on (i.e. a paper plate or mat)

Materials for Decorations

(Optional)

• Bag of small M&Ms (1): $2
• Bag of mini marshmallows (1): $1.50
• Box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (1): $3
• Bag of small pretzel sticks (1): $3

* Prices are approximations and may vary from store to store.

** These ingredients contain dairy products, wheat, soy and sodium, but may be switched out to meet dietary needs.

Cost per gingerbread house: $11.75 (leftover materials can make another gingerbread house with two more cartons)

Cartons

1. If not empty, pour the liquid out of two 8 fl. oz. cartons (they may be poured into another container, if you wish).

2. To sanitize the cartons, rinse them with hot water and a small amount of dish soap, about the size of a dime.

3. Once there are no more suds, place them upright on a towel and let them air dry for two hours.

Roof Triangles

(Adult supervision required for this step)

1. Take out one full graham cracker sheet.

2. Split the graham cracker sheet in half to create two squares.

3. Cut one graham cracker square at an angle (see picture below).
   
   

1. Repeat step three for the other side of the graham cracker square.

2. Repeat steps three and four with the second graham cracker square.

Carton Structure

1. Lay out a mat or table cover to work on for easy clean-up later.

2. Staple the openings of the cartons closed (see picture below).

3. Place the two cartons side by side with both openings facing each other in the middle of a plate or other flat surface (see picture below).

4. Bind the cartons together by wrapping masking tape around both of them twice.

5. Tear the tape and smooth it against the cartons (see picture below).

Walls

1. Take out seven sheets of graham crackers.

2. Spread icing onto the flat side of two graham cracker sheets.

3. Apply slight pressure for five seconds while holding the iced side of a graham cracker sheet against one long side of the carton.

4. Repeat step three for the other long side of the carton.

5. Split the third graham cracker sheet in half to create two squares.

6. Spread icing onto the flat side of the graham cracker squares.

7. Apply slight pressure for five seconds while holding the iced side of a graham cracker square against one short side of the carton (see picture below).

8. Repeat step seven for the other short side of the carton.

9. Split the fourth graham cracker sheet lengthwise to create two long rectangles.

10. Spread icing on the flat side of graham cracker rectangles.

11. Apply slight pressure for five seconds while holding the iced side of a graham cracker rectangle directly above one full sheet that was applied earlier (see picture below).

12. Repeat step eleven above the other full graham cracker sheet that was applied earlier.

13. Split a fifth graham cracker sheet in half to create two squares.

14. Split one of the graham cracker squares into two rectangles (see picture below).

15. Spread icing on the flat side of the graham cracker rectangles.

16. Apply slight pressure for five seconds while holding the iced side of a graham cracker above one the squares that were applied earlier (see picture below).

17. Repeat step sixteen for the other graham cracker square that was applied earlier.

Roof

1. Apply icing lengthwise along one edge of two full graham cracker sheets (see picture below).

2. Connect the icing on each graham cracker sheet to the edge of the graham crackers on the long side of the cartons. This will create a triangular peak for the roof (see picture below).

3. Connect the peak by applying icing in between the non-iced edges of the graham cracker sheets (see picture below).

4. Apply icing to all edges of both triangular pieces that were cut out in preparation (see picture below).

5. Fit one piece into the gap between the upper wall and roof peak (see picture below).

6. Repeat step five for the second graham cracker triangle. These pieces will fill the gaps between the upper wall and roof on the short sides of the cartons.

Roof Shingles

1. Spread icing on both long roof sides.

2. Apply a row of Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares to the icing.

3. Below this row, repeat steps one and two until both long roof sides are covered (see picture below).

Pretzel Pillars

1. Apply icing to all edges of the house except the roof’s peak.

2. Press three pretzel sticks into the icing to outline the triangular roof pieces.

3. Press two sticks into the icing horizontally to create a line at the base of the roof.

4. Press four sticks into the icing vertically starting from the bottom of each wall’s edge (see picture below).

5. Break two sticks in thirds to create six pieces. Only four pieces will be used.

6. Press one piece into each remaining gap (see picture below).

Marshmallow Snow

1. Apply icing along the base edges of the walls (see picture below).

2. Press marshmallows into the icing to create a seamless boarder (see picture below).

M&M Door

1. Spread icing in a rectangular outline no taller than the bottom graham cracker piece on any wall of the graham cracker house (see picture below).

2. Apply M&Ms directly to the icing outline in whatever pattern you prefer (see picture below).

M&M Window(s)

1. Spread icing into a square outline along any side of the house in a similar fashion to the door. The window should not be touching the base of the house (see picture below).

2. Apply M&Ms directly to the icing outline in whatever pattern you prefer (see picture below).

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 if you wish to add more windows.



Chimney

1. Take out a full graham cracker sheet.

2. Break the sheet into fourths to create four rectangles (see picture below). Only two rectangles will be used.

3. Spread icing onto the bumpy side of the rectangles (see picture below).

4. Add M&Ms to the icing in a pattern to resemble bricks (see picture below).

5. Apply icing to the outward-facing side of the chimney.

6. Press the iced side onto an unoccupied side of the house (we recommend a short side).

If you've gotten to this point, then congratulations! You've built your own no-bake gingerbread house! The completed product is perfect to display over the holidays and is 100 percent edible. However you want to enjoy your creation is up to you. Happy Holidays!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.