No-BakeGingerbreadHousesfor
Kids
LisaTurnerAnderson
PhotographsbyZacWilliams
N
O
-B
AKE
G
INGERBREAD
H
OUSES
FOR
K
IDS
D
IGITAL
E
DITION
V
1.0
Text©2010LisaTurnerAndersonPhotographs©2010ZacWilliamsAllrightsreserved.Nopart
ofthisbookmaybereproducedbyanymeanswhatsoeverwithoutwrittenpermissionfromthe
publisher,exceptbriefportionsquotedforpurposeofreview.
GibbsSmith,PublisherPOBox667
Layton,UT84041
Orders:1.800.835.4993
www.gibbs-smith.com
LibraryofCongressCatalog-in-PublishingDataISBN-13:978-1-4236-0590-4
ISBN-10:1-4236-0590-X
1.Gingerbreadhouses.2.Cookery(Colddishes)I.Title.
TX771.A582010
745.5—dc22
2010003541
ForMattandMalcolm
No-BakeGingerbreadHousesfor
Kids
TableofContents
GettingStarted
Makingno-bakegingerbreadhousesiseasy,fun,andbestofall,fast!Thisbook
willshowyouhowtomakehouses,castles,cottages,andmoreusinggraham
crackers,cookies,icecreamcones,wafflebowls,andcandy.There’snoneedto
mixdough,rollitout,bakeit,andwaitforittoharden.Thehousestructuresin
thisbooktakeonlyminutestomake,meaningyoucangettothedecorating
morequickly—andthat’sthebestpart.Beforeyoubegin,youjustneedtoknow
afewtips.Thenyou’llbeonyourwaytohavingfun!
WheretoBuildtheHouse
Alargepieceofcardboard—atleast1footby1foot—isthebestbasetobuild
yourhouseon.It’ssturdyenoughtopickupsothatyoucanmoveyourhouse
easily.Besuretocoveryourcardboardwithwaxedpaperoraluminumfoilso
thefrostingdoesn’tseepthrough.
Evenifthehouseissmallanddoesn’ttakeupmuchroomonthecardboard,
you’llstillwantalargebasesothatyouhaveplentyofroomfordecorating.The
instructionsformostofthehousesinthisbooksuggestthatyouspreadicing
aroundthehouse,suchasgreenforgrassorwhiteforsnow.Coveringthewhole
cardboardbasewithicinghelpsyourhouselookniceandneat.
GrahamCrackers
Whilenotallthehousesinthisbookaremadewithgrahamcrackers,mostof
themare.Buildingstructuresoutofgrahamcrackersrequiresafewtricks.
Mosthousesinthebookrequirethatyoucutgrahamcrackersintoshapesor
smallerpieces.Insteadoftryingtobreakthemwithyourhands,haveanadult
useaserratedknife,suchasasteakknife,togentlysawthecrackeralongthe
linesuntiltheunwantedpiecebreaksoff.Ifyoutrytobreakthemwithyour
hands,thepieceswillusuallybreakoffunevenly.
Thediagramsforeachhousewillshowyouthesizesandshapesofthegraham
crackersyouneed.Thebluepartsofthediagramarethepiecesofthecrackers
thatneedtobecutoffandthrownaway.
Formanyofthehouses,youwillneedto“glue”twoormoregrahamcrackers
togetherwithicingtomakealargerfront,side,back,orroofpiece.Tohelpthe
piecesstaytogether,youwillneedto“glue”aquartergrahamcrackeracrossthe
seam,asshowninDiagram1.Thiswillhelpyoumakelargerandmore
interestinghouseswithoutworryingaboutthemfallingapart.Whenyouputthe
housetogether,makesurethequartercrackersareontheinsideofthehouse.
Diagram1
RoyalIcing
Makinggingerbreadhousesrequiresspecialicingcalledroyalicing.Itismade
witheggwhites,water,andpowderedsugar,anditisverystrong,likeglue.It
driestoahardcandy-likefinishthatwilllastformonths.Youcanuseeitherraw
eggwhitesormeringuepowder(whichhasdriedeggwhites)tomaketheicing.
Whilebothversionsmakeequallystrongicing,Ipreferusingmeringuepowder
becauseit’seasiertouseandsafertoeatthanraweggwhites.Youcanfind
meringuepowderatcraftorcakedecoratingstores.
EggWhiteRoyalIcing
3eggwhites
1/2teaspooncreamoftartar
4cupspowderedsugar
Beattheeggwhitesandcreamoftartartogetheruntilthemeringuehasformed
stiffpeaks(meaningwhenyouliftthebeatersoutofthemeringue,itstandsup
straightanddoesn’tfallover).Beatinthepowderedsugar,1cupatatime,until
mixedtogetherandsmooth.
MeringuePowderRoyalIcing
1/4cupmeringuepowder
1/2cupwater
4cupspowderedsugar
Beatthemeringuepowderandwatertogetheruntilthemeringuehasformedstiff
peaks(meaningwhenyouliftthebeatersoutofthemeringue,itstandsup
straightanddoesn’tfallover).Beatinthepowderedsugar,1cupatatime,until
mixedtogetherandsmooth.
Tintingtheicingwithfoodcoloringisafunandeasywaytoaddmorecolorto
yourhouses.Gelfoodcoloringworksthebestbecauseitissuperconcentrated
andmakesdeep,brightcolors.Youcanfindgelfoodcoloringinmostgrocery
stores,butthegelsatcraftandcakedecoratingstorescomeinmanymorecolors
stores,butthegelsatcraftandcakedecoratingstorescomeinmanymorecolors
andareevenmoreconcentrated.
Whentintingyouricing,useacraftstickortoothpicktoaddjustatinybitofgel
totheicing.Alittlebitgoesaverylongway.Youcanalwayskeepaddingmore,
butyoucan’taddless!
Theeasiestwaytousetheicingtodecorateyourhouseistospoonsomeofit
intoaquart-sizeziplockbag.Squeezetheairoutofthetop,thensealthebag.
Double-checkandmakesureitiscompletelysealedorelsetheicingwillcome
outthetopwhenyousqueezethebag.Cutoffabottomcornerofthebagand
squeezethebagtopushtheicingthroughthehole.Thesmallerthehole,the
thinnerthelinewhenyou’repipingtheicing.You’llusuallywantathinnerline
whendecorating,butyoucanuseathickerlinewhen“gluing”thehouse
together.
Anyicingthatisleftinthebowlneedstobecoveredwithplasticwrapsothat
theplasticwrapistouchingthesurfaceoftheicing.Icingthatisexposedtoair
willturnhardquicklyandyouwon’tbeabletouseit.
Youcanstoreroyalicinginthefridgeforafewdays.
Candy,Candy,Candy!
Theprojectsinthisbookhavesuggestionsofwhatcandytousesothatyour
houselooksthesameastheoneinthephoto.Butifyouhaveanideafora
differentcolororshapeofcandyforthehouseyou’remaking,goforit!Thebest
partofmakinggingerbreadhousesisusingyourimaginationandplayingwith
differentcandiestocomeupwithacooldesignthat’sallyourown.Youcanuse
anycandyyouwant,withoneexception:taffy.Aftertaffyisunwrapped,itwill
eventually“melt”andrundownthesidesofyourhouse.Trustme—itdoesn’t
lookgood!
Nowthatyouknowsometipsandtricksandimportantinformation,gohave
somefun,becreative,andbuildsomereallycoolno-bakegingerbreadhouses.
Demoversionlimitation
MetricConversionChart
VolumeMeasurements WeightMeasurements TemperatureConversion
U.S.
Metric
U.S.
Metric
U.S.
Metric
1teaspoon
5ml
1/2ounce
15g
250
120
1tablespoon
15ml
1ounce
30g
300
150
1/4cup
60ml
3ounces
90g
325
160
1/3cup
75ml
4ounces
115g
350
180
1/2cup
125ml
8ounces
225g
375
190
2/3cup
150ml
12ounces
350g
400
200
3/4cup
175ml
1pound
450g
425
220
1cup
250ml
2-1/4pounds
1kg
450
230
