Gingerbread Houses are a part of the holidays This one is different. It requires no baking. Think Rice Krispy Treats® for the holidays. We use flavored Rice Krispy Treat® mixture for the walls, roof, door, trees, and any other structures. I use the regular recipe on the cereal or marshmallow package.
When the margarine and marshmallows are melted, I add a package of flavored gelatin or instant pudding for color and flavor. For the houses I have three batches: 1) lime gelatin for green, 2) cherry gelatin for red, and 3) chocolate pudding for brown.
Stir in the cereal. Line a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray. Pour the mixture into the pan. Cover the mixture with a second sheet of parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray. Use the rolling pin to roll the mixture to the same thickness. Use firm pressure when rolling. Let the mixture set until firm, chill if desired.
We make the sides of the house from the brown mixture. We use copy paper to make the pattern for the house. Fold a piece of copy paper lengthwise. Then fold about 1/3 of it back along the length. This will create two long sides and two shorter pieces for the front and back.
Cut two triangles from copy paper, and put these along the short edge. These will be the peaks of the front and back. Use the pizza cutter to cut out the sides front and back.
Now let’s measure for the roof. The roof needs to be the length of the long side, plus extra for the overhang. The height of the roof will be same as the peak of the front, plus extra for the overhang. Here’s what we did, using the pieces and copy paper to make the pattern.
Lay Roof Pieces 1 and 2 on the red mixture.
Now the real fun begins.
Jayde and Jordyn spread the roof pieces with royal icing to place Rice Chex® cereal “shingles.”
The completed roof pieces even have snow on the shingles.
Now the girls decorate the front, back, and two sides with candies, bells, holly, and an open door.
We use royal icing on each edge to position and hold the front, back, and sides together.
Jayde and Jordyn have the house together.
Now we just finish the decorating with more icing and candy.
