Is it a Gingerbread House Without Gingerbread?

I have tried for years to make architecturally accurate gingerbread houses with no success. My precision cut Frank Lloyd Wright shapes morph into Salvador Dali-esque blobs in the oven.   The kits never satisfy, we always have to get more candy and more icing. And the actual house part may be technically edible, but it’s not very tasty.

My solution? Cocoa Krispies! Nice color, barely any cooking, tasty, lightweight, and best of all, fast and easy. I need to save my energy for the clean up.

You really need to use Royal Icing to assemble a house. Canned frosting isn’t made to dry rock hard. You can use fresh egg whites, but I keep a canister of dried on hand. They might seem a bit pricey, but not only are you not throwing away the yolk, but you can also use them to make meringue cookies, or shells, or just more royal icing!

Royal Icing 1

3 tablespoons dried egg whites/meringue powder
4 cups powdered sugar
½ cup warm water (add more if you need it thinner)

Royal Icing 2

4 egg whites, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

In both cases, combine ingredients and beat 7-10 minutes. If desired, you can add up to ½ tsp of flavoring such as almond, vanilla, lemon… Scoop it directly into a zip top bag for piping.

And what about the candy? Well, the sky is truly the limit. Big marshmallows make great snowmen. Ice cream cones make trees. Just thin out some of the icing, roll the cone, then roll it in colored sugar. I have used Wheatabix and Shredded Wheat for roofing material, and although it looked cool, it got thumbs down for taste. Lightly toasted or tinted coconut works, but my kids seem just to prefer to cover the whole thing with candy.

This is also a great activity for holiday gatherings if you want the kids doing something besides playing video games. Hire a teen-age supervisor and enjoy your party!