How to Make Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses
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Decorating gingerbread houses is a fun holiday tradition, and now it’s even easier with this simple step-by-step tutorial for How to Make Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses – quick, easy, and perfect for school classrooms, large groups, or at home with your family!
I’ve been making Honey Maid graham cracker gingerbread houses for my boys every year since my oldest son was two years old (that’s nine years for those of you who are counting!), so I’ve had a LOT of practice when it comes to making these! Each year we get together with our friends and classmates to decorate gingerbread houses, and it has become one of my favorite holiday traditions. Holiday baking and decorating is always more fun when you do it with friends!
What You’ll Need:
- Honey Maid Graham Crackers – 5 per house
- Royal Icing (see recipe below – eggs, confectioners sugar & cream of tartar)
- Paper Plate or Cardboard
- Bread Knife or Serrated Knife
- Disposable Piping Bag
- Assorted Candy, Pretzels, Dried Fruit, Etc. for Decorating
I always allow my boys the creative freedom to decorate their houses however they choose, so we only have ONE rule for making an awesome gingerbread house – always, always, ALWAYS use Honey Maid graham crackers! (Seriously, trust me on this one!) The Honey Maid graham crackers are sturdier, flatter and much easier to cut than any of the other competitors (not to mention they taste a lot better, too!).
To begin, cut four graham crackers into Shape A by using a bread knife to remove 1/4 of the cracker. Save the smaller excess pieces for snacking (I’ve got a yummy recipe for those below!)! Cut the corners off of two of the crackers (using the center lines as your guides) to create Shape B. You should end up with two Shape A crackers and two Shape B crackers.
Cut another graham cracker in half to form two Shape C pieces.
Next, whip up a batch of royal icing: You’ll need 3 cups of powdered sugar, 2 eggs whites and 1/4 tsp of Cream of Tartar. Whip the egg whites until frothy, add the other ingredients, and whip for 7-9 minutes until the volume has increased and the icing holds stiff peaks. Put your icing into a disposable piping bag.
To assemble the gingerbread house, start by piping a line of icing along the bottom of Shape C and adhering it to a paper plate or cardboard base. Pipe three lines of icing on Shape B – along the bottom, and just inside both edges. Carefully join Shape B to Shape C while also attaching Shape B to the paper plate at the same time. This will ensure a strong bond and make for a sturdy gingerbread house. I find that the kids can decorate their houses much easier when they can lift up the plates and move the houses around without worrying that they will fall apart or tip over.
Repeat the process for the other two walls.
Make sure that everything is lined up properly, and give the edges a gentle squeeze to ensure that everything will hold together.
Allow the icing to set up for a few minutes before applying the roof. I generally make anywhere from 10-30 of these houses at a time, so I usually assemble all of the bases like this first, and then go back and add the roofs as the final step.
Run a length of icing up and down the peak of the tall Shape B walls, and add two of the Shape A pieces to create the roof.
If desired, add another line of icing along the peak of the roof for added strength and stability (plus, it looks pretty cute, too!). Allow the icing to set up for at least 30-60 minutes before decorating. (Note: I usually make our gingerbread houses the night before so that the icing has time to fully harden overnight.)
In the meantime, while you’re waiting for the icing to set, remember those leftover graham cracker pieces you saved? I’ve got just the recipe for them!
What You’ll Need:
Bowl #1:
- 8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 Graham Crackers, crumbled, or 8 mini sticks if you're using the house leftovers!
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 1/2 tbsp Vanilla
Bowl #2:
- 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp White Sugar
Instructions:
- In a stand mixer, whip cream cheese, brown sugar, graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- In another bowl, follow the directions from Living Better Together to combine heavy whipping cream, vanilla and both sugars into perfect homemade whipped cream.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
- Top with additional graham cracker crumbs for garnish. Serve with graham cracker sticks and sliced apples for dipping.
- Keep refrigerated for up to three days.
This year we decorated our graham cracker gingerbread houses with one of our homeschool groups, and the boys had a ton of fun! We met at a local park and set out all kinds of different ingredients for the kids to decorate their pre-assembled houses.
The kids used red licorice, hard candies, gumdrops, gummi bears, butter mints, candy-coated chocolates, cinnamon toast cereal, and marshmallow Christmas trees to decorate their houses, and they looked awesome!
The kids were having so much fun that I joined in and decorated a gingerbread house of my own this year, too!
My favorite part is this cute little butter mint snowman and his gummi bear slice nose!
Decorating gingerbread houses is a fun holiday tradition, and it’s SO simple to make your own delicious houses with Honey Maid graham crackers (bonus: there’s a printable coupon available right now for you to save $0.50 when you buy one Honey Maid Grahams – 12.2 oz. or larger). How will you be decorating your gingerbread house this year?
Heidi Kundin has captivated the hearts of millions with her colorful and inspiring approach to crafting, celebrations, and family fun. With over 15 years of experience, Heidi’s website has become a must-visit destination for those seeking quick and easy creative ideas and last-minute solutions. Her warm personality shines through her posts, inviting readers to join her on a creative journey that’s fun, rewarding, and achievable.
Super easy and fun, the grown ups had as much fun as the kids. They also tasted great, for the kids and adults as well.
I had a heck of a time cutting the end pieces so i made those out of a “sturdy gingerbread recipe” , sizing them to work with the graham crackers which i used for the roof and sides. MUCH less baking, and the lighter crackers were so much easier to deal with especially for the roof. Thank you for this!
Thank you for this recipe. I will be at a place where I can’t make the icing on site – it is a corporate team building event. Do you have a recommendation for pre-made royal icing and how many ounces.? We will have 8 teams making gingerbread motifs – so probably on a 9 x 13-inch piece of cardboard. Thank you for any advice
Thank you for posting this blog! My littles were bored and begging to make a gingerbread house. I don’t bake. So yeah, this was an amazing find for me. We made some minor adjustments to make our house a little bigger since I only had one pack of non crashed graham crackers… and three kids to decorate lol. Viola! I think we did pretty good though, the icing was awesome! Thank you for saving this mama of three bored boys today!
Thanks for the instructions! I got 3 gingerbread houses put together last night and that icing recipe is superb! It’s holding the graham together like concrete.
Many thanks!
Approximately how many houses does one batch of royal icing make? We are planning on using this recipe for a class of 22 TK students. Thank you!!!!
Hi,
I am so happy I found your website! My daughter’s 7th birthday is this weekend and I plan on making these houses with the kids for her Christmas-themed party.
Question: do I need to put a tip on the icing bag to make a fine enough line to glue the houses, or will it come out good enough straight from the bag? Your picture of the icing bag doesn’t show what the tip looks like.
Thanks,
Monica
Are these edible? Just wondering for the small kiddos
Absolutely, Kathy!
Hi Heidi,
How long do you let the icing sit to come to room temperature after refrigerating? Thank you!
Can I make the icing the day before and if I do how do I store it. I plan to make the houses on Monday with my class and would like to make the icing on Sunday. Also, you mentioned in an above post that the one batch of icing can make around 25 houses. Is that correct?
Hi Jeanne,
I have made the icing the night before and stored it in the refrigerator overnight (already loaded in piping bags with the tips still unsnipped). You will need to let the bag warm a bit and get closer to room temperature before snipping the tips off of the icing bags and using them, but they work just as well. 🙂
Thank you!. That will be perfect!
Just finished assembling the houses. Planning to decorate them this evening. What is the best way to store icing for decorating for about 7 hours, room temperature or refrigerator? Thanks for the easy to follow instructions. Planning to decorate them with my folks, it should be fun!
I usually store mine in the refrigerator and then bring it back to room temperature before using it again. Have fun, and happy holidays! 🙂
I tried this last night but the crackers kept breaking on me. Any advice on getting a clean cut? Thank you!
Hi Maria,
I use a knife that has a very finely serrated edge to it or a bread knife, and slowly saw back and forth with minimal pressure on the cracker until it breaks along the serrated cut line. It does sometimes take a few tries before you get the technique down, but once you do, it should go smoothly.
Do you recommend using the royal icing for attaching the candies, or regular frosting from a jar? We’re doing this with 34 5th graders on Friday, I’m trying to simplify…thanks!
So sorry that I got this message after Friday, Jen! I hope that it went well! I usually recommend the royal icing for children of that age since they can handle the piping bags fairly well, and the royal icing tends to have a stronger grip to adhere heavier candies than jarred frosting does.
I made the mistake of cutting all the pieces the week before forgetting graham crackers soften as they get stale. Do you think this will be a problem? Should I just make them a week ahead or will it be ok next week to “glue” them? Man they are hard to cut!! 🙂
Approximately how many houses will 1 batch of icing glue together? Thinking of doing this with my EC students. Thanks!
I usually make around 20 houses, and we have lots of icing left over, so I can’t say for sure, but at least 25 or more!
How did you transport so many houses already put together on plates?
I usually transport them inside of a large box or two. I carefully place the plates on the bottom of the box and place them close together so that they don’t have room to move around. 🙂
Is the same icing recipe the one you use for the next day, to glue the candy to it?
Yes, it is!
I made these with my grandkids the other night and they came out very nice! I even goofed up! When making the icing I added the egg whites right to the sugar, forgetting to beat them separately first and they still came out great! Your idea of “gluing” the sides of the house to the paper plates was genius! Thanks!
I’m so glad to hear that it worked out well for you, Linda! 🙂
I would like to make the graham cracker gingerbread houses with my girl scouts. I have one girl allergic to eggs. Is there any other way to make the royal icing without eggs?
Thank you,
Wendy
There is a product called EnerG egg replacer; that should do the trick! I use it to substitute for eggs all the time and my pastries turn out better than expected. Hope that helps! (Even if the question is over a year old.)
http://www.ener-g.com/egg-replacer.html
My mother always made these using sugar as the glue. Melt some white sugar in a hot fry pan (take it off the heat almost as soon as it starts to melt so it doesn’t burn!) and dip the edges of the crackers into the molten sugar. This is not a kid-safe activity but it sure glued the graham cracker pieces together well!