Nutty Gingerbread House

• Vegetarian

• Baking & Spices

  • 3 tbsp Meringue, powder
  • 4 cups Powdered sugar

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 1 Diamond of california finely diced walnuts and chopped walnuts
  • 1 Diamond of california pine nuts
  • 1 Diamond of california pistachios
  • 1 Diamond of california shelled pecans
  • 1 Diamond of california sliced almonds
  • 1 Diamond of california whole almonds
  • 1 Diamond of diamond of california cashews

• Bread & Baked Goods

  • 1 Gingerbread 'glue' *see recipe below

• Snacks

  • 6 Graham crackers
  • 1 Pretzel sticks

• Dairy

  • 1 Empty butter box

• Liquids

  • 4 tbsp Water

Found on thefirstyearblog.com

Description

Ingredients

• Empty butter box, per house
• 6 graham crackers, per house
• Gingerbread glue *see recipe below
• Diamond of California pine nuts
• Diamond of California shelled pecans
• Diamond of California finely diced walnuts and chopped walnuts
• Diamond of California sliced almonds
• Diamond of California pistachios
• Diamond of Diamond of California cashews
• Diamond of California whole almonds
• Pretzel sticks
• Additional: cotton ball for smoke, fire colored sprinkles, sprinkles to decorate snowman, brown food coloring, sanding sugar to give the snow a sparkly feel
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp meringue powder
• 4-5 tbsp water, start with less to see if the consistency is right

Directions

• Gingerbread glue In a mixing bowl combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and 4 tbsp of water. Use an electric mixer to beat the icing until smooth. Add more water, if needed, however you dont have the frosting to be runny, you want it to be thick but sticky. House Cover the front and back sides of the butter box (the long sides) with a full graham cracker. Use glue to secure. Cover the left and right ends with a half graham cracker. Use glue to secure. Use 2 full graham crackers to create a triangle roof, secure with glue. Cut 2 triangle graham crackers and secure on the ends of roof. Allow the gingerbread house to set, so the glue has time to harden, ensuring that the house is nice and sturdy for decorating. You could make the houses in a few days in advance. Secure the house to a sturdy, flat surface. Add pine nut stones to all 4 sides of the house, working one side at a time so the glue doesnt dry out. Use pretzel sticks to create a front door. Add a nut door handle. Create round windows using cashews on the back of the house. Use a paintbrush and a very small amount of brown gel food coloring to paint some of the pine nut stones a darker color. Add pecan shingles to the roof. Start at the bottom of the roof and work your way to the top, so the shingles are slightly layered on top of each other. Add pretzel window detailing on the 2 triangle shaped graham crackers that are on the ends of the roof. Layer pecans on top of each other to create a chimney. Add a wisp of smoke from a cotton ball. Use finely diced walnuts to create a side walk. Line the edges of the side walk with larger walnut pieces. Create pistachio pine trees by layering pistachios and frosting until you get your desired shape of a tree. Form 3 balls from the frosting/glue to create a snowman. Using sprinkles, add a carrot nose, eyes, and stick arms. Use whole almonds to add a stack of almond logs. Use broken pretzel sticks, a few almond slices, and red, yellow and orange sprinkles to create a fire pit. Finish filling in the yard with snow, sprinkle with white sanding sugar to give the effect of sparkly snow.