Gingerbread houses using purchased kits are amazing! I decided that I wanted a more natural look this year. Instead of candy canes and gumdrops I decided to use nuts, spices, and greenery from my yard.
We had such a great time using gingerbread house kits purchased from Trader Joe’s along with more natural accents and a ton of powdered sugar.
We started by sifting powdered sugar all over each piece, then we rubbed the sugar into the textures to make them stand out. My daughter tiled the roof with slice almonds while I spent the same amount of time trying to figure out how to arrange the rosemary on the tree.
While out running in 16°F temperatures, I came across a garbage can out on the curb for collection. It was filled with branches from a juniper bush. The blue gray berries were perfect. I completed my run, jumped in my car with a bag and cutters and rummaged through this fine selection of clippings. BEST. FIND. EVER.
Cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, nuts, cedar, and pinecones.
Our gingerbread houses were finished with a fresh dusting of powdered sugar/snow.
P.S. I probably should have taken pictures of the house my son decorated using the candy from the gingerbread house kit. The house was adorned with a child holding the head of the dog that fell off and accented with red sprinkles for blood…There’s always one child that can’t conform. Why break tradition?
Did you use any spray adhesive when applying the POWDERED sugar to the almonds?
I did not, but that’s a wonderful idea!
Just curious if you hotglued the almonds? I can’t see any frosting and don’t really care about it being edible but wondered what you used to hold it together. Beautiful work!
Thank you so much. Hot glue all the way!! It just made sense to use hot glue since we were not planning on eating the houses. I did use some royal icing on the line of one of the rooftops to look like snow.
I just saw these on pinterest…omgoodness, so pretty!! thank you for the inspiration!! Happy holidays!
You’re so kind. I hope you have the time to make some. They were so much fun to make.
These are so beautiful!
Thank you so much! I just love having them on my table. You’re so kind to comment.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-kitchen/articles/pass-the-cheese-and-cracker-house
Thanks for sharing. I saw this on Tv Last Week and this is what I want to do with my Adult children but i am going to make it a “wHole Foods” Gluten Free version as my son and his girlfriend are organic Portland people.
Hi Allene, Love the cheese and cracker house. I understand dietary needs. I have Vegan’s from Seattle. It’s all good and we make it work. Merry Christmas.