Thanksgiving “Gingerbread” House

With Halloween only 10 days away, I am already bracing for the candy craze that will follow!  If you are like me, and wondering what you are going to do with all of that leftover candy, I have got you covered.  I have teamed up with a few of my blogging buddies to bring you some creative {and yummy!} ways to use up your stash…
 
Halloween Bark / Fall “Gingerbread” House / Peanut Butter Cups and Pretzel Brownies
  Almond Joy Cupcakes / Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats / Ice Cream Sundae Bar

I know at my house, our favorite candy and chocolate bars are usually eaten within the first couple of days.  We are then left with a bunch of random candy that we may or may not even like.   I always hate throwing things out {and my kids are even less happy about this!}, but I don’t really want my kids eating a bunch of sugar that they don’t even really love.   So…I thought that it would be fun to come up with a creative project that they could use their candy for and not necessarily have to eat it!

The boys always love making gingerbread houses at Christmas time so why not do a Thanksgiving {or fall!} house?  We never really eat our houses that we build so the candy gets used and the sugar stays out!  It’s a win-win! 🙂



Ingredients

• Graham crackers {7 for each house}
• Store bought chocolate frosting {or you could go here if you want to make your own royal icing}
• Cream of Tartar {about 1/2 – 1 tsp per cup of store bought frosting to make it stick better}
• Leftover Halloween candy – get creative and use whatever your have!  We used Kit Kat bars {sliced in half length wise}, caramels {sliced}, candy corn, jelly beans, Skittles, M&Ms, gummy pumpkins, tootsie rolls and some oatmeal for the ground covering.
  
  

Directions

• Mix 1 cup of chocolate frosting with about 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar {this will do about 2-3 houses depending on how much icing you use}.  If you are having trouble with the icing not sticking, add a little more cream of tartar.  Place the icing in an icing bag.  {If you don’t have an icing bag, you can use a Ziploc and just snip off the corner of one of the bottom corners.}
• To form the base of the house, pipe icing down the sides of 2 graham crackers.  Add the sides to one of them and then add the second one to form a square.
  
• Place one graham cracker in the microwave for approximately 20 seconds to soften and then use a bread knife to cut it in half diagonally to form 2 triangles for the front and back of the roof.   Pipe icing down the sides of the 2 remaining graham crackers and along the front and back of the house {for the triangles}.  Add the triangles and then top with the two remaining graham crackers.
• I sliced a Kit Kat in half and and added it along the peak of the roof but it is not needed.  You can always pipe a little more icing along the peak to help with stability if you don’t have a Kit Kat.
• Let the house harden for approximately 30 minutes before decorating.
• Let your kids go crazy decorating their houses!  If you want to make doors or windows from extra graham crackers, place them in the microwave like you did to form the triangles and cut down with the bread knife using a sawing motion.
  
  
  Don’t forget to check out all of the other fabulous ideas too to make the best out of all of that left over Halloween candy!
  Halloween Bark / Fall “Gingerbread” House / Peanut Butter Cups and Pretzel Brownies
    Almond Joy Cupcakes / Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats / Ice Cream Sundae Bar
  

 I shared this post with Home Stories A to Z, Uncommon, I Should be Mopping the Floor, 30 Days, Design Dining and Diapers, The Frugal Girls, Tidy Mom, Stone Gable and Savvy Southern Style.