Straight To The Gingerbread House Recipe

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Sarah, my twelve-year-old, still rubbing sleep from her eyes, helped me cover our dining room floor with the protective plastic sheeting. “Now let’s line up the tables,” I instructed, first taking a sip of coffee. Soon our dining area had been transformed into a workspace suitable for ten of Sarah’s soon to arrive homeschooling girlfriends.

Promptly, at 9:00 a.m. the girls began arriving for our annual home school gingerbread house party, fully equipped and ready to build with one box of Graham Crackers, a box of powdered sugar, two or more bags of candy for sharing, a flat foil-covered piece of cardboard for the foundation and a sack lunch.

As the girls chose their workspace and set up their building material the dining room was happily filled with their chatter and giggles. When I said, “Let’s start with prayer,” every head bowed. “Lord, thank you for this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Bless this fun time together, and may we all bring glory and honor to your name as we work together. Oh, and Lord, a special thank you and blessing for these two brave moms who volunteered to stay and help.”

I began by cracking eggs, separating the white from the yolk then slowing adding the sugar and cream of tartar – whipping bowl after bowl of the sticky white icing that holds the Graham cracker gingerbread houses together. My volunteer moms helped by spooning the fluffy icing into Baggies, (our makeshift cake decorators) snipping off a corner and distributing them among the girls.

Despite the constant whir of the mixer I heard their cries for help, “My crackers won’t stick together.” “My Graham crackers keep breaking.”

“The trick is to liberally gob icing on the edge of both crackers then let it dry for a minute before sticking them together,”

One of the girls cleverly suggested, “Trying icing with your fingers. It worked for me.”

Soon graham cracker pieces covered the tables and the floor like discarded pieces of lumber and sawdust as each girl worked tirelessly – icing, laughing, decorating and helping each other when someone’s creation came tumbling down or a roof collapsed. The camaraderie, love, and laughter that filled the room was just the encouragement I needed to continue separating eggs, measuring and mixing – seemingly never-ending bowls of the sticky icing.

Then the bartering began. “I’ll trade you three peppermint sticks for three licorice whips.”

“Who’ll trade some of their jelly beans for my red hots?”

Candy crunched beneath my feet, my back ached and gooey icing was up to my elbows, but I did stop once in a while to take pictures. Next thing I knew my dining room was a picturesque winter wonderland filled with snow covered mansions, churches, candy stores and cottages with licorice framed doorways, stained glass (colorful Christmas candies) windows, peppermint & jellybean lined sidewalks, gumdrop trees and chimneys billowing with cotton ball smoke. Each creation was as individual as its builder, evidence of the diversity of our creator.

The building project completed, the girls headed for the picnic table in the backyard and hungrily devoured their sack lunches, despite the many graham cracker and candy snacks they’d all indulged in. Everyone helped clean up, the girls posed with their creations for final photos and it was over all too soon. But there was always the next year to look forward to.

The Gingerbread House Recipe:

3 egg whites (room temperature works best)

1 pound powdered (Confectioners) sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 box of graham crackers

2 - 3 bags of hard candies, gum drops, and sprinkles