This is the BEST Gingerbread Icing! It helps to stick everything together and holds it just like glue! You’ll make the prettiest gingerbread houses with this glue in your hand!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Nestlé Butterfinger & SweeTARTS. The opinions and text are all mine.
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Growing up I don’t remember making gingerbread houses. I don’t know that I ever thought too much about them until a few years ago. My kids started asking if they could make gingerbread houses and my mom was getting into the game when we would see her for Christmas. Every year they make them and the project is all about them and making sure they’re having a good time.
This year? This year I got into the game! Nestlé came to me and asked if I’d be interested in working with them to make a gingerbread house and I was SO excited! I really wanted to make a gingerbread house that was mine! When the kids are making theirs I will offer suggestions if they’re stuck but it’s all about them and their vision and sneaking bites of the candy! This gingerbread house was my chance to get creative and of course sneak the candy before it found it’s way onto the house!
This partnership turned out to be a huge Christmas present for me! My job gets really busy this time of year which happens to be a really busy time of year in my family too! I know. I know. It’s like that for everyone! That’s why I’m excited to tell you all about this secret I discovered! Making a gingerbread house, if you do it the right way, is as relaxing as those adult coloring books!!! Just sitting there having fun making something pretty with no pressure! The trick is to make it as simple as possible!! That’s where Nestlé candies and I come in!
I start by using a kit! I found a kit that came with the house pre-assembled! This is life changing! I have zero patience for building the house itself. I wanted a fun project I could do that would be relaxing so I went simple! I pulled the house out and tossed the rest! I wanted the ease of the kit but I had some really great candy to use and I don’t want my gingerbread house to look like the one on the box. To really get the relaxing benefit out of this exercise you will want to use the good stuff to decorate. Trust me! Snacking on Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups Minis and SweeTARTS Soft & Chewy Ropes make this the best me time you’ll spend.
Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups Minis were my first candy to sample. I’m the one that steals the Butterfingers from my kids at Halloween! These have a smooth texture with pieces of the crunchy Butterfinger filling mixed in then topped with milk chocolate! SO. AMAZING! Next up were the SweeTART Soft & Chewy Ropes! I’d never tried them before so I had to give them a shot! They’re cherry flavored licorice rope and have a tart center so you get the sweet and tart flavor of SweeTarts! I really love that both of these guys have no artificial flavor or colors!
The next step to the easiest gingerbread house is using the best gingerbread icing ever! I love how simple it is! It’s only 3 ingredients and I always have them on hand! This recipe is for a normal sized batch but we made 2 batches because we go overboard with icing! Lots and lots of icing! I love this recipe because it’s thick and sticky! It will hold all those yummy candies right where you want them with no frustration!
My husband quickly got in on the gingerbread action with me. We got to work while the kids were at school. Don’t worry though, they have their own to decorate too! We’re just waiting for a snow day or the weekend, which ever comes first! Casey and I really had fun working together on this house and we’re both super happy with the way it turned out! Let me take you on a tour!
We started with the roof. We love Christmas lights on our house and that’s always the first thing to go up on our house so we wanted to do something similar on our gingerbread house. We used the SweeTARTS Soft & Chewy Ropes and the SweeTARTS Mini chewy candies to make our little lights. These are super cute for kids to give as a quick present. They even have a gift tag right on the box.
We also used the Frosty Nerds to decorate the top of the roof and the top of the door. I love the color that it adds to the roof!
I made a Christmas Wreath for the front of the house using a sugar cookie, green icing and some red Nerds to decorate. We have a giant wreath in the same place on my house too. I think there’s a pattern here! It wasn’t even intentional!
We used the PixyStix Candy Canes on the sides of the front of the house. It reminds me of a candy house from a fairy tale! We put them in the Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups Minis to help them stay up and I love it! Check out that Butterfinger mat on the ground? It’s super cute right! My husband made that!
On the side we made a few Christmas trees out of sugar cones. I covered them in frosting and then we used the SweeTART Soft & Chewy Ropes as garland and cut some up in small squares to make large ornaments. I also used the Frosty Nerds as smaller ornaments on the trees!
I’m so happy with how my gingerbread house turned out! My youngest monkey was so excited when he saw it! His exact words were “Wow! That’s epic!!” I call that a total mom win! You can pick up all the candy you need at major stores nationwide so it’ll be super easy to make your own gingerbread house!
The BEST Gingerbread Icing
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tsp Almond extract optional
- 5 cups of confectioners' sugar have more to thicken if needed
Instructions
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whisk the egg whites in a stand mixer until frothy
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add in almond extract if using
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slowly pour in confectioners' sugar on low speed, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically
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once all the sugar has been combined increase the speed of the mixer to high and whisk for 7 to 10 minutes
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stiff peaks should form and when you run a knife through you should see the path of the knife hold
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fill a piping bag and use immediately
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if storing put into an airtight container and lay plastic wrap on the top of the icing to keep air off of it. This will prevent a crust from forming.
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Jane Taylor says
Hi I dont know how old your posting is or if you will respond but ….I thought your gingerbread house was terrific and I may swipe a few of your ideas. You have obviously done this many times. This will be my first. Tried a kit from Michael’s and well it sucked. Can you share how you made the roof over the door and what you used for the chimney. Loved those touches. Also can I color the icing with liquid coloring and just add extra icing ? Thanks in advance and Happy Holidays.
Aubrey Cota says
They are both just pieces of a gingerbread cookie. The roof over the door is constructed much like the roof with just a few more added embellishments and lots of icing, same goes for the chimney. It’s just one cookie cut our and icing is added to make it look like a chimney, sometimes you will have extra pieces from other sections that have to be cut down and that’s when you can add these fun little details.