Show Your Brooklyn Pride With A Brownstone Gingerbread House

Gingerbread crafts are one of those seasonal pastimes that we both love and loathe. Sure they’re adorable, but how many times have you cursed the heavens after trying (for the umpteenth time) to balance those flimsy gingerbread walls against each other?

The kids get frustrated. You get frustrated. It’s the opposite of a jolly holiday.

Don’t stress! We’ve got a fun and simple gingerbread — okay, graham cracker — brownstone project, that is sure to bring a smile to the faces of everybody involved.

First, dig through your recyclables for an empty box (like the above Triscuit box). This will be used to support the structure. Next pull together whatever candy you’d like to decorate with, some graham crackers (an easy substitute for gingerbread), cake frosting, writing gel, and some powdered sugar.

Cover all but the bottom of your box with a thick layer of frosting. Be generous with that frosting. Very generous. This is what will hold the graham crackers in place.

Position the graham crackers — your brownstone — on top of the frosting. Three rows of crackers fit perfectly on our Triscuit box, but it’s easy to trim the crackers to size if you need more or less.

Pipe more frosting around the edges to give your brownstone a classy little trim. If you don’t have a piping bag, put frosting inside a ziplock bag, trim a tiny bit of the corner off, and you’ll get a similar result.

Once the trim is finished, grab some writing gel to sketch our your doors and windows.

Pick out your favorite candies to add a little holiday cheer to the brownstone. We used Snow Caps on the roof, SweeTarts Minis for Christmas lights, and Twizzlers Pull ‘n’ Peel Watermelon for the garland and wreath. Let the kids’ imaginations go wild!

As a final touch, sprinkle a little powdered sugar snow over the top. Now, just sit back and marvel at your festive — and very Brooklyn — brownstone gingerbread house.

Did you make a brownstone gingerbread house with the kids? Share it with us! Email editor@bklyner.com, and we will post pictures to the site.