Rainbow Sprinkle Gingerbread House
Make a Rainbow Sprinkle Gingerbread House this year. Not only is it whimsical and eye-catching, but it’s easier to make than you might think!
There might not be a better year to make this whimsical Rainbow Sprinkle Gingerbread House than 2020. In fact, I had to prepare a second one just so my kids could devour it because I couldn’t part with this one. It makes me smile every time I walk near where it is displayed in our kitchen.
Rainbow Sprinkle Gingerbread House
Gather your ingredients:
- Gingerbread house- Purchase a kit or prepare the pieces at home. For best results, purchase an unassembled house.
- Royal Icing- Repurpose the icing that comes in the store-bought kit. Trust us on this. Make our Gingerbread House Icing (recipe below). It dries completely firm. Your house will not fall apart!
- Rainbow sprinkles- We used about 2 cups of nonpareil sprinkles for decorating (discard the excess).
- Candy- Gather whatever colorful candies you would like.
- Gingerbread cookies- We used store-bought gingerbread men and Grandma’s Gingerbread Spritz for the trees.
Gingerbread House Icing
Have you ever tried to prepare a gingerbread house only to have it fall apart midway through? First, repurpose the icing that came with your store-bought gingerbread house kit. It is likely a powdered sugar glaze that was not really meant to hold up a heavy structure. Try smothering it on cinnamon rolls or drizzling it on top of graham crackers.
Next, prepare our Gingerbread House Icing (printable recipe card below). It will dry firm and will hold up to the hefty sprinkle-covered gingerbread house pieces.
Attach the Sprinkles
We suggest spreading the icing on the gingerbread cookies and house pieces for the best results, then dipping them into the sprinkles. This can get messy! Let all of the gingerbread house sections and cookies dry before assembling. The suggested drying time is at least 2 hours (overnight is best).
This gets trickier if your gingerbread house came preassembled, but it’s not impossible. You will spread icing over one section of the house at a time before holding the house over a large bowl and pouring sprinkles over it. You may need to do this in batches while allowing the icing to dry on some sections before moving on to others.
Build a Sturdy Gingerbread House
Once your gingerbread house pieces are covered with sprinkles and the icing has dried firm, you can begin assembly.
- Construct the base of the house. Use a piping bag or decorating bottle full of Gingerbread House Icing to pipe a line of icing on each end that will be touching together. Form the rectangle or square base of your house. Hold in place for several minutes. Use drinking glasses, water bottles, or soda cans placed inside the base (and outside as needed) to prop up the walls until they are set.
- Meanwhile, pipe icing along seams of the roof pieces. Hold in place until firm enough to use glasses, bottles, or cans for propping up the roof pieces.
- Allow the base and the roof to firm up for at least 1 hour.
When ready to attach the roof to the base, pipe icing along the top of every base piece and along the bottom of every roof piece that will be touching. Let dry until completely firm. Decorate with more icing and candies as desired!
Baker’s Tip:
Don’t be afraid to use a lot of icing while constructing the Rainbow Sprinkle Gingerbread House. When it dries it will look like snow! You can also cover up any messy seams with more icing and candies when the house construction is finished.
Rainbow Sprinkle Gingerbread House
Ingredients
- 1 gingerbread house
- 2 cups rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
- candies and cookies for decorations
Gingerbread House Icing
- 3 Tablespoons meringue powder
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract, (or half vanilla, half almond extract)
- 8-10 Tablespoons warm water, separated
Instructions
Gingerbread House Icing
- Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a hand mixer), BEAT the meringue powder, extract, and about half of the warm water until foamy (1-2 minutes).
- ADD in the powdered sugar. Continue beating while slowly drizzling in the rest of the warm water. Stiff peaks will form in 7-10 minutes of beating on medium speed.
- Slowly add more water 1 teaspoon at a time if the icing is too stiff. Slowly add more powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time if the icing is too thin.
Rainbow Sprinkle Gingerbread House
- Using an offset spatula, SPREAD the icing on the gingerbread house pieces. Dip into sprinkles. Let dry.
- COVER the extra icing when not using to prevent it from crusting up. It can remain at room temperature as long as it is covered.
- STIR in more powdered sugar if needed to create a sturdy construction icing. The consistency should be a little bit firmer than glue.
- ASSEMBLE the gingerbread house. Add extra candies, cookies, and frosting as desired.
Notes
If you have a gingerbread house template, you can use Grandma’s Gingerbread Spritz recipe to make homemade gingerbread house dough. The recipe does not have a leavening agent, so it will not spread. Baking times will vary depending on the size of your house pieces. Err on the side of overbaked (you don’t want a soft gingerbread house).
Sip a Gingerbread Steamer while you wait for your house to set up nice and firm.
Get some Gingerbread inspiration by following my I eat Gingerbread Pinterest Board.
One Comment on “Rainbow Sprinkle Gingerbread House”
This is the cutest!!! love how colorful it is.