HOUSE 1

TO MAKE EACH HOUSE:
Prepare icing: Squeeze small amount (about 3 tablespoons) white icing from tube into small bowl; tint icing with instant coffee powder to match color of tea cookies. Place icing in small zip-lock bag; seal; cut small hole in bottom comer.

Floor and Side Walls: Pipe line of colored icing down both long edges of one tea cookie. Place cookie, smooth-side down, on work surface with short side facing you. Press second and third tea cookies, one on each side and smooth sides in, against icing so they stand perpendicular to base. Hold in place 1 minute; set aside to dry about 5 minutes until almost set

End walls: Using tip of small sharp knife, mark midpoint on one short end of fourth cookie. Working from same end, count down 6 notches on each side of cookie, mark. Connect each side mark with midpoint mark by using ruler and drawing line with tip of knife to form triangular gable. Using serrated knife, cut carefully through cookie along lines; discard small cookie pieces. Repeat with fifth cookie. Pipe colored icing down sides and across floor just inside each end of house; working with one end wall at a time, very carefully place in position (smooth side in) over icing, disturbing side walls as little as possible. Hold walls in place 1 minute, set house aside to dry 15 minutes.

Roof: Decorate sixth and seventh cookies for roof as desired. Dot with icing and attach small candies for "tiles" or attach rolled-out gumdrops, cut to fit; or spread with white icing almost to edge and sprinkle with multicolored nonpareils or colored sugar. Set aside to dry 15 minutes.

To assemble; If planning to use house as hanging ornament, cut 12. length of ribbon; tie ends in knot Drop knotted end of loop into house; attach ribbon at top of each end wall with large dot of icing. Using star bp, pipe thick line of white icing over entire top edge of house, pulling ribbon, if using, out of way. Gently but firmly set roof pieces into icing so they meet at top and are properly aligned. Hold in place 1 minute without disturbing decoration. Using wooden pick, carefully remove excess icing; set house aside to dry 15 minutes.

To finish: Using star tip and handling house carefully (do not lift up by roof), pipe white or green icing in clusters of stars to make door, windows and wreaths on walls. While icing is still wet, decorate as desired, pressing in rolled-out gumdrops, cut to fit, or small candies, leaving frilly border of icing; or sprinkle with nonpareils. Using star Up and white icing, pipe line of stars along roof peak and edges; attach marshmallow or gumdrop chimney. Let house dry at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours if hanging as ornament Makes 1 cookie house

TRIMMING TRICK:
If desired, you may use your own decorator's frosting to make houses. If using homemade frosting, use syringe-type cake decorator fitted with writing and small star tips. Since you will need both hands for piping, all parts of house will have to be decorated before assembling; dry parts at least 1 hour.

HOUSE 2

"OH LITTLE TOWN!"

NO-BAKE COOKIE HOUSES
All of the houses in our village share the same basic easy-to-make frame. Add your own architectural touches, or refer to the photograph and the following directions to make ours. Set your village on a large tray of kosher-salt "snow" with jelly-bean paths, or use the houses as a centerpiece on your dinner table.

YOU'LL NEED: (Items available from Sugarcraft are highlighted...just click on those to go there)
Plain or chocolate (not chocolate-coated) graham crackers (whole [double] crackers measure about 4 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches)
serrated knife (to cut crackers and cookies)
Royal Icing choices: mix (just add water & beat), make your own
green, yellow and black food color
disposable decorating bags
1 plain #1 piping tip and 1 small star tips
assorted cookies
Tiny candies and cereal (for specific materials, see descriptions of individual houses)
ice cream sugar cones (may be available at your grocery or icecream store)
corn snacks (Bugles)
Tiny chocolate animals etc can be made using chocolate molds (or here for list of molds) and coating chocolate

GENERAL DIRECTIONS
· Have plenty of graham crackers available— some will break.
· Use Royal Icing to fill gaps between crackers, as reinforcement where needed, as "glue" to attach cookies and candies to houses, and to pipe words on signs.
· To fill decorating bag, fit bag with piping tip. Place bag in a tall narrow pitcher or jar and spoon icing into bag, filling it no more than half full. Fold top of bag over a few times.
· To pipe, hold top of bag in one hand; use other hand to support it and guide the tip.
· To color icing: Put small portions into cups. Add food color a small amount at a time, stirring after each addition until you get the shade you want (colors dry slightly darker).
· To thin icing (for spreading): Stir a few drops of water into the icing until it's thin enough to apply with a paintbrush or toothpick.
· Allow icing to set between steps.
· When not working with the icing, keep it covered with plastic wrap. Icing may be refrigerated, tightly covered, up to 2 weeks. If it separates, beat it with a spoon until blended.

(clockwise from top right):
TO ASSEMBLE BASIC HOUSE : Each house is about 5 inches long, 2 1/4 inches wide and 5 inches high.
1. Cut 1/4 inch from 1 side of a graham-cracker square (half a whole cracker). Pipe icing on the cut side and press it into center of a whole graham cracker (diagram A).
2. Pipe icing on long edges of base cracker and side edges of upright cracker. Press a whole cracker to each side (diagram B).
3. Pipe icing on top edges. Press on 1 whole cracker (diagram C).
4. For ends of house, cut triangles from top half of 2 whole crackers to create a peak (diagram D). Reserve 2 triangles for supports.
5. Pipe icing on edges at both ends of box. Press ends of house to icing (diagram E).
6. Pipe icing on 2 edges of reserved triangles. Press in place to support ends (diagram F). Pipe icing on edges of peaks. Press a cracker on each side for the roof.

TO DECORATE HOUSES
Read General Directions before starting, and use photo of town as a guide. After houses are decorated, outline walls and roof with icing piped through a small star tin.

FEDERAL-STYLE HOUSE
Portico: half a round arrowroot cookie painted with thinned white icing
Pillars: candy sticks broken to size
Chimneys: chocolate-coated tubular cookies
Roof peak: licorice twists
Windows: cut graham crackers painted with thinned yellow icing
Mullions: white icing piped from a decorating bag with a small plain tip
Shutters: licorice lozenges
Gables: cut spearmint jelly-candy leaves
Wreath: red and green tree-shape sprinkles
Bushes: spearmint leaves.

TOY STORE Roof: painted with thinned white icing coated with red sprinkles (jimmies)
Door: cut Vienna finger cookie
Wreath: red and green tree-shape sprinkles
Window: cut tea biscuit painted with thinned yellow icing; licorice-lace bars
Shutters: tiny orange gum (Chickets)
Easel sign: icing words piped from a decorating bag with a small plain tip on cut cracker, held up by 3 pretzel sticks
Sleds and skis: bent and cut sticks of gum.

TUDOR-STYLE HOUSE
Fireplace: stacked speckled jelly beans with gray-tinted icing "mortar"
Roof: frosted mini-shredded-wheat cereal
Top half of walls: painted with thinned white icing
Timbers and house outline: pretzel sticks
Windows and door: cut vanilla-cream wafers with yellow-icing mullions applied with a toothpick
Shutters: green lozenges
Wreaths: green tree-shape sprinkles with red-nonpareil "berries."

COUNTRY STORE
Roof: painted with thinned white icing coated with red nonpareils
Swag: tree-shape sprinkles and red cinnamon candies
Door: cut tea biscuit with chocolate candy knobs
Awning: cut graham cracker with candy border
Sign: icing words piped with small plain tip on cut graham cracker
Store window: tea biscuit painted with thinned yellow icing; licorice-lace bars.

VICTORIAN FARMHOUSE
Roof peak: halved mini-butter cookies (Salerno) set in icing studded with red nonpareils
Windows: vanilla-cream wafers Shutters: yellow lozenges
Door: cut tea biscuit
Overhang and porch: cut graham crackers, icing studded with decor candies. Border of holly-shape sprinkles and red-nonpareil "berries"
Pillars: candy sticks broken to size
Steps: stacked chocolate-mint candies (Andes)
Gift: green coated gum (Clorets), piped white icing and red nonpareils.

CHURCH (center)
Roof: painted with thinned white icing, then coated with green nonpareils
Roof peak: mini-chocolate nonpareils on rosettes of white icing piped from star tip
Windows: triangles of thinned yellow icing decorated with chocolate lace decors candies cut in half (chocolate Jimmies) and green-sprinkle "candles" with red-nonpareil "flames."
Door: arrowroot biscuit, gold-nonpareil knobs
Steps: Stacked chocolate-mint candies (Andes)
Tower base: 1 graham cracker broken on score lines in quarters, glued together lengthwise with icing
Spire: ice cream sugar cone dotted with piped white icing, topped with mini-chocolate nonpareils
Tower windows: mini-butter cookies (Salerno).

TIPS:
Large trees: Ice cream sugar cones painted with thinned green icing, studded with green tree-shape sprinkles.
Small trees: Inverted corn snacks (Bugles) painted with thinned green icing, studded with multicolored nonpareils.
ROYAL ICING is available at http://members.nuvox.net/~zt.proicer/recipes/all-recipes.htm
NOTE Paste food colors, decorating bags and tips and meringue powder at Sugarcraft

IDEAS FOR SMALL HOUSES THAT I'VE COLLECTED OVER THE WEB:

Graham Cracker House Ideas
From: Shavkin@aol.com

From: SheridR

I normally do graham cracker houses with the regular patterns I already have. I use the patterns for the smaller houses, since structurally a larger house would probably collapse on you.

Anyway, I do them with an exacto knife, and just cut the crackers to the shapes I need. I find that using fresh ones is not good, as they are very brittle and don't want to break on the lines. Michaelle told me that she put a piece of apple in a container with a package of the graham crackers and that helped to soften them. Stale ones are really the best for this type of project.

I probably have a couple of patterns lying around for small houses, or if you have one of the old Wilton kits, I use them as templates as well. They seem to be just the right size for this type of project.

From: loretta@westcam.com (Loretta Gust)
I've used graham crackers like gingerbread and built a small house. No patterns just by eye and secure w/Royal icing. I think the "village" look is nice. Make several small houses using 1/2 of a graham cracker (approx. 3" x 3") for each wall. Some houses may use a full cracker. Adjust the roof size to match the house size. Decorate each house differently and place on cake board to look like a village. As usual, this can get as detailed as you have time for. It also looks really good if simple.

From: SELL2002
When I make Graham Cracker houses with my children's classes at school, we use the tiny milk cartons as a base.

They wash them and hot glue two of them together with peaks matching. Hot glue on a cardboard base.

Using one complete cracker each as the long sides and one each for the long roof and pre-cutting one whole piece to match the roof pitch for each of the
end pieces.

Don't worry if the seams don't completely line up. The icing/glue will cover it. This is a simple project that I have used with 1st through 3rd graders.

From: CakeLadyOL (Frances Kuyper)

I did an article on graham cracker buildings, Mine was a church. Last night I was at the Sweet Art cake club meeting someone shared a new book. The title is Ginger Bread There is a chapter in this book about graham cracker houses. As soon as I locate my article I will send a copy to you. The book's author is Nonnie Cargan. is an ad about the book in NOvember I.C.E.S. news letter on page 8.

From: maryg@ptd.net (Mary Gallagher)

Materials Needed

                7 graham crackers
                Frosting for glue (recipe below)
                Assorted small candies for
                decorating
                Ribbon

Frosting

                1/2 pound confectioner's
                sugar
                3 tbs. butter/margarine
                1/2 tsp. Vanilla
                1 1/2 - 2 tbs. Milk
                Mix all the ingredients
                together until smooth and
                spreadable, not runny. Add
                more sugar if too runny.

If you have a pastry bag, place frosting in bag and use a small tip. If not you can use a zip lock bag cutting a small whole in the corner.

Place one graham cracker flat on the table, squeeze a little frosting around all edges. Know you may need an extra pair of hands.

Place one cracker on each side standing up, now looks like a box with no top.

Carefully squeeze more frosting on all outside corner top to bottom and around the bottom of the box.

Let stand for a short while to let frosting harden a little. This will make working with the roof a little easier.

Now squeeze frosting on two of the top edges of the box and place the last two graham crackers in a V shape on as the roof. Looks like a triangle on a box now from the side. May over hang if you can get the frosting to hold for you.

Squeeze frosting along the top of the roof where crackers join. Let stand again until frosting hardens a little.

Now comes the fun part - with left over frosting cover the roof to look like snow. (two sides are left open) Then squeezing small amounts on candy place candy on the house to decorate. You can use the frosting to add things like doors and windows. Just use you imagination.

After project is totally dry string ribbon through to open side of the roof and hang on Christmas tree.

If you want to do this project with young children, you might want to make the base house ahead of time, gluing the corners from the inside - and let it harden. Then turn them loose with frosting and small candies to do the decorating.

From: billieff@ix.netcom.com (Billie Frederick)

Basically you use the double graham crackers on their side for the walls, and cut an angle off the top of both sides of one double cracker starting from the center top. Use a serrated knife and a sawing motion to prevent breakage. Assemble with royal icing the same as for a gingerbread house. Use two double crackers for the roof.

I had Andrew pipe the windows, doors, etc. before assembling as it is easier. Andrew covered his roof with icing and peanuts.

I helped the children make them at my other grandson, Jason's school last year. We had them rinse and save there small milk cartons and attach the graham crackers (pre-cut) to the cartons. We put out dishes of candies and bags of icing for them to decorate with. they had a great time.

I did a graham cracker church years ago which was publised in Family Circle, I believe 1978. I was paid for this article. I sent photos but they had there staff re-create it with the directions and photographed theres. I was a little disappointed as I had used sheet for snow and had done some creative phots, with pine brances in the background.

From: cakery@cplx.net (Sheila's Cakery - Sheila Miller PA)

The craker house on a form method: The Sun. after Thanksgiving 6 of our cake club members constructed an entire village on a 6 ft. by 30 in. board at a nursing home, where the residents can come and go while we have fun. We had a church, ski lodge, townhouses, ranchers, a town square with large tree, and even a dog house, finished in 3 1/2 hours. We' ve been doing this project for 20 years, and every year they are different. One time we had a train on a shoestring licorice track and an other year there was a plane and airport.

We use pint and quart cardboard milk cartons (with the top taped shut), graham cracker boxes, and paper towel rolls for silos. The pint milk cartons are a perfect fit for two sections of the cracker. The gable ends needs two full ones and the third section is cut to a peak with a steak knife and a gentle sawing motion ( stale crackers cut easier). If they break, save the pieces for flagstone sidewalks. Fill the gap at the corners with icing and candies.Use two sections for each side of the roof. Attach everything to the carton with royal icing, then decorate. Construct the houses on turntables (no base board). Position all houses on village board before covering board
with icing snow. Then attach permanently.

Everything is the same for a totally edible house, except mount it to a base board, and drying time is required before decorating. Single sections can be used for mini houses/tree ornaments (make a ribbon loop and knot, glue knot between the two roof pieces as you assemble it). This does not need a board, start with a single section for the floor, and glue the walls to it.

I hope this will be of some help. If I did not explain something clearly enough, let me know. I'll try again.

From: cakejas@yahoo.com (Judi Smith)

Hi, here I am again! Could not for the life of me find the Wilton Publication that had the mini houses in it!
Drat! Butttt, I do have my copy of an "old" Woman's Day mag that I used the very first time I made the mini houses-took some searching-never,ever, clean and
refile your cake articles-geez! I will take it to work tomorrow and make a copy for you! hurray!!!! As for the bigger houses: just make a cardboard copy of the
pattern you wish to use-cereal boxes work great. Take your graham cracker (full size) pieces and rub them across the edges of each other-this cleans and
straightens them(same as with styrofoam pieces)so that they fit snuggly together. Then lightly ice patterns with royal icing and place your graham crackers over
pattern, starting at bottom and with crackers positioned short edge on bottom of house and longest egde touching one vertical side of pattern. continue till pattern is completely covered.After it has dried a few hours, turn pieces over and on a safe cutting surface ( I use my bread board from the kitchen), using a "serrated" knife trim excess of cracker from pattern. When you are feeling creative with this, you can even take and place crackers into different patterns(cutting them apart and cleaning edges then rearranging them)then glue them down. It takes a little longer but the effect is very nice. It is the cleaning of the edges that make the crackers fit very
well together and then your seams are much tighter. (BE aware though, when sanding your edges togehter, graham crackers are a little fragile, so rub them gently back and forth across their edges- keep extras handy for breakage).(this is also very messy-you will have graham cracker dust everywhere!) After all your pieces are totally dried, go ahead and put the house together like you would a regular gingerbread house.

If you use the cinnamon sugar variety and the newer chocolate graham crackers you can get some really different designs and the cinnamon ones smell wonderful and have a rough texture that is very atttractive with a more rustic-look ! This type of house will not hold up as long as a gingerbread house will, of course but for fast and easy this the way to go when you want something to do asap! Kids will need help with the cutting because of the knives, but the rest they will love to do. Hope this is a help, Diane. I will get the mini patterns off to you as soon as I can. I may not be till Thursday or so, I'm afraid. We just had a death in the family and I will be busy the
next several days. But I will get this to you, promise. It gives my something fun to think about instead of a life ended at only 23-so sad. My husbands' cousins' daughter- I only did her wedding cake a few years ago. Medicine is not advanced enough for everything I guess. Well enough of that, so take care and Have Fun with These! I always do! the designs are endless-look for lots of cereals and snack crackers and gum for the roofs! Judi

From: CBHDESIGN
I make them for Christmas, Valentine 's Day
Easter and Halloween. I sell them to friends and family for gifts. They are wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbons with a tag attached to the ribbon with the ingredients listed and my phone number on it. My friend and I made sixty four (64) of them for Christmas and we are doing them for Valentines Day. I used to do them alone but with my mom's health and working I needed help and this friend needed to keep busy. I use a 9" cicle and cover it with foil ( green for Christmas, Red
Valentines Etc.)
I place the little house sort of to the back of the board. (Everything is secured with Royal icing. House: four squares for the sides and two for the roof. Cut another square on a slant from corner to corner for the peaks of the roof.
Note: If you wih to make the house bigger I suggest that you use a larger board.
Before I put them together I make icing windows and curtains on two of the sqs. these make the sides of the house. For the half open door I cut one sq. in half secure a royal icing wreath (depending on the holiday that I'm working on)to the front and attach this to the front of the house as if the door were half way open. For Christmas I place a Chocolate foil covered Santa in the door way. If I can find a picture I will send it to you. I use ice cream cones for trees. These can be covered two ways. icing and a star or leaf tip pull out to make branches or this year my carpule tunel is bothering me so I merely dipped each cones in green candy melts and coated them and before they could dry I sprinkled colored sprinkles on them. For the star I used soft sour round candies. I use a wafer cookie cut in half at an angle for the chimney. Used Red and Green M&M's for the roof with broken small candy canes placed across the peak of the house and red coin candies cut in half to make a crown affect on the two roof peaks We attach small candy canes to the front of the house and red and green suckers to the back. For Chritmas I make three (3") high 3-D snowman out of
royal, complete with carrot nose with a scarf around his neck and holly on his black top hat.

We purchase all kinds of christmas candies to make it cute. The Board is covered with royal icing up to one inch of the edge.
We found foil covered Toy Soldiers, Santas, Bears, balls, bells etc. mix these in with the other candies. All of the candies go around the outside of the house. We make a sidewalk with little candies that are chocolate with white sprinkles on or M&M's We line this with peppermint hard candies. The tree is place to the left side of the front of the house ( as your looking at it.) After all candies are placed so it looks cute we surround the whole things with mini pretzels (sort of a fence) We use a number 10 tip and cover every item with a dop of icing to make it look like snow; even the fence and the tree, don't over do it though.

For Valentine's Day I follow the same system, but for this occasion I make most of the chocolates that I place around the little house. I dip the cones in white candy melts and sprinkle with Red hearts. I snip off the very tip of the cone and place a red heart made with candy melts. I use cupids lips bows, Bears with a heart and lots of purchased candies.
We have a store called Mr. Bulky, and another one called Bag O Sweets I buy candies by the 10 # bags

If you have left over candy it will keep till next year if stored in metal cans and kept in a cool dry place
These candy houses make nice gifts for shut in in the hospital or nursing homes.

When we have a couple of left overs we take them up to the pediatric ward at the local hospital and they were happy to get them for the kids.