Making and decorating mini graham cracker houses is such a fun family activity and I’m sharing a gingerbread glue recipe that actually holds, oh also, I’m sharing a recipe for peanut butter chocolate chip graham cracker cookies, because hey, those leftover graham crackers shouldn’t go to waste! Without further adieu, enjoy these graham cracker houses and peanut butter chocolate chip graham cracker cookies!
I was talking with my husband about holiday activities now that we have kids, he said that one of the favorite things we’ve done in the past is make these mini graham cracker houses, so I just had to re-share this post I did a few years ago!
So, to start with, you should know that throughout the graham cracker house making process I did just about everything out of order and needed my husbands’ assistance (I’m just going to gloss over the fact that even though I ‘thought’ I was the creative one, I definitely learned that he has some mad skills in the crafting department.)
Things started off great: I cut all the house pieces and made frosting using peanut butter. The frosting I made was amazing, I’d call it more of a ‘glue.’ I had heard horror stories of frosting not drying or being sticky enough, so I wanted an adhesive that really worked and dried quickly. Done and done. The frosting I made dries in 10 minutes!
It is smooth and creamy yet stiff and holds it’s own! Good thing, because after I had cut all the graham cracker pieces, things started breaking. But as my husband joked “things not lining up? just use more frosting and cover it up.” And a little tip for when you’re cutting the graham crackers – gently run your knife along the line you want to cut first, and then gently cut down with a sharp knife. Start cutting the pieces for each house (one box of graham crackers made parts for 5 finished houses).
One would think that making graham cracker houses was enough in and of itself, but being a food blogger I just couldn’t throw away the pieces of the graham crackers that were left over from making the houses.
Since everything is just better with cookies, I made peanut butter chocolate chip graham cracker cookies that could be eaten while decorating the graham cracker houses. The cookies came out absolutely amazing, with subtle hints of peanut butter and graham cracker and rich chocolate chips. Everyone loved them!
So after we had our little houses made, we went to my in-laws’ and all of us decorated them. The toppings I had were:
- gumdrops
- peppermint bark covered pretzels
- mini cookie wafers
- sixlets
- mini candy canes
- but any decorations you have on hand or that you like to use would work!
What a seriously fun holiday activity it was to decorate these houses, I would highly recommend making some with the family to see what everyone comes up with!
Have you ever made gingerbread houses or graham cracker houses? This was my first time making them and and I am definitely going to do it again!
Other recipes you might enjoy:
- Gingerbread Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
- 5 Ingredient Blueberry Pie With Graham Cracker Crust
- Cranberry Gingerbread Muffins
Graham Cracker Houses and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Cookies
Ingredients
For the graham cracker houses
- 1 box Honey Maid graham crackers
- 1 batch peanut butter gingerbread house frosting/glue recipe below
- Assorted toppings gumdrops, mini candy canes, cookie wafers, sixlets, peppermint bark pretzels
For the peanut butter frosting/glue
- 3 Tbs meringue powder
- 1 Tbs Skippy peanut butter
- 5 Tbs cold water
- 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
For the peanut butter chocolate chip graham cracker cookies
- 1/4 cup butter unsalted
- 1/4 cup Skippy peanut butter creamy
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup Honey Maid Graham Cracker crumbs
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
For the graham cracker houses
- Start by cutting each graham cracker for the houses and put like-pieces with like in piles. Then line each side wall with frosting and lean it up against something and wait for it to dry, then put the house together and then add the roof, then wait for it to dry for 10 minutes and decorate as desired.
For the frosting-glue
- Start by beating together meringue powder, peanut butter and water (it's ok if there are a few little clumps. Mix for 3 minutes, then add the powdered sugar and beat for 5 minutes, or until the frosting holds a peak. Put into a plastic bag and cut the end off one corner and use it as a piping bag.
For the cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated and brown sugar. After it is creamy, add in the egg, vanilla extract and salt and beat to combine. Then add the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda and stir until combined, then stir in chocolate chips. Scoop cookies onto baking sheet (12 per sheet about an inch or so apart). Bake for 10 minutes and then allow to cool on a wire rack, then enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was sponsored by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are as always mine alone. Thank you for supporting the brands that make the SweetPhi blog possible
Judith Jobson says
Chocolate is dangerous for dogs
Sweetphi says
Agreed 100%. But I’m confused by your comment…nowhere does it say you should give your dog chocolate so I’m not quite sure what prompted the comment.
heidi says
Can’t find meringue powder. What else can I use?
Sweetphi says
Hi Heidi – they sell meringue powder at craft stores – like Michaels or Joanns. I don’t know of a substitute, because it’s egg white powder.
Rachel @ Bakerita says
These are SO cute! I’m a terrible decorator, and I love how adorably these turned out.
Sweetphi says
I learned that I’m a terrible assembler and decorator lol, but it’s a run group activity and I’m telling myself that’s all that matters, right? lol
Kathy @ Olives & Garlic says
Wow, these are so cute. I love how awesome all of your turned out. I am not a big on gingerbread flavor and absolutely love that I can actually eat them and enjoy if i wanted to.
Sweetphi says
These are the perfect alternative if you don’t like gingerbread, plus, the houses are a lot smaller and manageable too 🙂
andrea rentea says
These houses are so adorable, plus you can eat them. This follows in the long tradition of absolutely being incredibly creative. Thank you for these inspirations.
Sweetphi says
Funny that you should mention that they are edible…because unlike some rock hard gingerbread houses, these are totally all edible and actually taste good (the peanut butter frosting on a graham cracker alone is delicious 🙂 ) thank you for commenting!!
Julie Grice says
Um, these are 100% adorable! Bummer about the computer going on the fritz, though – especially if you’ve worked ahead!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for the compliment and well wishes. I’m just going to try and forget about my old computer…forget that it ever existed lol….instead I’ll think of these mini graham cracker houses and the holidays 🙂
Julie Grice says
It is a much tastier and festive thing to think about, for sure! 🙂
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much 🙂
cheri says
Hi Phi, adorable graham houses, love the gum drops on the roof.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much Cheri, they were super fun to decorate 🙂
Erin @ Lemon Sugar says
So cute! My girls have been begging to make gingerbread houses, this looks like the perfect solution. 🙂 ADORABLE!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for your sweet comment Erin! This would be such a fun activity with your girls, I was actually surprised at how much fun it was (even for adults) and I’m totally going to do this every year now!
Lynn Lovejoy says
Ok these houses are absolutely ADORABLE!!! Too cute for words really…I love watching the whole family work to decorate them, it’s truly a fabulous family activity and it looks like everyone had a blast! I love how much your hubby helped you with these 🙂 He’s got some mad skills!!! Also, I’m pretty much in love with those cookies! I love using leftover ingredients! I’ve got a #tonofgruyere as you know, so I’m gonna be whipping some things up with that this week! I’m so glad that you are bouncing back from the computer fritz and that I could be there to help you out. I had the best time at our little virtual hangout and I love you!!
Sweetphi says
Girl, I’m totally loving everything about this comment, so THANK YOU!!! This was totally a fun family activity. At first I kind of thought everyone would think I’m nuts (well, correction, they still think I’m a little nuts) but everyone was so receptive and made the cutest little houses! I’m totally going to make this a yearly tradition. And of course i’m going to need the hubby’s help, because I could not believe how bad the houses I made came out, I mean, they needed TONS of ‘glue’. Then on the way over to my inlaws my hubby said ‘be careful with my houses’ lol…but it was so true, they were totally his precious cargo lol. I too had so much fun at our virtual hang out and can’t wait to share all about that!