Super-Simple Cookie Houses

Ingredients For each house: Ornamental Icing 5 graham crackers Assorted candies, such as gumdrops, peppermint drops, Necco wafers, etc.

These no-bake mini-mansions are a million times easier to make than the gingerbread variety. Preparation time: 10 minutes Standing time: 2 hours Step 1: Spoon icing into a pastry bag fitted with a plain (writing) tip, or use a resealable plastic bag and snip a small triangle from one of the corners. To form the side walls of the house, break 1 cracker horizontally in half into two 2-1/2-inch squares. As shown in photo, hold 1 half of the cracker so that the line going down the middle is horizontal, then pipe a thin line of icing along each of the shorter edges. Step 2: Align 1 iced edge with the edge of a whole cracker to make an "L" shape (it will stay in place). Then attach another whole cracker to the other side. Ice the shorter edges of the other cracker half and attach it to form a rectangle. Step 3: To attach the roof, pipe a line of icing along both long edges of the fourth whole cracker and 1 of the long edges of the last whole cracker. Position the 2 crackers with the iced edges along the top of the "walls" and slowly bring them together to form the roof. Set aside to dry. Depending on the humidity, icing will dry in approximately 2 hours. When houses are dry, decorate by attaching candy with dots of Ornamental Icing. Step 4: Let kids use Ornamental Icing to attach Chiclet or Necco Wafer shingles, a peppermint chimney, and other candies to their cookie house. A piece of fruit roll-up cut into a rectangle makes a great door (use a gold dragee as a doorknob). For windows, roll a gumdrop flat with a rolling pin, cut into a square, and attach to the house with icing. Then pipe on more icing to create panes. Surround the house with some shredded coconut snow, dotted with green gumdrop shrubs. Ornamental Icing PHOTO: © Mark Thomas