Thread: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter & Holiday Season Assorted Stuff

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NOVEMBER 1, 2020 BY BRANDY 17 COMMENTS
Home » Holidays

Make a Pop Tart Gingerbread House! (Video)

FILED UNDER: CHRISTMAS, CRAFT TUTORIALS, DESSERT RECIPES

JUMP TO RECIPE

This pop tart gingerbread house is so fun to decorate and perfect for the holidays! Once you make a gingerbread house out of pop tarts you’ll never go back to graham crackers again. I’ll share tips and tricks for decorating your gingerbread house with candy and royal icing.
You might also like our gingerbread cookie Christmas countdown!

Pop Tart Gingerbread House
Watch our step by step video!

I think we all knew that when we made pop tart haunted houses earlier this year that a holiday version would make its way to the site. Seriously friends, once you switch to pop tarts you’ll never go back to graham crackers.
It all started when I couldn’t find chocolate graham crackers at the store to make haunted gingerbread houses. My husband suggested using chocolate pop tarts. I was skeptical but bought a box to humor him. They turned out awesome! Sturdy, easy to work with, and fun to decorate.

WHY ARE POP TARTS BETTER THAN GRAHAM CRACKERS?

1. They are bigger than graham crackers so you get a bigger house.
2. They are easier to cut than graham crackers to get the shape you want.
3. They come in so many colors and flavors.
4. They are sturdier than graham crackers and look more like a boxed gingerbread house kit.
5. They are frosted so it gives them a fun texture and decorative look.

SUPPLIES

You’ll need 6 pop tarts. I used strawberry because it already had red and green sprinkles on the frosting.

You’ll also need a variety of holiday candies and royal icing.
EASY ROYAL ICING FOR FROSTING GINGERBREAD HOUSES

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 teaspoon water

Mix sugar and water together until it reaches the consistency of craft glue. You don’t want it to be too runny.
GINGERBREAD HOUSE CANDIES

We all have our favorite holiday candies to use for gingerbread houses. My go-to candies are mints and chocolate candies in holiday shapes—like Santa, trees or snowmen.

TIPS FOR ASSEMBLING POP TART GINGERBREAD HOUSE

• Follow my instructions at the end of the post for cutting your pop tarts. ONLY USE A SERRATED KNIFE to cut the pop tarts. A paring knife will not work. Gently saw as you cut and you’ll end up with nice clean lines.
• Add a bead of icing to the pop tarts and use your hands to hold the 4 walls into place for a minute or two. After that, the icing is tacky and will hold it on its own.
• Repeat for the roof, holding it in place for a minute or so before letting go.

These houses are pretty sturdy once the royal icing has had a chance to set. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Not bad.
If you do this you shouldn’t have any issues with your house falling apart.

TIPS FOR ICING AND DECORATING POP TART HOUSE

Make sure to watch our video to see how we assembled and decorated our house.
Obviously lightweight candies like Necco wafers are easier to work with than M&Ms and starlight mints, but don’t let that stop you. I’ll share a few tips for working with heavier candy. That being said, if you are making these with a group of children, I’d go for lightweight candy and sprinkles to avoid little ones getting frustrated. I’d also suggest assembling the houses about an hour before decorating them so that they are ready to go!

• To add heavier candies to the trim (see M&Ms in photo):
  
  • Add a bead of royal icing to the house and let it sit for a couple of minutes before adding candy. This allows the icing to begin to get tacky. Add the candy, then adjust as necessary if you see any drooping. The icing will harden and hold everything after 10 minutes or so.
  
  
• To add heavy candies to the roof, you have two options:
  
  • 1: Decorate the roof pieces before assembling the house and let them dry. Then assemble the house.
  • 2: Use the tip above for heavier candies, adding a bead of icing, let it sit for a minute or two, then adding the candy and adjusting as necessary until it is firm.
  
  
• Decorating the walls:
  
  • If you’re only adding a couple of items (like I did) you can add them at the end. Easy.
  • If you’d like to add a bit of decoration to the walls of your house you can do that BEFORE assembling the house. Let it set up and dry then build your house. This is an easy way to make sure gravity doesn’t pull the candy down.

POP TART GINGERBREAD HOUSE TUTORIAL

Pop Tart Gingerbread House


This pop tart gingerbread house is so fun to decorate and perfect for the holidays! Once you make a gingerbread house out of pop tarts you'll never go back to graham crackers again. I'll share tips and tricks for decorating your gingerbread house with candy and royal icing.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings: 1 house
Calories: 1300kcal
Cost: $5

EQUIPMENT

• serrated knife
• plastic sandwich bag

INGREDIENTS

• 6 pop tarts
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 teaspoons water

INSTRUCTIONS

• 
  
• Place 6 pop tarts on the cutting board.

Roof

• You will be making cuts on 4 out of 6 of the pop tarts. The 2 that aren't cut are the roof pieces. You can set those 2 pop tarts to the side if you'd like.

Front and Back Walls

• Take 1 pop tart and place it on its side, right next to another pop tart.
• Cut on a diagonal from the corner of the pop tart that it on its side, to the center of the middle pop tart. Repeat on the other side.
  
• You should now have a pop tart that looks like a house. Repeat this step so that you have 2 house-shaped pop tarts.

Side Walls

• Remember that pop tart that you turned on its side? Go ahead and stand it up again. Place it next to one of the house-shaped pop tarts, lining up the corners, and cut horizontally across. Repeat.
  
• You should now have two roof pieces (un-cut), 2 house-shaped pieces, and 2 wall pieces.
  
• Combine powdered sugar and water to make a royal icing glue. Add water 1/2 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved (2 1/2 teaspoons works well for me). Spoon icing into a Ziploc bag and cut the tip off. Glue the 4 walls together with icing and hold in place for 30-45 seconds.
  
• Add the roof pieces and hold in place for 30-45 seconds.
  
• Let houses stand 15-20 minutes before decorating.
  
• Dip decorations into icing or pipe icing onto houses to decorate.
  

NOTES

• Icing should be the consistency of craft glue.
• When cutting pop tarts, use a serrated knife and gently saw. Don't press down hard with the knife.
• To add heavier candies to the houses, like M&Ms, add a line of icing to the house and let the icing stand for a couple of minutes before placing the candy on it. This will allow the icing to dry a little and become tacky.
• You may need to hold the candy in place, or readjust the candy that starts to move as you wait for the icing to dry.

NUTRITION

Calories: 1300kcal


https://gluesticksblog.com/make-a-po...AO1HlzbABQmKMU

These Cinnamon-Butter Thanksgiving Carrots Are Almost Too Easy to Make

By Becky Tarala
Updated on Nov 26, 2024 at 10:15 AM

PS Photography | Becky Tarala
PS is excited to present this cinnamon-butter baked carrots recipe from Becky Tarala, the blogger behind The Two Bite Club.
If your forthcoming Thanksgiving menu is still in need of a simple yet beautiful side dish, cinnamon-butter baked carrots are the way to go. This easy-to-make Thanksgiving carrots recipe features fresh carrots that are smothered in cinnamon butter and then baked in the oven until they're perfectly glazed and tender. How could you go wrong?
With the vibrant color, stunning presentation, and sweet cinnamon-butter sauce, these carrots are sure to steal the show this holiday. Your guests will be begging for the recipe before they even get a taste, going off the smell alone.
Menu planning for Thanksgiving is no joke. Sure, when you first think about it, the whole process seems pretty simple and straightforward. You roast a big turkey, cook up a few unique Thanksgiving sides, throw in a few rolls, and you're good to go. It's when you actually sit down to make your shopping list that things start getting real.
A million thoughts start running through your mind: Is a 19-pound turkey big enough? Shoot, maybe not. Maybe we should serve ham, too. Homemade pumpkin pie or store-bought? Sweet potatoes without marshmallows or with? No, wait. A brown sugar pecan topping is better.
I've hosted holidays in our home for quite a few years now and, while there will always be a million things running through my mind as I plan, I've gotten pretty good at coming up with a well-rounded menu. One thing that I have realized over the years is that the first draft of my menu usually ends up a little bit on the rich side. (Yes, I have a first draft. I take this holiday hosting thing very seriously!)

I love to serve a variety of casseroles with our turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, and while everything I plan to make is absolutely delicious, my menu usually begs for something simple, fresh, and beautiful to balance out the heavy, rich dishes I initially crave.
That's how these cinnamon-butter baked carrots came to be. I wanted to add one more easy-to-prepare side dish to our feast, and carrots seemed to be the perfect choice. I decided to pair the carrots with classic flavors and dressed them with butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Super simple, but absolutely delicious! Sometimes a little bit of simplicity is just what my menu needs.
After baking in the oven, these Thanksgiving carrots come out perfectly tender and so, so delicious. For me, the best part is the sweet, sticky cinnamon-butter sauce that the carrots bake in. Once you transfer the baked carrots to a serving platter, you drizzle the irresistible cinnamon butter over the top, and it's like the icing on the cake!
If you add these beautiful Thanksgiving carrots to your menu, I think it's only fair to warn you that the smell while they are baking is simply intoxicating. Once you get a whiff of that sweet cinnamon bubbling away, you'll forget all about the turkey.
See the full recipe and step-by-step photos below.


PS, There’s More

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Becky Tarala is a food blogger and creator of The Two Bite Club.




PS Photography | Becky Tarala

PS Photography | Becky Tarala



PS Photography | Becky Tarala

PS Photography | Becky Tarala

Cinnamon-Butter Baked Carrots

Cook Time90 minutes
Yield6 servings
Calories219
Original Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 15 carrots, peeled and stems removed
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• Fresh parsley, chopped, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Clean carrots and arrange in a 9" x 13" baking dish.
• Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. While the mixer is running, slowly add the boiling water and orange juice.
• Pour mixture over the carrots and cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 90 minutes.
• Remove the foil and transfer carrots to a serving platter. Drizzle carrots with the melted cinnamon butter from the baking dish. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Notes

This recipe can be prepped in advance and refrigerated until ready to bake. The amount of cinnamon can be increased to 1 teaspoon if you like extra cinnamon on your carrots.

Easy Thanksgiving Carrots Recipe | PS Food