Mini Cookie Houses

 

These are the most adorable things you will see this Christmas.

I don't know how you could get much cuter than this.

Teeny tiny little houses with teeny tiny little decorations that you can eat.

It's win - win.

These are, relatively speaking, quite easy to make. Definitely easier than their larger cousins.

That being said....you DO NOT want to volunteer to make these for your kids classroom.

I cut out, baked, and assembled 14 houses and then Sue helped me to decorate them.

It took about 3 or 4 hours.

Not even kidding.

After 4 hours of using tweezers to apply sprinkles to cookies...you will be ready to consider going all cookie-monster on them.

 

 

I decided to make these for our mother to take to her church tea. You see, these cute little cookies sit neatly on the side of a coffee or tea cup.

 

 

Aaawwww.

 

 

Adorable, right?

 

Anyway, all you will need for this is a batch of sugar cookie dough - you can use store bought if you like - and some royal icing. I bought some icing in a tube so I didn't have to make the royal icing with eggs. I was too nervous about using uncooked eggs.

 

 

Thank you Cake Mate. It comes in all kinds of colors. I went with white so the houses looked like traditional "gingerbread" houses.

Then you can visit here - LULUTO - to print out a simple template. I shrunk her template by 50% to get the size I wanted. (Not Martha also has template ideas.)

Simply make your cookie dough, chill it for at least a couple of hours, and then roll it out thinner than you normally would. You want the cookies to be crisp so they will stand on their own. Cut out your template pieces and bake for 8 to 10 minutes on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

 

 

Let them cool completely before assembling.

Use the icing as the glue to hold your pieces together. Here is a hint to help you out - build the foundation of the house and let it set for about 15 minutes before trying to place the roof. If your house is still wet while you try to put the roof on you will end up squishing it and getting very frustrated.

Trust me when I say, patience is a virtue when it comes to making these cookies.

 

 

I had a little leftover dough so I made some rounds to use as the base for 3 of the houses. I just wanted to see how it would turn out.

I liked how it looked - you could decorate a little yard if you wanted to.

 

 

After you get the roof on, let it set for at least another 15 - 20 minutes to completely dry.

Then you can decorate however you like.

Sue and I found that heating a little corn syrup in the microwave for about 7 seconds and then brushing it on the roof was a great alternative to using more royal icing.

 

 

With the corn syurp coating the roof you just dip it into whichever sprinkles or balls you prefer. This only works on really small decorations however. The bigger ones will still require icing to cement it on.

 

 

Feel free to go crazy! This is the fun part.

 

 

Our little cookie village looked pretty cute.

We have come to the conclusion that we need to invest in some Christmas sprinkles for these. Mini candy cane and gingerbread men and such.

I can't wait to make these for Halloween. I'm thinking they might even work for Easter with some mini eggs and bunnies. The possibilities are endless.

I definitely enjoyed making these much more than the larger houses.

Here are the tips that will save you a lot of frustration and tears if you decide to make these:

1. Set aside a whole day to make these.

2. Do not make plans to do anything else for the day.

3. Take your time and do not try to rush.

4. Have a helper. You don't need a helper but it will make the time go by faster.

 

 

Adorned From Above and Blissful and Domestic and Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons and Or So She Says have some great links! Be sure to check them out.