One of our favorite winter holiday activities is building gingerbread houses. We make a couple of them around Christmas and New Years because my boys enjoy decorating them so much – and who can blame them! Sprinkles, candy, frosting all piled up on yummy cookie houses? That’s about as fun as edible crafts come! So over the years we’ve developed a little springtime tradition – Easter Bunny Graham Cracker Houses.
Mine is a little light on the candy because graham crackers and frosting are tasty enough on their own, although my kids pull out all the stops for some candy-laden houses that would impress even Hanzel and Gretel!
These Easter Bunny Graham Cracker Houses are easy to make (probably easier than the gingerbread variety!) and you can really get creative with them. We love to use classic Spring candy, so think lots of Jelly Beans, Peeps and pastel colored sprinkles – but the options are only limited to your imagination! Since my kids are small we like to make individual houses. Everyone gets a chance to decorate just the way they want them!
To get started you’ll need:
- 1 Box of Graham Crackers
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 Egg White
- 1 Tbs Water
- Peeps
- Colorful Frosting
- Assorted Candies & Sprinkles
First, you need to make some royal icing to hold the houses together. This only takes a minute to make and will make sure the houses are strong enough to handle little hands and the weight of candy.
Royal Icing Recipe:
In a bowl mix together 2 Cups of powdered sugar, 1 egg white and 1 tablespoon of water. Mix until icing is smooth.
Optional: Mix in a drop or two of food coloring to color the icing a springtime color.
Using a pastry bag (or a ziplock bag with a very tiny hole cut in the tip), assemble your graham crackers and use the royal icing to put your house together. Allow about ten minutes for the icing to dry and the house to be sturdy enough to hold candy.
I like to make our mini houses from six graham cracker halves – four for the walls and two for the roof.
For my little ones I build the Easter Bunny Graham Cracker Houses ahead of time, although my ten year old is patient enough to build his house and wait. For an extra surprise, fill the inside of the houses with peeps or candy! When the kids crack them open they get a sweet surprise!
Once the houses are dry hand over the icing, frosting and candy and let the kids get creative!
We used jelly beans, Peeps, sprinkles, egg shaped candies, glitter gel frosting and even chocolate bunnies in our decorating.
We are all a little bit obsessed with this Prepworks Decorating Kit. It was a birthday gift from my sister years ago (yep, I store it in the box because I’m determined not to lose any pieces!) and it makes decorating with frosting so easy and mess free – especially with kids. You just fill the bulbs with frosting and add the tip of your choice. And it’s dishwasher safe, which is a requirement in my kitchen these days. Get one if you bake and decorate a lot – you’ll love it!
My son clearly loves his Peeps. If you’re smarter than me, you’ll toss a tablecloth down for easy clean up (bonus if it’s a dollar store disposable)… I was scrubbing dried frosting off the table and hunting down sprinkles that had rolled across the floor all night!
My youngest son’s masterpiece – he added a Peep for every one of his best friends at school, which I think was just an excuse to eat a lot of Peeps when he was finished decorating!
I want to see your masterpieces! Share a pic of your Easter Bunny Graham Cracker Bunny House with me on Facebook!
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