Skip the Sweets and Build a Savory Gingerbread House
Don’t have a sweet tooth? Try making a gingerbread house out of meats, cheeses, and more savory goodies
Courtesy of Montage Deer Valley
If you don’t like sweets, then the holiday season can be rough. But at least it doesn’t have to be bereft of decoration. Savory gingerbread houses are a thing, and after weeks of frosted cookies and peppermint everything, we’re here for it. Here are some of our favorite ideas we’ve spied for inspiration:
Kits exist for conventional gingerbread houses, but if you want think outside of the confectioner’s sugar box, you’re going to have to get creative. There are two schools of thought on constructing the basic house. You can do a traditional panel construction using large, thick crackers.
Graham crackers work, too.
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With a little seismic retrofitting and a light hand with the add-ons, matzo works, too, and we are loving the cross-cultural potential here.
The other construction option is a log-cabin style. If you just think to yourself, “What would Abe Lincoln do if he were on a low glycemic index?” the answer will become clear: pretzel sticks.
How to stick it together? Glue and/or frosting are the time-honored mortaring materials, but extra credit if you can hold your house together using something both edible and savory. Canned cheese works well.
You can even incorporate cheese into the house’s décor. Pro tip: Grated Parmesan out of the green can looks a lot like snow.
To make the roof, remember that anything that can be sliced thin can mimic shingles. Forget Necco Wafers—no one likes those anyway. Think veggies, pepperoni, and, yes, more cheese.
Now it’s time to add some flair. Cracker windows, broccoli trees, olive wreaths, and sprout lawns are all good ideas. And a cocktail-weenie woodpile? That’s genius.
We wish you luck in your savory holiday home endeavors. Use a little imagination, and you’ll give the family something to talk about at the dinner table. And even in a worst-case scenario, there’s an easy (and delicious, and relatively low-carb) way to destroy the evidence.
