Graham Cracker Manger and Stable

Every year, my family has been making “gingerbread houses” out of graham crackers. This year, we decided to make it more meaningful and build a manger and stable out of graham crackers. The secret to making a sturdy house or stable is to use royal icing. It is easy to make and yummy too (not like the icing that comes with store-bought gingerbread houses).

How to Make a Graham Cracker Manger and Stable . . .

Ingredients:

Graham crackers
1/2 cup of pasteurized egg whites
1/2 t. vanilla
5 cups of powdered sugar
Peanuts (for baby Jesus)
Decorating pen (to draw eyes on Jesus)
Candies for decorating

Directions:

Sawing Graham Crackers:

1.Begin by cutting graham crackers into necessary shapes.

2. Lay a whole graham cracker on a flat cutting surface. Using a serrated knife, “saw” off one corner (step 1). Use this corner on the other side to “saw” a symmetrical side (step 2).

3. Next, take your “sawed” piece and place it on top of another whole graham cracker to help cut a duplicate piece (step 3). These pieces will form the sides of your stable. Cut as many as needed.

	[Step 1]		[Step 2]		[Step 3]

Making Royal Icing:

1. In a large bowl, beat egg whites and vanilla with an electric mixer until frothy.

2. Gradually add powdered sugar while mixing on low speed (until the mixture is shiny).

3. Turn the mixer to high speed and beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks (about 5 minutes).

4. Transfer the icing to a ziploc bag and cut off one corner to pipe icing onto houses.

Forming the Manger and Stable:

1. Pipe icing on graham crackers to “glue” together the base of the stable. You can use a whole graham cracker for the back to make a long stable or a half size graham cracker to make a square stable.

2. Pipe icing on the top, and add the roof.

3. For the manger, break a graham cracker on the seams to get four pieces. Use one as a base, pipe icing on it, and arrange two more graham cracker pieces diagonally on top to form the manger.

4. Pipe a glob of frosting in the manger. Place a peanut on top to represent baby Jesus, and pipe additional frosting on top to make it look like he is “swaddled.”

5. Decorate with candies. We used a yellow spice drop (gum drop) to form the star. We put it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up. There are also star shaped cookies available at grocery stores during the Christmas season.

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