Super sticky royal icing for - Haunted Ginger Bread House!

A gingerbread house is only as good as it's glue. If you want an A+ on your gingerbread house, you need the best gingerbread house icing. When planning your gingerbread house, the icing is the most  important part. Gingerbread houses are a great way to set the scene for the holidays and WOW visitors to your home, whether it be Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas!



The icing on a gingerbread house serves several functions. It is both decoration and also the "glue" which holds the gingerbread house pieces together. If you want your house to look better and last longer, you need to have the right kind of icing and you need to know how to apply it properly.


I created this fun, kid-friendly Halloween project, to share with my grandchildren on a trip to Oregon to visit them for 3 days. It was a disaster…....a collapse of epic proportions. Because they are quite young I attempted to put the house together before involving them in the project. I spent THREE hours trying to glue the sides and roof to form the house, with  repeated failures. The royal icing that comes in the gingerbread house kit, simply does not work. I finally gave up, put everything back into the box and gave them to the parents, vowing to find a solution to the glue (royal icing). All my hard work down the drain! The parents suggested a glue gun, however, that would not work, as the glue would not stick to the gingerbread....plus I felt like that was cheating, even if it did work. It was also suggested to use toothpicks, but, I'm certain you would break or chip the gingerbread. After much research on the internet and came up with what I believe to be the BEST super sticky royal icing! It will take you about 5-10 seconds of holding.....that's it!! 

When I returned to Seattle, I was given the opportunity to spend a full day with my oldest grandchild, Olivia. She is five, has a five year old attention span, so, I knew I had to have this house put together...lickedy split! This recipe works!! YIPPPPPIEEE!!!

Super Sticky Royal Icing

1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of meringue powder (available on Amazon or wherever cake decorating supplies are sold)
2 cup powdered sugar 
2-3 Tablespoons cold water

In a glass bowl, combine the dry ingredients.  Add 1 tablespoon of water, mix well.  Add more water as necessary to reach a very thick consistency.  When you drag a knife through it, you want to see a clean path left.  If it’s too thick, add a small amount of water, mix, and pull your knife through again.  If it’s too runny, add more sugar.

Put icing into a zip-lock baggie & snip off a corner.  I found a slightly large hole worked best (my icing came out about as thick as a squirt of toothpaste).

What I love about this Super sticky Gingerbread House Icing Glue is how quickly it dries!  If you get a nice, thick consistency, there is no need to hold each piece in place forever (about 5-10 seconds will do).

 Next.....decorate!! Olivia had such a great time making her own design on her haunted house. I did the frosting and she applied the decorations!

 Our finished Haunted Houses is a master piece!!

We are having so much fun with our Grand children this Summer/Fall! Here in Seattle we are having an amazing Indian Summer, which has allowed us to do many out door activities! Today, we are all going to the pumpkin patch!! Next week I will post pictures!