Christmas Cookie House
Not a big fan of gingerbread? This cookie house is a great substitute, and uses ingredients that can easily be found in your local grocery store – meaning no more endless last-minute hunting for gingerbread kits! This can serve a large group of people, and my coworkers literally attacked it when I brought it into work. I was told that the combination on the roof of the pocky, Nice cookies and the melted chocolate tasted really great. Feel free to experiment with different varieties of cookies and chocolate to create your own unique cookie house. Dying the white chocolate another colour and decorating the house with colourful candies would turn this into an Easter or spring-themed house!
Christmas Cookie House
Ingredients
- 36 round cookies digestive biscuits or Oreo cookies work well
- 34 rectangular cookies
- 1 macaron any flavour
- 7 Ferrero Roche truffles
- 2 boxes approx. 48 sticks Almond Crush Pocky
- 72 squares milk chocolate
- 54 squares white chocolate
- 4-5 chocolate bars for melting any flavour (I recommend using milk chocolate as it will easily blend in with the rest of the house)
- ½ cup chocolate covered raisins
- parchment paper
- icing sugar
Instructions
- Cover a tray that will fit into your freezer with parchment paper. Break up the chocolate bars for melting, and place the chocolate into good quality, plastic piping bags. Seal the top of these bags with an elastic band or a plastic clip, and place into a pot. Pour boiling water over the piping bags, making sure to keep the top of the bags above the water, to avoid any water getting into the chocolate. Once the chocolate has fully melted and is ready to be used, cut a small opening at the tip of the piping bag.
- First, make the foundation of the house. Makes 4 stacks of cookies in the following order, securing each layer with the melted chocolate.
(Top of Stack)
- 3 round cookies
- 1 rectangular cookie
- 2 round cookies
- 1 rectangular cookie
- 2 round cookies
- 1 rectangular cookie
- 2 round cookies
(Bottom of Stack)
- Arrange the stacks to make a square shape, and stick 3 rectangular cookies onto each side using the melted chocolate. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Make the foundation of the roof. Spread some melted chocolate onto the top of the four stacks of cookies. Then stack the squares of chocolate in a pyramid shape in the following order, and secure each layer with melted chocolate.
(Top of Roof)
- 6 white chocolate squares
- 12 milk chocolate squares
- 18 white chocolate squares
- 24 milk chocolate squares
- 30 white chocolate squares
- 36 milk chocolate squares
(Base of Roof)
- Pipe melted chocolate on the sides of the roof, and attach 5 rectangular cookies per side, to make the roof. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Cut off the ends of the pocky that are not covered in chocolate, and attach the pocky to the roof in two columns per roof side, securing with melted chocolate. Place in the freezer for another 10 minutes. Once the chocolate has set, pipe some chocolate between the individual pocky sticks to conceal the biscuits underneath. Milk chocolate matches best with the colour of the pocky. Place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
- Make the path and garden. Attach the macaron, as the front door, to the house with melted chocolate. Attach a chocolate raisin to the macaron as a door handle with melted chocolate as well, and hold in place until the chocolate begins to set. Then place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Create a path with the chocolate raisins from the house to the edge of the tray, and secure to the tray with melted chocolate. Place the remaining chocolate raisins around the perimeter of the house and attach with melted chocolate. Arrange the Ferrero Roche truffles around the front of the house to look like bushes or hedges, and secure to the tray with melted chocolate. Place this in the freezer for a final 10 minutes, or until everything is completely set.
- Once the chocolate has set, dust icing sugar over the house, roof and garden to look like a fresh snow fall. The texture of the pocky, Ferrero Roche and chocolate raisins will add wonderful dimension to the icing sugar, and will give the house a rustic feel.