Gingerbread House Icing

Ingredients

• 4 cups Powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 Tbsp Meringue powder
• 5–6 Tbsp Warm water

Method

1. Beat the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and 5 tablespoons of warm water on low until the sugar is wet, then on medium until the icing is thick, glossy, and holds a stiff peak. Add the last tablespoon of water only if it is too dry to spread.
2. Use it right away to glue walls and pipe lines. If the surface crusts in the bowl, lay a damp towel against it. Keep construction icing stiff. For finer piping, thin it with a few drops of water.
3. This icing dries hard. It is for building and decorating a gingerbread house, not for a soft layer on a cake.

Nutrition

Kitchen estimate only, not lab-verified. This is mostly powdered sugar. It is a construction icing, not a serving of food on its own.

Guest diet / allergy swaps

Short kitchen notes for guests. A fuller gluten-free or dairy-free ingredient list, when we have one, is in the panels below.

• Gluten-free style

  Powdered sugar and most meringue powders contain no wheat. Confirm the meringue powder label before you use this on a gluten-free house.

• No eggs

  Meringue powder is dried egg white. This stiff icing depends on it. A powdered-sugar and milk glaze will not hold a wall.

• Dairy-free

  The icing has no dairy as written. Do not thin it with milk.