I never thought I would see the day but I am officially in love with this idea! You get to learn how to make a Pop Tart house this year instead of a gingerbread house! This fun easy to make version is ideal for those who don't want to bake gingerbread, and fun for kids who already love a good toaster pastry breakfast. It's a fun spin on a classic that you can get the entire family involved with creating.

Pop Tart Gingerbread House

This is just brilliant! In our house, nobody really likes the flavor of gingerbread, and over the years, I found that trying to make it from scratch is just nearly impossible. It's either too soft to stand up, too hard and crumbly, or ends up burning because it got too thin. As someone who can conquer nearly anything in the kitchen, gingerbread is one I just cannot manage. So, using Pop Tarts is brilliant and definitely something I want to create this year!

Now, if you like gingerbread flavor you can easily make gingerbread waffles, a gingerbread cookies pizza, or even gingerbread rice krispie treats instead. All of these are easy to make and don't have to be as exact.

Can We Eat The Pop Tart House?

Yes! You can definitely eat this! The Pop Tart's themselves are of course edible, as is the icing you use to keep the candy treats on the house. Every bit of this house is completely edible. If you don't want to display this throughout the holidays, you can make it then have fun taking it apart for a tasty snack!

What's the Best "Glue" to Keep Decorations in Place?

In my experience a good stiff icing is the best option. You can use canned or packaged icing if you want, but I like making it from scratch since I can get it the right texture. Not hard, but stiffer than a basic icing so it holds tight to the food and won't drip down the house pieces.

You can always use real glue on this project if you want to make it something that isn't edible but just for display. While I have never done that, I do have friends who do this just for displaying each year and always use hot glue to secure the base since they won't be eating it afterward.

What Supplies Do I Need?

What you add to your Pop Tart house really depends on how you want the end decorations to look. Below is what I used for mine, as well as some other ideas that would be great for adding to this house for a different look.

Pop Tart's (6 per house)
Miniature Pop tarts (4-6 per house)
Gum drop candies (Dots)
Miniature candy canes
Marshmallows
M&M's candy
Miniature M&M's candy
Candy snowflakes

Other ideas I would add to future houses

Graham crackers, Oreo's, vanilla wafers, or other cookies for sidewalks.
Jimmies/Sprinkles for adding texture on the roof.
Licorice strips or pieces.
Taffy or Air Heads candy strips.
Reese's Pieces or peanut butter cups
Different colors of icing or icing gel for writing or drawing on the house.
Colored sugar or candy beads.

How do I Make Icing for My Pop Tart House?

If you aren't using ready-made icing, you can whip up a batch using just powdered sugar and water. If you want more flavor, you can add a bit of vanilla, lemon, or almond extract in with the water.

Combine 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon water at a time mixing until the right consistency. Depending upon the humidity in your area, you may need to add more or less water to get this thick enough to pipe or spread onto the house to seal the seams.

How to Assemble a Pop Tart Gingerbread House

Start by preparing your icing and setting out all of your supplies on a clean surface.

Cut a piece of cardboard and cover with paper, or set out a platter large enough to hold your house and decor to use as a base.

Fill a piping bag with icing and a round tip.

Place two Pop Tarts beside each other in an "L" shape as a guide, and cut the tall one at a diagonal on both sides creating the end of the house.

Repeat this so you have a total of 2 Pop Tarts with flat bottoms and pointed tops. These will be used as the front and back of your home.

Using one of these pieces as a guide, cut two more Pop Tarts so they are flat across the top and even with the bottom edge of the top of the pointed pieces. These will be used as the sides.

Pipe a thick line of icing down the edge of the two end pieces of the house.

Attach the two pointed pieces, one on each end, to build the base of your home.

Set this on your platter or base and let it sit for 30-minutes to dry and set.

You may need to hold this in place by hand for a few minutes before letting it stand.

Once the icing is set on the base of your home, use more icing to attach two whole Pop Tarts to the top creating a roof.

Add the icing all along the top of the base of the house as well as at the seam at the top.

Hold this in place for 5 minutes to help secure.

Add an extra strip of icing along the top if needed to hold in place.

Next, add icing around the edges of the roof line.

Add M&M's or other candies and sprinkles along the edge of the roof line with additional icing if needed.

Using icing, attach 3 miniature Pop Tarts to one end of the home creating a door and windows.

You can also add candy pieces along the top center of the home as shown below.

Cut a Marshmallow in half and put a candy cane inside each half

Then place those at the front of the house.

Add additional icing along spots or edges of the roof of the home creating areas to attach snowflakes, candy pieces, and sprinkles to decorate the home.

Line additional candies around the house, on the roof line, and on the sides of the house to create your own winter scene.

More Fun Holiday Ideas

Still need something fun to do for the holidays? Check out some of our other ideas that are fun for kids and adults alike!

Yield: 1

How to Make a Pop Tart House {Gingerbread House}

Follow this easy tutorial to create a new holiday tradition with this fun Pop Tart house! A great spin on the classic gingerbread house.

Materials

6 Pop Tarts per house
3 Mini Pop Tarts per house
Dots candy
Gum drops candy
M&M's candy
Mini M&M's
Miniature candy canes
Marshmallows
Candy snowflakes

Tools

Mixing bowl
Piping bags
Small spatulas

Instructions

Start by preparing your icing and setting out all of your supplies on a clean surface.
Cut a piece of cardboard and cover with paper, or set out a platter large enough to hold your house and decor to use as a base.
Fill a piping bag with icing and a round tip.
Place two Pop Tarts beside each other in an "L" shape as a guide, and cut the tall one at a diagonal on both sides creating the end of the house.
Repeat this so you have a total of 2 Pop Tarts with flat bottoms and pointed tops. These will be used as the front and back of your home.
Using one of these pieces as a guide, cut two more Pop Tarts so they are flat across the top and even with the bottom edge of the top of the pointed pieces. These will be used as the sides.
Pipe a thick line of icing down the edge of the two wall pieces of the house and attach the two pointed pieces, one on each end, to build the base of your home. Set this on your platter or base and let it sit for 30-minutes to dry and set.
Once the icing is set on the base of your home, use icing to attach two whole Pop Tarts to the top creating a roof. Add the icing all along the top of the base of the house as well as at the seam at the top. Hold this in place for 5 minutes to help secure, then let sit for at least 30 minutes before continuing with decorations.
Using icing, attach 3 miniature Pop Tarts to one end of the home creating a door and windows.
Add additional icing along spots or edges of the roof of the home creating areas to attach snowflakes, candy pieces, and sprinkles to decorate the home.
Cut a Marshmallow in half and put a candy cane inside each half then place those at the front of the house.
Line additional candies around the house, on the roof line, and on the sides of the house to create your own winter scene.