How to Make a Gingerbread House for Halloween using Licorice

A Halloween Gingerbread House? 

Why not? And while you're at it, why not make it a haunted gingerbread house with spooky lights shining out the windows? And of course, you'll need to use lots of licorice to decorate your haunted house.



That's what Erin, an employee at Licorice International, made this year. She used regular gingerbread pieces for the body, along with thick pretzel sticks to help support it. For a creepy looking roof, she used homemade waffle cones. To glue the pieces together, she melted sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until it turned a brownish color (330 degrees F). She simply dipped the ends in and stuck them together. Then she used the leftover sugar mixture to make dark "glass" for the windows. After putting the house together, she placed it on a tray and sprinkled crumbled Oreos around to look like dirt. (No grass in this yard.) You can add some gummy worms to the "dirt" if you wish.

Then came the fun: decorating. Erin used dipping chocolate to apply candy to the haunted house, emphasizing creepy instead of colorful. She shared the following tips, using mostly licorice from Licorice International (click on the name of the licorice to order):

Use Black Licorice Laces to wind around posts, trees, anywhere you wish. You can also use them for spider legs or witch hair.

When you unroll Black Licorice Wheels, you get double laces, which make spooky-looking windows and trim for your house.

Kenny's Black Licorice Twists work well for porch rails and make great haunted trees (just untwist the top to make branches). Then cut a Licorice Twist crosswise to make tiny spiders.

Pontefract Cakes and Batzen both work well for spider bodies.

Make tiny ghosts out of Licorice Chalk.

Beehive Honey Licorice makes a beehive on the front porch. "Instead of flowers, this house has a beehive," Erin said.

Cut a piece of Halva Licorice Bar into a doormat.

Decorate the house with Katjes Kinder (cats) and Gustaf's Platinum Select Sweet, which are shaped like goblins and witches.

To add some autumn colors, use candy corn and Reece's pieces.

Put electric lights inside for a spooky glow.