Cookie Brick House

I made a house out of sugar cookie bricks! You can display it and then eat it! It's a lot of fun too make too. So you can join in on that fun, I made this Instructable about how to make it!

As mortar, I used royal icing. The reason why I chose royal icing is because it hardens, so it would keep the house together well. To make the cookies into the shape of a brick, I used a mold. The only problem that I ran into while making it is that I ran out of cookie bricks. If this happens to you, just do what I did: make more cookie bricks.

By the way -- if you are going to eat the house after you make it, be sure to get food grade silicone mini brick molds.

-Large mixing bowl

-Small brick molds

-Hand or stand mixer (with whisk attachment and beaters)

-Plastic wrap

-Parchment paper

-Measuring spoons

-5 cups all-purpose flour

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-2 cups granulated sugar

-1/4 cup and 2 to 4 tablespoons milk

-1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (make it room temperature before using)

-2 eggs

-3 cups powdered sugar

-2 tablespoons light corn syrup

-Baking trays

-Oven

First, make the cookie batter. Attach the beater attachments on your hand or stand mixer. In the mixing bowl, cream 1 cup of butter (two sticks) and 2 cups granulated sugar until light and fluffy (look at the picture). Add 2 eggs. Mix until the eggs are beaten and mixed into the batter. Then, add 5 cups of flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix. Add 1/4 cup milk. Continue to mix until it looks like it does in the picture. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Fill the molds with the batter. Push out the brick from the back of the mold -- carefully -- and put it on a tray covered with parchment paper. You can make them very close together, as they won't expand. You will probably need to end up using 2 trays. Then, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for about 10 minutes or until hard and crispy. (Look in the two pictures for before and after the cookie bricks are cooked.) The cookies should be very lightly browned on the bottom.

Now, we need to make the icing or the cookie house won't stay together! Attach the whisk attachment to your hand or stand mixer. In a mixing bowl (you can use the same one for the past steps, as long as you wash it first), mix 3 cups of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. Then, add 2 tablespoons of light corn syrup. Mix. If the mixture is too thick, add some milk (one tablespoon at a time). If it is too thin, add some more powdered sugar (one tablespoon at a time). Mix the icing until it's smooth and icing-like (look in the picture).

It's time for the best part, making the cookie house! On top of a baking tray, plate, or cutting board, place bricks in a square, leaving one spot open (for the door). You should make it as big as you want your house. You should look in the picture for this step. Then continue building up. Just like a real brick building, you should make the next brick layer go on the cracks in between the other bricks under it. (Look in the picture). If there is a half space that you need to fill, cut one of the bricks in half with a knife and use that.

Once the door is the height that you want it, you can start the next layer above like shown in the picture. Then, you can build windows using the same technique that you used to make the door. Once your house is the desired height, you can build the roof. Start making each layer in a little more towards the center. (It's a good idea to look in the picture for this step). At some point, all the sides of the roof should meet and you should have a completed cookie brick house! If you have extra bricks, you can do things like make cookie brick people or a door. I used my one extra brick to make a door, as you can see in the picture. I hope you had fun! Bon Appetite!