Ingredients

• STRUCTURE
• 1 small cardboard base or cake board (about 10–12 in / 25–30 cm)
• 1 small cardboard house form or 1 premade gingerbread house
• 3 cups royal icing or very thick frosting, in a piping bag
• Toothpicks or pins for very heavy fruit (optional)
• DRIED FRUIT AND DECORATIONS
• 2 cups Mariani Banana Chips (about 160 g), for roof shingles
• ½ cup Mariani Sweetened Dried Cherries (about 70 g), for roofline and trim
• ½ cup Mariani Pitted Prunes, halved or chopped (about 80 g), for dark “stones”
• ½ cup Mariani Sweetened Wild Blueberries (about 70 g), for edging
• ½ cup Mariani Dried Apricots, cut in rectangles (about 75 g), for windows
• ¼ cup Mariani No Sugar Added Pineapple pieces (about 35 g), for side panels
• 2–3 cups Mariani Yogurt Covered Raisins, for snow and pathway
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Instructions

• 1. Set the base. Fix the house to the board with icing so it will not move while you decorate.
• 2. Do the roof first. Pipe two lines of icing across the roof. Lay banana chips in slightly overlapping rows to make shingles. Run a line of icing along the roof peak and press in dried cherries.
• 3. Make the windows and doors. Pipe window outlines on the front. Press in cut apricot pieces to fill the window shapes. Add small lines of icing over the apricots to make windowpanes. Add a taller apricot for the door and outline it with icing.
• 4. Add wall details. Pipe a vertical line of icing on the corners of the house and press in prunes and dried blueberries to make a dark stone look. Add pineapple pieces on the side walls to create lighter panels and secure with icing.
• 5. Make the snow and path. Pipe a thick wavy line of icing from the front door out onto the board. Press yogurt covered raisins into the icing to make a snowy path and scatter more around the base to look like drifts.
• 6. Finish and dry. Add a few icing drips from the roof and press in more cherries while the icing is wet. Let the whole house dry at room temperature until the icing is firm before moving it.
• Let decorated sides dry before you move the house so the fruit stays in place.

• MAKE IT YOURS
• Pick a color story: bright (cherries, apricots) or pale (pineapple, apple, yogurt pieces)
• Keep fruit in overlapping rows so the walls look finished
• Add extra icing on the roof and at the base to suggest snow, then press in white pieces

• IDEAS FROM NINA'S VERSION
• Apple rings can sit on small branches or artificial trees as snow
• Flattened fruit pieces can become stepping stones around the house
• Maraschino cherries, candied fruit, and whole nuts can add holiday color
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