Merry Christmas! Making gingerbread houses are one of the many fun holiday activities for kids. But the amount of sugar consumed while making and then eating these crazy concoctions can get out of hand! Don’t worry, you don’t have to eliminate this fun activity from your holiday activity list! We’ve found a solution to have fun without sending your kids into a sugar coma!

Instead of decorating the house with icing and candy, why not use peanut butter, pretzels, dried fruit, nuts, and shredded coconut? Apricots can be used for stones to make a path, slivered almonds can be icicles, shredded coconut can be snow, pretzels can make a fence, you get the picture!

You can even find a low-fat gingerbread cookie recipe or use graham crackers instead! And we think that this version tastes even better than the original gingerbread house! It’s full of so many different flavors – from sweet to savory.

But be careful – just because this gingerbread house is healthier doesn’t mean it’s not full of calories! Nuts, nut butters, and dried fruit are all healthy, but high in calories too, so even though it may be a challenge, be sure to use portion control!

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup dark molasses
• 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

For the Icing:

• 1 1/2 tbsp egg whites
• 1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• pinch of cream of tartar

Directions:
For the cookies:

• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar and applesauce until smooth. Add the egg and molasses, mix well.
• In another large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and spices. Add to sugar and molasses mixture, stirring well.
• Divide the dough into two flat balls; cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously dust the surface of your working area with flour before rolling out the dough. Work with one ball of dough at a time, keep the other refrigerated while you do so.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously dust the surface of your working area with flour before rolling out the dough. Work with one ball of dough at a time, keep the other refrigerated while you do so.
• Roll the dough out to 1/4 or 1/8-inch thickness, sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough if it’s a little sticky. Cut the gingerbread with a cookie cutter shape of your choice.
• Place cookies 1 or 2 inches apart on a silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

For the icing:

• Mix the egg whites with lemon juice. Combine with powdered sugar, mixing well. If the icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar, if it’s too thick add a drop of lemon juice.Add to a piping bag to decorate cookies when cookies are cooled.

Calories: 56.4 • Fat: 0.8 g • Carb: 12.4 g • Fiber: 0.1 g • Protein: 0.9 g • Sugar: 6 g
Sodium: 30.3 g

We found this awesome recipe at SkinnyTaste.com! She rocks!

Do you make gingerbread houses? Would you consider using dried fruit, nuts, and nut butters instead of the traditional icing and candy?

image from glorioustreats.com