DIY Haunted Houses

You love making gingerbread houses when Christmas comes around so why not create your own DIY Haunted Houses for Halloween? Come on you guys, you know me. I’m the girl who made a Pretzel Log Cabin for 4th of July. What makes these houses so special is that there is no need to glue an entire house together, you just need one piece! Now that’s what I call easy (okay, okay, easIER). Why the homemade haunted house dough, you ask? Because I’ve yet to find a graham cracker out on the market that is free of gluten, eggs, and dairy. So I make my own…

The DIY Haunted Houses cookie dough is made with Enjoy Life’s All Purpose flour mix, which is made from millet, rice, teff, and buckwheat and has 5g of protein per each serving. It’s the perfect blend to use when you don’t want to make your own gluten free flour blend (and for the days you do, see this post).  Even better? Look below at ALL the mixes Enjoy Life sells now. I know, I wanted to do a cartwheel as well. All mixes are free of the Top 8 food allergies, hooray!

What I love most about this mix in comparison to most store-bought mixes is that not only is it made with a great combo of ancient grains but there is also no xanthan gum included. I like having the option of whether or not I want to add the gum to my recipes so it makes me happy that I don’t have worry about it.  And this is a recipe that doesn’t need xanthan!

And instead of using a powder sugar “glue” I used melted nondairy chocolate from Enjoy Life. It gives more of a creepy and dark feel for these DIY Haunted Houses, don’t you think? 

Melt those nondairy chocolate chips, stock up on some of your favorite gluten free candies (here is a great Halloween gluten free-safe list), get those googly eyes ready, buy some nondairy white chocolate coins (that just so happen to look like ghosts!), color some shredded coconut with an all-natural green food coloring, and you are practically on your way to making these DIY Haunted Houses!

DIY Haunted Houses

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• Author: Fork & Beans
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: Makes approx. 5 Haunted Houses

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Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 c. Enjoy LIfe’s All Purpose flour mix
• 1/3 c. cocoa powder, unsweetened
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tsp. psyllium husk powder* + 1 1/2 Tbsp. water, allow to thicken for a minute
• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil (use refined for no coconut flavor)
• 2 Tbsp. nondairy milk
• 1 Tbsp molasses

For the “glue”:

• 1/4 c. Enjoy Life chocolate chips, melted

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Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until well-combined. Create a well in the middle.
3. Pour all of the wet ingredients into the well. Mix until a nice dough forms (see the post below for all dough recipe notes). You will need to use your clean hands after a certain point to make sure the dough is formed. Your dough should be easy to work with and not sticky. If sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until no longer sticky. If too dry, add a teaspoon of warm water until no longer dry.
4. Divide the dough into 4 even dough balls.
5. Roll one dough ball between a piece of parchment paper that is folded in half (see photos for reference). Aim for cutting out a rectangle that is a height of no more than 8″ and a width of 3 1/2″. Cut a 2″x3 1/2″ rectangle on the bottom (again, reference photos). Cut out a square for the window. No need to scoop out the dough, you will need the cut out as the stand for holding up the haunted house.
6. Transfer the parchment paper onto the baking sheet (no need to scoop up with a spatula, save your wits about you!) and bake for 10-14 minutes, depending on your oven. Keep an eye on it after minute 10. Allow to completely cool and crisp up.
7. Repeat with all of the dough balls. Depending on the size of your houses, you can get approximately 5.
8. Using the melted chocolate, “glue” the bottom of the home to the base. Glue 2 sides of the square and allow to set behind the house to hold up. Decorate once the Haunted Houses are completely set.
9. Don’t forget to use other fun mini Halloween cookie cutter shapes for the dough scraps to add to the houses! Oh and the homemade googly eyes are a must.

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Notes

*If you do not have psyllium husk powder, you can sub grounded chia seed or flax seed meal.

Recipe Notes for DIY Haunted Houses: 

Your dough should not be dry. If it is, add a teaspoon of warm water at a time until a nice dough forms. It should be the consistency of bubble gum: soft yet not sticky. 

If your dough is too soft to handle, the dough needs to be chilled. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes and then roll out.

To prevent your houses from collapsing: 1). Roll out dough between 1/4″-1/8″ thickness; 2). Bake dough long enough (should be lightly browned along the edges and crisp); 3). Once  out of the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes and then place in the freezer to firm up completely; 4) Keep it simple–don’t add too many windows, etc (like pictured here).

If your dough happens to crack while it is baking (as pictured above), all you need to do is take 1 Tbsp. of powdered sugar and a small drop or 2 of water and mix until a thick paste is formed. Gently cover the crack with the sugar “glue” while it is still warm and allow to dry completely. 

HAPPY HAUNTINGS!

This post has been compensated by Enjoy Life but all opinions expressed are my own. If you want to learn more about my sponsors, read here.