In recent years, have your nieces and nephews been stealing the show at your family’s annual gingerbread building competition? Perhaps your designs need to be a little more ambitious then. Why not up the ante with a gingerbread house modeled after a famous architectural structure?

The rigidity of gingerbread and the brightness of white icing lend themselves well to recreating the terraced crown of William Van Alen’s art-deco wonder, the Chrysler Building, for example. And the Eames’ modern Pacific Palisades marvel Case Study House No. 8 is easily recreated with candy glass, allowing plenty of natural light into the interior — just as Charles and Ray intended. Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House may be the easiest to make, the spareness of which is easily captured by pouring white fondant over a simple cookie framework. ARTINFO’s personal favorite is Buckminster Fuller’s Geodesic Dome, a half-soccer ball structure of sheer geometric genius.

Overzealous builders can even attempt Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, replacing its brick façade with stacked SweetTarts. Watch out for the tricky cantilevers, though — they can spell disaster if not properly supported by T-shaped beams.

ARTINFO is here with a winning game plan for this year’s festivities, inspired by iconic landmark buildings and the world’s most revered architects. To see the full range of architecture-inspired gingerbread houses, click the slideshow.