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Our first gingerbread house
Well we had fun and work over the weekend, and at last things have let up a little (I’ve been making Christmas gifties) and I can post about our first EVER Gingerbread House …. 
that’s maybe not so surprising for Eli (8) and JOshua (13), but I’m nearly 50 and it’s my first, too!
What I learned is that it takes a LOT of time, and not as much candy (phew!) as I thought. On Saturday we made the gingerbread from a recipe in Joy of Cooking Christmas Cookies (hotlink is to the book on Amazon), and decided to make life easy and use their pattern for my first house instead of making up a design from scratch (what a concept!).
I loved the way the batter looked so glossy and swirly when I mixed the molasses into the mixture:
Then, the batter had to “rest” in a cool spot (our garage) for 2+ hours. It ended up being more like 6, which was fine according to the recipe. Rolling it out and cutting the pieces took a lot longer than I expected…about an hour!
It definitely helped to roll it out, as suggested, on parchment paper that you can cut and just slide the piece onto the cookie sheet….that batter gets really sticky, even the “construction” grade (versus cookie / eating mixture, which has less flour).
I used (of course I did…I’m a quilter!) my 9 1/2 inch squzre Creative Grids Rotary cutting ruler to measure out the pieces! I just dusted a little flour on top of the gingerbread before placing the ruler, scored the lines to match the pattern, and then sliced away.
Here are the pieces having just come out of the oven:
I tried to make trees and an outhouse out of the leftovers. So-so for an effort. Then on Sunday (the next day) we had to “glue” the house together with frosting and wait at least an hour for it to “set up” and be solid. THEN we finally got to decorate.
At the grocery, when I returned several bags of not-needed candies, the manager had a great idea which I wished I had known: cut your pieces the size of a pint container and “glue” them with frosting to the container…helps support the gingerbread from the inside. Even making a cardboard “house” frame first, and taping it together, would really have made things a lot easier. Save that idea for next year. Anyway, I ended up making two trees, and got too tired and just pitched the outhouse parts.
I made the house with front and back doors (or two front doors, if you prefer) so that each of the boys had their own end to do, but Joshua decided to be a teen and “IM” with friends and play Runescape instead. Bummers. He didn’t even eat the candies! Eli, however, joined in and had the great ideas to use the candycanes on the ends of the eaves over the doorways.
Now…what do I put on the cookie sheet so it looks nicer?
Another lesson learned…using cheap-o store brand sandwich baggies as a frosting tube (clipping a tiny bit of a corner off) instead of a proper pastry tube is a recipe for a mess…the bag split any number of ways, including in the middle of the bag. So our “piped” edges and drips are more like messy blobs. Oh well….we’ll call it wet snow which is clumpy!
And….wonder why you can’t just glue it up using hot glue instead of frosting….the house isn’t going to get eaten (the dough recipe has double the flour to make it sturdy), so why not???? Anyone have any ideas?
Oh, and I really like the candy-coated “Kissables” (think chocolate chips meet M&Ms) which I used all along the roof, and the Necco dots on the foundation of the house.
PS–that black and orange thing on the lazy susan is an adorable Halloween spider from the boys’ devoted Aunt Joyce!
December 6th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
I made many a gingerbread house when I was a teenager. They were quite extravagant. Yes, I used a cardboard base. The cookie sheet? Green colored shredded coconut looks nice. Just put a few drops of food coloring in a plastic bag with the coconut and shake it up. Looks like fun! I have two kits for the kids to made. Probably next week.
December 6th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
I am thinking it might be good to build it on the lazy susan, esp if you are decorating the whole thing by yourself. You can find them for almost nothing in thrift shops if you don’t want to use the one you already have. I don’tremember ever making one. Maybe this is the year if I can get the grandchildren over for a couple of days.
December 6th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
Reading through your entry, I was going to recommend what we do – then you thought of it at the end…HOT GLUE! It hardens in like one minute – I’ve been doing this for years. Then, you can cover the seems with the icing, but it’s just decorative!
December 7th, 2006 at 10:36 am
What a wonderful way to bond with your boys. I bet there was a lot of finger licking going on too!
December 7th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
Always thought of making one, first with the girls, then with the grandchildren…never it. It is a wonderful project, and I’m sure the boys loved it.
December 7th, 2006 at 2:31 pm
The house is too cute! I bet it was fun to make!
December 7th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
Hey Sarah very cool… I have lots of fun doing the gingerbread construction thing… I have built St. Basil’s Cathedral, Notre Dame, Portland Headlight, and numerous historic houses… I always have fun!