Gingerbread House

The holiday season is in full swing and decorations are going up all around the house. One very popular culinary decoration is the gingerbread house. It wasn’t a tradition in my family, but I recognize it is very big for many. The kits that we sell in the shop are literally flying off the shelves. Just when I think we have too many, they are gone and we need more.

There are many options for the family who wants to make a gingerbread house for display in their home. I look at the most popular kits and one creative, low cost option.

The first kit, and the one which is most readily available, is made by Wilton. This kit has pre-baked gingerbread house pieces and trees ready to go out of the box. It contains all the things you will need to assemble the house, including piping tips and bags, candy and detailed instructions. One year a woman bought 14 of these for her daughter’s party – each girl made her own house during the party. This kit is the biggest seller in our shop. It is ideal for those who want the fun of doing it yourself, without the need to bake anything.

This next kit is from GingerHaus. This kit is, if you will, the next level of involvement. You do the baking and make the icing and then assemble everything using a template. The kit includes Royal Icing mix, candies, baking templates and house frame and a gingerbread mix from King Arthur Flour company. This kit is ideal for those who love to bake and are more “from scratch” types. This assumes you have decorating bags, tips and other baking tools. If it sounds familiar, it is because the Today Show profiled it as a “must have” foodie gift.

The next option is for the ultimate do it yourself type. This isn’t a kit but rather the gingerbread house baking molds from Kitchen Supply. With this product, you bake the pieces in the shapes provided using either the recipe included or one of your own choosing. You are on the hook to buy the candies, materials for icing, and it is assumed you have all the necessary baking and decorating tools. This mold has a brick style house mold on one side and a log cabin on the other.

The last option I will talk about was given to me by my friend Diane C. and is very creative, easy to do and low cost. Diane and her kids used graham crackers to assemble the houses instead of baked or pre-baked gingerbread. She gave me these pictures to show the finished products. I think it is an easy way to accomplish the same goal and have fun at the same time. It also represents the most cost effective option available; all you need is graham crackers, candies and icing materials. Let’s face it, in these tough times, many people need cost effective options in their lives.

The peppermint is a man’s head. He has twizzler arms.

The Italian cookie is a satellite dish in the front yard.

Car parked in the carport. Jellybean people are ice skating on the pond.

Now, a couple of tips for working with gingerbread.

1.) It is easier to cut and form warm gingerbread. If it becomes hard, you can soften it a bit with a little steam from a simmering pot or tea kettle. You might even quickly microwave it to soften it a bit.

2.) Cracks in the walls are not the end of the world. It can easily happen with the pre-baked kits, but can also happen to your homemade creations. Cracks can easily be fixed with icing and clever decorations. Icing covers many a flaw.

Enjoy your culinary decorating!

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