My Anonymous Blog

Gingerbread House 2007

It's that time again -- I am debating what pattern to use for my house this year, and while ideally it should be my own, I stumbled upon Rose Levy Beranbaum's (of cake, pastry & bread bible fame) Christmas Cookies book, which contained a marvelous pattern for a gingerbread church that could be easily altered.

Gingerbread House 2006

TA - DA!!! Welcome to my Gingerbread Mansion 2006!! I couldn't have completed it without my talented friend Leslie, who built the pretzel park bench and designed all of the wonderful landscaping around the house, as well as tiling the porch in beans. The roofing is made from Wheat Thins; the grass is parsley; siding on the house is chewing gum; water in the pond is blue Jolly Ranchers (melted); breadsticks form the posts around the porch; the turret is covered in colored icing (bad choice -- I don't like this part!); shrubs and trees are formed from Rice Krispies dyed with green and mixed with a little parsley; windows are crushed and melted cough drops.

Overall, I'm proud of Gingerbread House 2006! It takes up a good amount of space at the end of our dining room table, and as such Matthew has already set a demolition date of February 1, 2007, which I suppose is more than fair (besides, rats and/or roaches could get to it before then...).

Merry Christmas!

Almost There - Gingerbread House 2006

Choosing a pattern with a turret was another mistake on my part -- what a challenge, but so worth it in the end. Leslie designed the entire yard and even built a small pond with sugar cubes and melted blue Jolly Ranchers! She's amazing.

Easy Does It

It's coming along! Just look at my "glass windows" made of melted candy that is baked with the gingerbread! I wish I would have thought to install dollhouse lighting so that the thing would actually glow from the insides at night -- next year, next year!!!

Slowly But Surely - Gingerbread 2006

Why, oh why did I choose to build a house with a wraparound porch?! It's proving to be enormously challenging, but (and perhaps I'm jinxing myself by saying this), I haven't broken a single piece of gingerbread yet.

House Progress - Gingerbread 2006

I'm still sloppy with the icing, something I'm slowly getting used to, and we've had to prop walls up with various cans of food so that they don't collapse before the icing has set fully. It's coming nervously along, though ...

Gingerbread House 2006 - Groundbreaking

The stakes have been raised to epic levels this year for Gingerbread House 2006. After last year's inaugural house, which was deemed "cute" by most, "kidsy" by some, and "not nearly big or elaborate enough" by yours truly, I've pushed the bar up this year and have enlisted the help of my dear friend Leslie, who has extended her trip to NYC by a few days just so that she can help me assemble the massive structure.

Gingerbread House 2005 #2

In the end, it turned out okay. I had visions of a grand gingerbread fortress or castle or mansion when I first started sifting through blueprints of gingerbread structures online, but quickly realized that I should play it simple and traditional the first year ... but I'm already gearing up for next year ... just you wait!

Groundbreaking -- Gingerbread House 2005

I can't wait to put together my very first gingerbread house! I found the pattern online, and while it's not complicated, and actually rather silly and typical looking, I still can't wait to put it all together and try a few new things out. Wish me luck!