Gingerbread House

Figure A--This delightful gingerbread house makes a wonderful holiday centerpiece and is very easy to make. Trimming a gingerbread house with colorful decorations is also a great project for children.

Figure B--Use your favorite gingerbread recipe and make sure to line the baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Cut the pieces while they're still warm. The gingerbread becomes stiff and brittle when it cools, making it hard to cut without shattering.

Another option for building a gingerbread house is to sub-contract out the job of baking the pieces to a local bakery. Just tell the bakery what size pieces of gingerbread you need. Building and decorating the house is where the fun is anyway, so why not let someone else do the baking?

Figure C--Join the walls with healthy dollops of icing. Don't worry if it's a little messy because the house is going to be covered with all kinds of candy and frosting by the time it's done. Brace the walls with some canned goods while the frosting dries. The frosting will dry in a couple of hours, but for best results let the house sit overnight before decorating.

Use a hard-drying icing such as royal icing. Just mix one cup powdered sugar, one egg white, three drops of lemon juice and whatever color of food coloring you like.

Figure D--Start with a foundation of heavy cardboard, foam board or plywood wrapped in decorative foil. Spread some frosting over the top of the display board and sprinkle on some chopped coconut snow if desired.

Figure E--Decorate a gingerbread house with a wide assortment of candies.

Figure F--Spread some commercial icing on the roof and use colorful candy discs as roofing tiles. For a country cottage theme, use small squares of shredded wheat cereal. Start at the bottom and work up the roof.

Figure G--Ice cream cones make wonderful pine trees. Just spread with green frosting, sprinkle with some green sugar crystals and you're ready to landscape.

Figure H--If you're handy with a pastry bag, fill it with some of the royal icing and pipe out some decorative elements onto a sheet of parchment paper. Let dry, then stick on the house with frosting.

Figures I and J--Stick on a marshmallow for a chimney, and a round gummy candy piece makes a perfect holiday wreath for a gingerbread house. Spread a bit of green frosting on the candy and press onto the house.