I loathe ginger. The mere smell makes me sick. I'd be more willing to stuff my face with apples, strawberries and almonds, a few things I'm allergic to, than a teaspoon of ginger. But this year, I decided to clamp my nose and taste buds shut, and make some gingerbread houses. Little did I know, gingerbread houses made from scratch include an entire day of creativity, much more than just a few bucks worth of ingredients at the grocery store, and absolutely no ginger! (Unless you plan on eating the gingerbread house, which I opted out of doing after baking it a week prior to Christmas day. Nibbling on a stale gingerbread house? Nah.)
The preparation.
Since I'll be in San Antonio on Christmas, why would I not visit with an Alamo gingerbread house?! The idea of an Alamo gingerbread house came while singing some random Texas song in the shower, but the template to the front side of the Alamo came from Lisa Fain's blog, Homesick Texan (http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2009/12/gingerbread-alamo-recipe.html).
Most easy-to-make recipes are found through simple Google searches. I just chose the websites with recipes that best fit my kitchenware..or so I thought. I quickly learned not to make royal frosting in the blender after it smoked and died on me! I now need to buy a new blender and the correct kitchen baking supplies.
As it was my first time creating a gingerbread house, I merrily skipped on down to the the store and...drew a complete blank. Note to self: keep a mental picture of your gingerbread house before shopping. Make a list! And don't buy candy that you will eventually eat before gluing it to your house. Woops!
Setting all the ingredients on the table and throwing all the candy and cookies into bowls makes for a more visual and organized display.
A full day's work.
By the end of the day, my body, clothes and hair were covered in flour, confectioner's sugar and royal frosting. Creating a masterpiece house is not easy peasy. It takes a perfect amount of all necessary ingredients, strong hands to knead the dough, patience while cutting the template out, and lots of creativity when intricately placing each candy piece in its place. The dough needs to be thick enough to bake in the oven and not burn, the frosting needs to hold the correct consistency to glue the house together and refrain from collapsing, and the candy must not be eaten throughout the day or you will find a shortage on red and orange Sour Dots, or not enough blueberry Dum Dums to melt into an icy lake! Also, keep in mind that not everybody is as super duper excited about making a gingerbread house as you are, so make sure to keep the music flowing as company may leave throughout the day! ^^
A masterpiece.
Once you begin the gingerbread house, you've basically signed a contract to finish it. An unfinished gingerbread house is a very sad house! You may hate the smell of candy and frosting by the end of the day, but you will wake up the next morning to find a happy and frosty little house (or Alamo) awaiting your accomplished smile. :)
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