Gingerbread Ninja

Tie a Rope around Your Gingerbread Walls, Bobby Flay

Keeping a gingerbread structure straight and even while drying usually involves strategically placed cans of soup. Propping up the sides with heavy objects works well for smaller pieces, but here we see another useful technique ... string. Bobby Flay was in a Food Network gingerbread throwdown, whipping up an edible Empire State Building complete with gelatin windows, melted Red Hot accents and brown tinted icing. The string technique worked just dandy. Follow the link to see the completed skyscraper.

Photo by Ted Schurter/The State Journal-Register

Rosen Clan Rocks the Gingerbread!

Who are these Rosens? They're a clever bunch, for sure. Take a look at their elaborate gingerbread memoirs for the years 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. They've thoughtfully posted photos, instructions and advice for the rest of us. Besides the immediate family, their friends and neighbors drop in to help with each year's project. It's all done in a day, as kind of a relay event that starts with Adam baking the gingerbread structure. Here's a peek inside their 2005 house:

Good advice accompanying the Rosen pic below. Cut your gingerbread pieces on the back of a baking sheet and then peel off the excess dough from in-between. I like to roll out the dough on a piece of parchment paper placed on the back of my baking sheet. Parchment paper won't burn in the oven and after the pieces are properly baked/cooled, they pop right off the paper. No mess, no fuss.

In Praise of the Pretzel Fence

The lowly pretzel takes on a whole new look when you use it to construct a fence or another architectural element on your gingerbread "property." 

In the above pic, Jessica's fondant pigs are making their escape from a pen fashioned from square-shaped pretzels. Pretzel sticks make great fences, too, and they also work well as logpiles in an outdoor scene.

 

Above, pretzel sticks are used to create the basic structures and railings in this award-winning creation. Looks like the roofs of these huts may be spaghetti. Clever! Pic is from the 2007 gingerbread contest of Darnall's Chance House Museum in Upper Marlboro, MD. This Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse by Victoria Russell won First Place, Viewer's Choice and Most Creative award. Here is info on the museum's 2008 competition. 

Bob Vila Knows His Gingerbread

Here is a cool set of detailed instructions from Bob Vila's crew. They know all about houses, including those made from gingerbread. One of the best features of this article is the collection of exceptional design templates, allowing you to create a truly distinctive-looking structure. Downloadable plans include A-Frame, Colonial, Saltbox, and Side Gable houses (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). Combine these solid, unique structural plans with your creative decorating ideas and you'll have an award-winning house on your hands.

Comprehensive Instructions for Building Your Gingerbread House

Starting with a pre-baked gingerbread house kit allows you to finish your project in a fraction of the time, while still allowing for all the customization you can comprehend. If the pre-baked approach does not appeal to you, a number of gingerbread recipes are available online to give you the control and flexibility you crave. Use these easy-to-follow directions, Building a Gingerbread House with Susan Reid, to construct a wonderful house from scratch. Includes gingerbread dough recipe, template for roof and walls, assembly tips, landscaping ideas, and directions for gelatin and stained glass windows. Complete with how-to photos. 

Royal Icing (meringue powder)

As far as royal icing goes, this is my favorite. Grab a can of meringue powder at most any store carrying cake decorating supplies and you'll end up with a great batch of fluffy white stuff. I mention the Wilton brand only because I use it and it works well. I don't work for Wilton! However, I head over to their tent sale in Woodridge, IL every June to load up on super discounted baking supplies. Enter Tent Sale into the search box at Wilton online for details.

Ingredients:

3T Wilton Meringue Powder

1lb powdered sugar (4 cups)

6T warm water

Directions:

Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes at low speed with heavy-duty mixer or 10-12 minutes at high speed with hand mixer). Makes 3 cups of icing.

Royal Icing (with egg whites)

Use this icing as the glue for your gingerbread house and accompanying decorations. It dries hard as a rock in just a few hours. Since it includes raw egg whites, don't eat this stuff. Nobody wants Salmonella for Christmas!

Ingredients:

4 egg whites

4 cups powdered sugar

1t. lemon extract or lemon juice

Directions:

Beat all ingredients at low speed until icing forms peaks, 7-10 minutes. Cover bowl with a wet towel while you work or (better yet) move directly into an airtight container. Use decorator bags and tips or a cookie press to pipe icing onto your gingerbread masterpiece.