Tis' the season for gingerbread

We have an annual tradition to make a gingerbread house every year.  I made the original template a hundred years ago and we would pack it away with the Christmas decorations every year until the next year.  Over the years we have had fancy and not so fancy decorations on our houses.  Some years we have had houses that were held together with frosting.  Some years we have had houses that were dilapidated and falling down.  Some years we have had Thomas Kinkade houses.  Every year we have had adventures baking, putting together and decorating our gingerbread.

Last year and this year the original template was retired (sad face) for innovative new templates designed by the children.  It is hard to step back and let them go, but always rewarding to see what they come up with.  This year they went for a Hobbit (Abbey) castle theme but decided not to put a wall all the way around it so one could see the courtyard.  Did I mention that our gingerbread goes on a board with lights up through to give the appearance of light in the houses?

 This is another "Old" gingerbread.

 Here is this years gingerbread in progress.  Even though my hands were itching, I stayed away. 

This is a close up of the Abbey, we still need to make a candy run to add the embellishments.











Weird things happen with our gingerbread houses.  One year, on Christmas Eve, our dog ate all the candy off a gingerbread house.  We came home to the dog laying on her pillow feeling rather under the weather and the house licked clean.  That year we decorated with quite a few Chocolate kisses and were worried that we would wake up to a dead dog for Christmas.  Thankfully she just threw up and had diarrhea for a couple of days.  We are much more careful where we put the gingerbread now.

I don't like the kids to eat a lot of sugar so after Christmas I would put the gingerbread out for the birds.  The kids just recently shared a funny childhood memory with me.  It seems that all that time I was thinking the animals outside were eating the gingerbread and candy, it was my little children sneaking by and snitching a piece to eat in secret.  Everyone and everything loves gingerbread, so it seems.  Our cats would even try to have a lick or two.  This all adds to the fun.

I will share my gingerbread recipe with you.  It makes really yummy g-men with nice, spicy flavor.

Gingerbread
1C. Butter softened
1C sugar
1/2 C molasses
1tsp each~cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves/ginger
2 eggs~beaten
1tsp vinegar
5 C flour
1tsp b. soda

-In a saucepan combine the butter, sugar, molasses, and spices;  Bring to a boil stirring constantly;  remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.  Stir in eggs and vinegar
-In a bowl combine flour and b soda;  Add sugar mixture to form a soft ball;  chill for several hours.
-Roll out to 1/4 inch width, cutout cookies and place on un-greased cookie sheet.
-Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
-Makes 6 dozen cookies

Icing to put the house together:
2egg whites
5C conf. sugar
whisk egg whites to peaks and gradually add sugar- should be smooth and form firm peaks
(this is the glue to get everything to hold together)
~we put the house together and let it sit one day before decorating the rest.
 We make a softer icing for the "snow" and to put the candy on.

Have fun making your own!