Fa la la la la

For my entire adult life, I have wanted to build a Gingerbread house from scratch.

Do you remember how I said I make a list of things to accomplish before Christmas?  Well, this is always the number one item on my list, and every year it is the first to be cut

To be sure I didn't scrap it this year, I made a pledge to my little Amelia that we were going to make a Gingerbread house together.  Two actually... One from scratch and one of the prepackaged kind you can pick up anywhere at this time of year.

Daddy and Amelia scaling the template

who knew making a Gingerbread house involved so many pieces?

A mixture of sugar and water cooked to "Hard Crack" stage

My "glue" could have used additional time on the stove as it wasn't quite ready... but I was too impatient to wait.

 Cautiously dip gingerbread pieces in the candy mixture and use it as a glue.  Careful not to burn yourself as the mixture is extremely hot.

The Sugar mixture dries almost immediately so there isn't the need to wait as long as you do when using royal icing.

The first roof

Shingling with Shreddies

The first roof had to be removed for a few reasons:

1)  The roof hadn't cooled completely (from the oven) before starting to assemble (Trust me... I knew this was a big mistake at the time, but I allowed myself to be talked in to it.)

2)  The roof was too thick and therefore too heavy.

3)  The sugar mixture wasn't cooked long enough, so it was still a little too soft.

The second roof was a much better size.  I also rolled it thinner and baked it longer.

These two Photos are the Gingerbread House that Amelia made!

I hope to continue this Gingerbread house tradition every year, as I had way more fun than I had imagined!

Happy Holidays!