Being a freshman in college leads you to make many changes in your life. The most obvious of which were made aware to me before i even graduated from high school, I realized the privilege of having my own room has diminished for the next 4 years, teachers constantly reminding me in class that "if you think this is hard, have fun at college", and lets not even begin thinking of the money! The further I get into college, the more those big life changes seem to fall into place, and I begin to realize the little things that i miss. While being stuck in Logan for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks these little things I miss are beginning to pile up, notably the tradition of making a gingerbread house.
*BACK STORY*
12 years ago during recess I met a girl named Alex, that weekend we played barbies at her house and we have been best friends ever since.
*BACK STORY OVER*
During High school Alex and I made a gingerbread house together two years in a row, I know that when you hear the word tradition you think of a lot longer then two years, but it was one of those things that after the first year it just stuck.
Year #1: A simple Victorian, I absolutely love looking back at this house and seeing how much I have progressed. I was so proud of my royal icing railings, and Alex spent hours making those stained glass windows work ( four of the windows never worked, we had to put paper behind them!)
Year #2: Definitely a step up from our first house, but our ideas were bigger then our time allotment and actual ability! If we would have focused on a smaller house it would have been cleaner and more detail oriented but after the two strait days of work the improvement in structure and landscaping was undeniable and it felt amazing!!
This year was a huge a transition to actually doing this ALL BY MYSELF! I started knowing that i would have to be realistic and practical, there was no way i could have pulled off a two story mansion all by my self! Especially when (this is a little embarrassing to admit) i didn't really do any of the structural stuff on the previous houses.
I found a free pattern for a simple farm house on http://www.ultimategingerbread.com aka the best gingerbread house pattern EVER. They have a plethora of free and elaborate patterns that are reasonably priced. After i found my pattern my lovely roommate helped me cut out the paper and assemble it with tape. a MUST for anyone making a house with more then 8 pieces, (frankly its not a bad idea if you have less then 8 pieces in my opinion)
From then on it is simple, I made the gingerbread recipe Alex and I would use, and constructed my house. I helped with construction enough to know the process, so since my house was simple it went almost care free... I might have dropped a piece and glued it back together with royal icing... its probably fine right? right.
Making the house and building it took approximately one day so obviously, day number two was my favorite. Day number two is when i discovered that sappy love movies are the ideal background to gingerbread decorationing. I would like to steer away from the house for a minute and say that very few things in life help your mental state as much as yelling at the t.v. when the characters aren't doing what you think they should. But outside of the mental health aspect, movies are a great way to get into the zone when you are halfing and then thirding 2 packages of wafer cookies (the roof). I dare to say that that process could drive someone insane. But yet i still love it!!! I think there's something wrong with me.
Day number two also involved the creation of the dear, the chairs the trees (which were made out of gumdrops by the way! isn't that adorable!?) and the sugar pond. It was a day of creative bliss. And I must say, I like the product.
You can't even tell that the right side completely broke in half can you?!
I was terrified to pipe onto the house, but i faced the fear of possible ruining it with one simple squeeze and realized I don't think I could ever go back to plain walls.
In the end it was donated to Primary Children's Festival of Trees, so it could go to a good cause, because there is no use for a gingerbread house like that in a college dorm room.
P.S. Alex also kept her part of the tradition alive, just a couple hours away=)
Recipes Used
Gingerbread (from Stacy Richards)
*note* this recipe is excellent for gingerbread houses because it cooks hard and smells amazing, but would make awful gingerbread men.
¾ cup butter
¾ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup molasses
5 ½ cups flour
2 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. nutmeg
¼ t. allspice
¼ t. ground cloves
½ cup water
Instructions:
Cream. Add molasses and beat well. Combine dry ingredients and add to molasses mixture alternately with water. Mix well (using hands if necessary) until a soft dough is formed. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until not sticky. Pat into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours. Lightly grease cookie sheet (placed on a damp towel to prevent sliding) and roll dough out to 3/16 to 4/16 in. thickness. Lightly dust patterns and cut, remove excess dough. Bake at 350 for 10-15 min. Remove from oven and quickly trim edges. Let cool, if still soft return to oven.
Wilton's Royal Icing
(dries as hard as a rock. This house stood up a two and a half hour car ride in my passenger seat with out any damage what so ever. )
3 Tbs meringue powder (I know it's expensive, but it's SO worth it)
4 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbs warm water
Instructions: mix ingredients together and beat until stiff peaks form. Make sure to keep it covered with a damp towel so it doesn't stiffen before it's use. This stuff will keep good for at least a month refrigerated in an air tight container.
