2016: A Charlotte's Web Christmas. This was my favorite gingerbread creation I've made yet.
As a little girl, the two Christmas traditions I remember the most were making a gingerbread house every year with my one grandma, and attending Festival of Trees at the Salt Palace to watch my other grandma’s clogging group perform. Fast forward to 2010 when we moved back to Utah and I started taking my own kids to experience Festival of Trees. I was still just as mesmerized with the gingerbread creations in the Gingerbread Village, so I merged my two favorite Christmas traditions, and a new tradition of making a gingerbread house for the Festival of Trees was born! Here are the houses I’ve made for Festival of Trees over the years (you can click on any photo to enlarge it).
2016: A Charlotte’s Web Christmas
2016: A Charlotte’s Web Christmas. This was my favorite gingerbread creation I’ve made yet.
This is the quote I displayed next to my creation at the Festival of Trees: “Why did you do all this for me?’ he asked. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend,’ replied Charlotte. ‘That in itself is a tremendous thing.” ― E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web
For the hoop house, I cut a #10 tin can and stuffed it with original shredded wheat cereal. For the grain silo, I stacked two oatmeal containers and covered them with frosting and oyster crackers, and put sticks of gum on the top to create the roofing. I found the perfect little animal ornaments at Hobby Lobby and the John Deere tractor toy at IFA.
My 2016 gingerbread creation was A Charlotte’s Web Christmas and it sold for the most money at Festival of Trees than of any of my creations so far. I got the idea to make it when I read Charlotte’s Web to my son Benjamin.
I LOVED making this barn. I covered the top with Triscuit crackers and filled the windows with melted butterscotch candies. I made Charlotte from purple gumballs and licorice legs. I made Gussy the goose (in the hayloft) from gum paste and made the hay from colored coconut. My favorite creation was Charlotte’s Web– I traced a spider web onto parchment paper, then made a sugar syrup and used a turkey baster to “draw” the syrup onto the parchment paper in the shape of a web. I found the gummy letters at Harmon’s and frosted “HUMBLE” onto the web.
I made Templeton the Rat from gum paste. I love his addition under the apple tree surrounded by (candy) apple cores that he’s overeaten. I made the tree from green jello popcorn and sour cherry candies. Fence from pretzels and walking path from chocolate stones.
2011: A Charlie Brown Christmas
I found this Charlie Brown tree on clearance at ShopKo and it inspired my theme. I love the Charlie Brown Christmas story, and thought Snoopy’s overdecorated doghouse would be a fun gingerbread house to make.
Before I cut my gingerbread dough, I made my house pattern out of foam board first, and put it together to make sure it worked. I had so much fun finding candy to decorate.
A trimmed Hershey’s chocolate bar is the doghouse door. I used Target fruit roll strips for the tile on the house, Dots and black licorice rope for the Christmas lights, and melted Jolly Ranchers for the star and ribbon.
2012: {Had a newborn, so no house that year}
2013: Rise and Shout!—a BYU-themed gingerbread house
The year before at Festival of Trees, I noticed there were a few U of U houses, but no BYU ones, so a theme was born!
I loved carving a lit-up Y in the roof made from melted Jolly Ranchers. Cotton candy is the blue smoke, blue gum is the shutters.
My favorite part was decorating these little gingerbread BYU athletes with my kids, including Taysom Hill on the front porch.
2014: A Very Mickey Christmas
My Mickey Mouse gingerbread house was inspired from this huge real-life Mickey Mouse wooden playhouse I saw at Festival or Trees the year before.
I spread my base with a thin layer of white icing for the snow and sprinkle glitter all around.
I made Mickey Mouse ears from regular and mini-sized Oreos, dipped in red candy melts (from Hobby Lobby) and white M&Ms. And I love the rock candy chimney!
This Mickey Mouse ornament was the perfect size for my front porch. And a fun keepsake for the buyer.
Peppermints and Sixlets made into Mickey Mouse ears, and Twizzlers for the shutters.
I used crushed cinnamon candy for the Mickey Mouse ears melted into my gingerbread roof.
2015: Coca-Cola Wonderland—inspired by my love of Diet Coke
A Coca-Cola Wonderland. This is the 3rd year I’ve used the same blueprint for my house. I loved creating cola-related decorations.
These mini Diet-Coke cans made adorable little fence posts. They’re just little plastic cans filled with candy that my son found, and I took off the label from a 16-oz. bottle of Diet Coke, and it fit perfectly on the little cans! And I made the infamous Diet Coke wave in my walkway out of red and silver Sixlets.
My daughter found these little red trees at WalMart–I love how shimmery red they are. We cut a few Diet Coke cans open and ran them through the Cricut to make these cute little ornaments.
Okay, this little 6-pack of Diet Coke on the porch is my favorite decoration. It’s like a little neighbor gift. I put 6 of the little Harbiro cola gummies together with royal icing and a little string. The front door is a Hershey’s chocolate bar with a life-saver wreath and a Sixlet doorknob.
I tiled the rest of my roof with Harbiro cola gummy candies and love how they turned out. Also put some peppermint kisses on the porch awning to add some more silver and red. And Sixlets on the roof seam.
I found this Coke polar bear last Christmas at Smith’s, and it inspired my Coke-themed house for this year. I took a polar bear wrapper off my Diet Coke bottle for his little Diet Coke in his hand–so adorable! I found these little gummy bear “babies” to hang out with the polar bear at Zurcher’s. The lake is made from melted blue Jolly Ranchers.
I made the Diet Coke bottle on the roof from melted cinnamon hard candies. I love the little bubbles.
Every penny raised from Festival of Trees supports the children and families at Primary Children’s Medical Center, and so far my houses have raised over $1,700. (The houses are purchased by the highest bidder). Making my gingerbread houses each year is a labor of love, and raising money for Primary Children’s Hospital is extra motivation to try my best on it.
I want to share my tips and tricks for creating gingerbread houses that I’ve learned along the way. When I started, I had no experience making gingerbread houses from scratch—only from kits or graham crackers (which is still fun). So I scoured library books and the internet for gingerbread house ideas and recipes and found the best recipes and tips from the book The Gingerbread Architect by Susan Matheson and Lauren Chattman. This is my gingerbread BIBLE. Before you start your gingerbread creation, read this book! My dear visiting teacher bought it for me after I kept checking it out from the library year after year. (It’s out of print, but you can still buy it used or get it from the library. See below for their recipes, but you’ll still want to consult their book for all the best tips and tricks). I got the pattern for my last three houses from this book—just enlarged it at a copy store to 400%.
A few other gingerbread making tips:
You need a hefty dose of patience to make a gingerbread house, along with a love of baking (my patience is just seasonal!).
If you want to enjoy the gingerbread making process, give yourself two weeks to make it. My best decorating ideas come as I’ve stared at the beast sitting on my counter for several days.
Add a little cocoa in frosting to build the gingerbread house. The brown frosting blends in better at the seams (and hides mistakes).
Pick your theme early so you can look for supplies throughout the year.
I get scrap wood for my base each year from Home Depot, and have them cut it to a 24”x30” piece, which is a good size for a house with landscaping.
Don’t be a perfectionist or your gingerbread project will drive you insane! Remember that royal icing and candy can easily hide imperfections.
Stock up on parchment paper to bake your gingerbread on, especially when you’re melting crushed Jolly Ranchers or butterscotch candies into the dough.
Zurchers or other party supply stores are a good source for color-coordinated candies, especially Sixlets, M&Ms, and gummies. Harmon’s Grocery has an excellent assortment of hard-to-find candies.
I found the following household tools helpful in making gingerbread creations:
Q-tips to wipe frosting
Tweezers to place Sixlets and other small candy
Cheese grater to “trim” gingerbread pieces to fit together
Straight pins to hold pieces together while the royal icing dries
Canned food to support the pieces while the royal icing dries
Pizza cutter to make straight cuts in the dough
Toothpicks to unclog frosting tips
Gingerbread Dough Recipe (from The Gingerbread Architect by Susan Matheson and Lauren Chattman)
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
2 tsps baking powder
2 tsps ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
1 cup dark (not light or blackstrap) molasses
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons white vinegar
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine shortening and sugar until well combined. Add the baking powder, ginger, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves and beat until well incorporated. Add the molasses, eggs, and vinegar, and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. Add the flour, one cup at a time, and mix on low until smooth. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a rough square. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least three hours or up to three days. Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes.
Royal Icing (from The Gingerbread Architect by Susan Matheson and Lauren Chattman)
3 tablespoons meringue powder
1/2 cup warm water
1 package (16 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Combine the meringue powder and water in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form.
2. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat until shiny, smooth and increased in volume, 6 to 8 minutes. If too stiff to pipe or spread, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water; beat until the proper consistency is achieved. Use immediately or cover surface of icing with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
This royal icing is the best cement for your gingerbread house. Leftover icing should be refrigerated, the surface covered with plastic wrap. Meringue powder is available at Zurchers, Hobby Lobby, and WalMart.
Happy baking! I’d love to hear your tips for gingerbread houses.
