They just look so beautiful, mysterious and fantastical. So, as mentioned in my post on Christmas Gingerbread Cookies (23rd November 2013), I was determined that I would make one this year! And here it is!!!
I used exactly the same recipe (but doubled the quantity) that I used for the Gingerbread Cookies and it really worked a treat. I was delighted with how it turned out.
I created a template for the different
parts of my house and cut them out in cardboard (an old cereal box was used) as
I wanted something fairly rigid to cut around to create the walls and roof of
my house. I rolled the dough to about ¾cm which is slightly thicker than I
normally would for smaller cookies as I wanted to ensure that the house would
not collapse when I later assembled it. I cooked the pieces for about 15
minutes until they were just beginning to brown around the edges and let them
cool completely on the baking sheets before I attempted to remove them.
I would advise decorating each piece
individually and let the icing dry BEFORE you assemble the house. I used a
large quantity of the icing recipe that I gave in my Gingerbread Cookies recipe.
And I basically let my imagination run riot. I wanted to create something that
was over-the-top but was still beautiful and looked delicious. And if I say so
myself, I think I did! My children loved it, although they wanted to start
eating it immediately. The various pieces are then joined together using more
of the icing.
In addition to decorating with icing,
you can also “glue” on all sorts of foodstuffs like nuts or
cereal with little blobs of icing. I recently discovered the Kiddylicious range and think their products are so tasty, so I decided that I would use them. A packet
of Kiddylicious Fruit Wriggles counts as 1 of your child's 5-a-day, so this was also an added
attraction. In particular, I liked their authentic fruit taste. I
used the Apple Fruit Wriggles to replicate a thatched roof and some
of the Strawberry & Banana Smoothie Melts as bricks on my house. I loved
the effect that was achieved.
Making the house was not difficult, but
I will admit that it was time consuming… But I think that it was worth it, because
of the look of amazement on my gang’s faces when I unveiled it to them! Of all
the things that I cook and bake, I don’t think any have ever elicited the same
reaction!!! It may sound a bit daft, but I am really proud of what I managed to
achieve at my first attempt.
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