Falling further into the winter season, everyone is wishing for cascades of snow to cover the town as the holiday spirits ramp up. The holiday is right around the corner, and as the celebrations begin, December 12 brought along a delightful, festive treat. National Gingerbread House Day found itself this last Tuesday; what’s better than building gingerbread houses with your loved ones? Building a gingerbread house has been a tradition in many families for years, and is usually a time spent with family or friends, gathering and becoming creative with one another, and gleaning a delicious bite at the end of it all.
National Gingerbread House Day is a great day to try something new, as these gingerbread houses come in many different ways, shapes, sizes, flavors, and ways to decorate. But what exactly is a gingerbread house and how is it made?
A gingerbread house consists of crackers and frosting that is constructed to create a house. This base gives kids a blank slate to begin decorating with creativity. A gingerbread house usually consists of only a handful of ingredients, with a quick and easy baking process. The ingredients necessary for creating your own, homemade gingerbread house consist of baking soda, butter, cookie dough, and water. The additional baking soda reduces the puff, the butter ensures the structure remains intact, and the water promises a smooth consistency.
After preparing the dough, it needs to be chilled for a few hours. Once the dough is fully set and ready, you will need to prepare a flat surface with either flour or parchment paper and begin to smoothly roll out the dough. After this, you may choose any utensil or cookie cutter and begin to shape your gingerbread house pieces. Make sure that the dough is level to ensure that the pieces are easy to put together after baking. Finally, to complete the gingerbread house, take your baked pieces and begin to assemble your house. Use frosting or melted sugar to “glue” your walls and roof. Now that the base is complete, you can use a variety of candy and other sweet treats to decorate and bring your house to life. You can even look up inspiration for ideas on how to decorate your house.
Overall, National Gingerbread House Day is an amazing day to let out your creativity and create the best house you can; after it all, you can enjoy a tasty treat, or admire your house from afar.
