Say the word gingerbread and visions of sugarplums and candy canes will dance in your head! Gingerbread is of course sweet and spicy and in times past, when sugar and spices were precious commodities, was a highly anticipated treat. Gingerbread has taken many forms over the years and has been refined and molded to suit the fancy of cultures all over the world. Today most people recognize the gingerbread house as the most popular form to be created and devoured. Story brook cottages, grand Victorian mansions and quaint little villages are just a few of the tasty masterpieces that are created every holiday season.
Grand renditions of Parliament in London, the White House in Washington, and hip west coast bungalows are just a few of the architectural masterpieces that are being seen this holiday season. Check out the slide show to see some of this year’s art. These grand works can take days, even weeks, to create and are entered into some of the fiercest competitions in food art today. Recipes are highly varied with most bakers having a special secrete formula to create that absolute perfect gingerbread.
You can bring a bit of this tasty craft into your holiday season with as much or little effort as your schedule allows. Complete kits, readily available at your local grocery store, include everything needed to build, decorate and display your very own sweet and spicy wonderland. If you are a bit more adventurous and have time to devote to a more extensive project, the local Michaels’ craft store carries a broad variety of molds, decorations, and instructions to help your gingerbread dreams come true.
If the budget is tight, simple yummy little cottages can be created with boxed Graham crackers, royal icing and dollar bags of hard candies. Plastic sandwich bags can be used instead of pastry bags and clean up will be a snap. The kiddies will love getting to build and nibble this edible art, and the adults will love building treasured holiday memories.
So whether you are competing for a title or creating a lasting family tradition, don’t forget to sample the gingerbread and keep sweet thoughts for the coming year ahead.
Cheers!
Beth
As always Examiner has lots of great recipes and holiday party ideas planned in the coming weeks, be sure to click on the subscribe button to be notified whenever Elizabeth publishes something new. As always it is Free!
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