When I was a kid, my mom learned how to make gingerbread houses. She was very talented and in addition to the gazillion other things she could do, she could bake anything and she could decorate a cake like nobody’s business. That meant she could also make a gingerbread house look beautiful!
They were magical, miniature cottages and one gingerbread house seemed to completely fill our own small house with the sweet smell of Christmas and kept us oohing and aahhing at the perfect frosting rosettes, sparkling silver balls, tiny icicles, and melted lifesaver windows that looked like stained glass. She made those houses as gifts for friends and family, took them to businesses to put in their lobbies, and made them for the church.
Needless to say, I have a soft spot for gingerbread houses and her recipe. I also have her original gingerbread house pattern. I don’t know if it was printed on typewriter paper, but it’s old and worn enough that it looks like waxed paper. There is no way in the world I’ll ever part with it. I mean, I’ll make a new template, but I can’t see myself tossing the original.
When the kids were little we made gingerbread houses. They weren’t as fancy as my mom’s but they were definitely just as special and just as much fun.
This year, after my Pinterest gingerbread fail, realizing the oven wasn’t working (and since the service tech still hasn’t come to the house to fix it), I had to admit to myself that there would be no gingerbread house.
Instead, I’m going to share fantastic gingerbread houses with you I found while looking for gingerbread inspiration.
Inspiration is everything. You can find a reasonable gingerbread cookie recipe from any number of places, but the decorating is really what’s special.
First, tiny gingerbread houses that perch on the edge of your mug from NotMartha.org. These slay me. The pictures give me the feeling like I’ve walked into Anthropologie, so I’m pretty much sold on the creativity and cuteness factor.
{from NotMartha.org}
{from NotMartha.org}
Megan took great care to make sure these little gingerbread houses actually fit and sit on the edge of the mugs. She includes clear instructions, a PDF template to make your own, and shares recipes for the cookies and icing. These are at the top of my list to make next year.
Next, an amazing Stone Gingerbread House from WorthPinning.com. I used to think using a mold for a gingerbread house was a little weird because I hadn’t ever done it, nor had I seen a finished house that did anything with the mold details. WorthPinning changed all that. I am boggled by the care and detail in this beautiful gingerbread house.
{from WorthPinning.com}
Carrie has great instructions on how to assemble the house and she shares a couple of posts where she puts brick and siding on the sides of gingerbread houses as well, so be sure to check those out.
{from WorthPinning.com}
I fell in love with The Gingerbread Journal. The door to this Mouse House reminds me of the way my mom used dragees. This is so sweet!
{from The GingerbreadJournal.com}
I also love the sprinkle-smothered door on this house.
{from The GingerbreadJournal.com}
Kristine makes a lot of adorable gingerbread not only for Christmas but pretty much every other holiday. She shares a lot of tips, tutorials, and recipes like how to make your own roof shingles–genius!
Sometimes we think we can tackle the gorgeous inspiration we find, but then we fall short and it can be disappointing. If you’re a beginner, start with an easy project. The Food Network has a basic Gingerbread House design that would be a good place to start. The decorations are simple and the design of the house is really cute.
{adapted by the FoodNetwork.com from a recipe by Beatrice Ojakangas}
Here’s to making your own lovely gingerbread house!
~Shannon
Featured image uses a Christmas vector designed by Freepik
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