A few Christmases ago, I bought a kit to build four small Gingerbread houses with my sister and her grandkids. Yes, I said “bought a kit!” I always make my own cookies but in this case I was not above letting someone else make the gingerbread for these houses. I was 99% certain that no one would want to eat the houses, especially after they sat around for a few weeks being admired and collecting dust. So I reasoned that I didn’t have to go to all that trouble of baking the extra-sturdy gingerbread and planning out the correct dimensions, etc.
I assembled the little houses the day before so that all the kids had to do is “glue” on the candy with royal icing. I realized that with four houses, we would have the makings of a gingerbread “town.” But we needed people! So I whipped up a batch of gingerbread and used my mini-cutters to make people, trees, and snowmen. I also baked a dozen or so 2-inch round cookies to use as platforms and glued the gingerbread mini-people onto the platforms with royal icing.
The next day, we all spent hours chatting and decorating the little houses. After we were satisfied with our work, the kids placed the little standing cookies throughout the “streets” of our town to create a little gingerbread scene. What fun we had!
“It’s not how big the gingerbread house is, nor how perfectly it’s decorated...it’s how happy we were in the making of it.” Auntie
P.S. The kids took their houses home and placed them strategically within the branches of their Christmas tree. They also took home a dozen gingerbread cookies to fill Santa’s plate on Christmas Eve.
Cookie specifics
Gingerbread. As I said, I didn’t make the gingerbread houses. But I did make the miniature people, trees, and snowmen using my go-to gingerbread cookie recipe. It produces cookies that are firm on the edges and soft and chewy in the middle. The recipe has a robust molasses flavor and plenty of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and other spices. I was never a gingerbread lover as a child, but this cookie won me over.
Gingerbread People & Trees
Miniature gingerbread boys, girls, snowmen, Christmas trees and 2-inch round cutters for the cookie bases.
Sizes
The houses in the kit were approximately 4-6 inches once assembled. The people, snowmen, and trees that I made to “populate” the town are about 2-inches each. P.S. Since these were so small, I ate several and felt not even one second of guilt.
Gingerbread Houses
I threw away the boxes that the pre-fabricated house parts came in, so I have nothing to say about the recipe they used. I didn’t expect anyone to eat the houses, but, of course, someone did try. The only comment was “I can’t like this, Auntie.” So there you have it.
The recipe for the people and trees, however, was delicious. Read on...
My Family Recipe
Gingerbread. My Soft Gingerbread Cookie recipe is based on a combination of several recipes from family and friends. My goal was to make a cookie full of spices, with slightly crisp edges and soft everywhere else. This recipe is all that!
My Gingerbread Recipe
Cookies
Gingerbread: flour, butter, dark brown sugar, molasses, ground ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, baking powder, egg, pure vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt
Icing & Decorative Embellishments
Royal Icing: confectioner’s sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, pure vanilla extract or almond extract, cream of tartar, food coloring
Plate, Box or Bag?
Paper Plate and Bags. I put the cookies the kids took home on a sturdy Chinet paper plate and wrapped it in clear plastic wrap. This was the safest way to get them from my house to theirs. I put the little houses into sturdy freezer bags and sent everyone off with a prayer. Everything arrived at their destination intact...except for a few cookies that mysteriously disappeared en route.
What I’ve learned...
These cookies were made with the best ingredients I could find and baked in a small batch of two dozen. I’ve experimented with less expensive ingredients, but have come to the conclusion that flavor is best when I use the best. Why spend all this time baking and decorating if taste and texture are just so-so? Decorating the cookies takes time, but it’s an enjoyable process for me and I know that those who receive them appreciate that. Life is just better when you can share something you love with someone you love. Don’t you agree?
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