Gingerbread House

Posted by kara

Whenever I think of Christmas traditions, decorating the gingerbread house usually tops the list. My mom would always make the gingerbread pieces, and we’d put it together and decorate it. Then we’d each make our own little house out of graham crackers.

Now that Toshi is of decorating age, I couldn’t wait to make the gingerbread house with her. My mom sent me her “Family Raised on Rainbows” book, which has the gingerbread recipe and template in it. I bought some molasses and was ready to go.

Once again, I learned The Lesson. I keep learning The Lesson and will probably learn The Lesson until I’m 80 years old. The Lesson: There is more to it when you’re the parent. So this was my first year making the gingerbread. I hoped it would turn out okay… not too thick, not too thin, not uneven, hard enough, etc. And it did! I felt very proud. Maybe a little too proud. Sure, I didn’t put enough to the side to make a beloved gingerbread man (that Toshi keeps asking me for), and I forgot to keep the door (but it was delicious), but hey, it looked pretty acceptable.

And then, it was time to make the icing. I got a bit of yolk in it, but figured it would be okay. Nope. There goes a pound of powdered sugar down the drain. So I tried again. Still no soft peaks! All stressed out, I called my mom. She told me to add more sugar and keep mixing it. Finally I got some soft peaks. I added a bit more sugar to be safe. Not safe enough, apparently! It kept running/dripping out of the icing tube. But it seemed to hold the house together. Still, I was feeling a bit of panic as the roof slowly slid… I wanted it to go smoothly like it used to when my mom made everything. It was so much easier then when all I needed to worry about was making my M&M pattern symmetrical. Anyway, the icing held for the most part, but I couldn’t do icicles with the tip I was using. And everything was a ton more goopy and messy than I’d like. Good thing Toshi isn’t picky. I think she was just tickled to see a bowl full of “colors” [M&Ms] at her disposal. She tried to defy gravity with her gumdrops. Sometimes she won, but sometimes she lost. Sorry, kid. Maybe next year the icing will be better!

Overall, it was worth the effort. I will get the icing right someday. Just one more thing to add to the list of things my mom makes look effortless.