A Gingerbread House and a Gingerbread Men Family

Do you like my gingerbread family? I think me and my sister had more fun making and decorating them then a little kid would. It's a time when you can go wild with the glitter, sprinkles, and sweeties. Gingerbread men are great to share with family and friends, they most certainly are not just for children; I made little gift parcels of mince pies and gingerbread men for my friends for Christmas and they really appreciated the thought, time and effort that went into making them. Or if you wanted more sophisticated gingerbread just use a different shaped pastry cutter, as gingerbread itself is a great biscuit. Fact.

I took on the challenge of making a gingerbread house last year, it took quite a bit of time and effort but I guess that varies depending on how elaborate you want your decorations to be. I was actually quite proud after constructing my own house and didn't feel like demolishing it too soon. It literally is like a piece of art. So it was admired for a few days before bit by bit ending up in our tummies, and I can say it tasted just as good as it looked. You don't have to eat the gingerbread house if you are too destraught at the idea that all the effort will end up in crumbs (literally) as it will keep and won't go mouldy (as long as you use the right sweets which don't melt/ spoil too easily). If only there was a life size gingerbread house; that would be absolutely awesome! Just imagine, being able to nibble the walls when you feel peckish and the abundant stock of sweets and candy. If only I had an oven big enough it'd already be a reality and not just in my dreams or in Hansel and Gretel's fairytale. 

Gingerbread Men Recipe:

For the gingerbread men I used the recipe from BBC Good Food, but I advise that you add more ground spices than the recipe mentions to get that extra kick.

For the writing icing:

Ingredients

1 cup of icing sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 egg white

 Method

 1. Add the lemon juice to the icing sugar, then add the egg white to the icing sugar very little at a time whilst stirring in between each addition. 

2. The icing is ready when it is a thick, fluid consistency (it should hold it's shape when you write with it).

3. Pour the icing into a piping bag and start decorating!

4. Allow to dry for at least 1 hr.

A post from Fullest of Life