So here it is…the Gingerbread House I was working on in my last post. These things are truly a labor of love! While I don’t expect Martha Stewart’s people will be calling me anytime soon to build any for them, I’m still proud to have completed it. Better yet, my kids had a fun time playing with this odd little cookie house that Mommy made. 🙂
I searched grocery stores, drug stores and gas station marts – I could not find Necco wafers anywhere, which is what I really wanted to use for colorful roof tiles. Plan B was frosted mini wheats, to give a snow-covered thatched roof look, an idea suggested in the McCormick gingerbread house recipe I followed. I ended up really liking the effect.
I loved to draw pictures of houses when I was a kid, always with a brick trim running along the lower edge (just like the house we lived in). So my gingerbread house has my same trademark trim, with chocolate chip “bricks”.
My 5-year old daughter has been saying to me lately, “Mom, don’t you just love a good challenge?!” I have no idea where she got this statement from, but hopefully she’s picked up a little of the sentiment from watching her old Mom. A pre-fab gingerbread house would have been a whole lot – like, a lot – easier and probably would have come out looking tidier and more presentation-worthy, but I think I’ll always prefer the homemade route.
You can find the step-by-step directions that I followed (including building templates and decorating ideas) on the McCormick website.
This post was sponsored by McCormick as part of their Seven Seasonal Flavors program. My opinions are – as always – my own.
It looks fabulous and I think I like the frosted mini wheats way better than the necco wafers (I like the snow effect from the frosting).
Congrats Kathy! You and your kids did a wonderful job.
Very cute and oh so classic! I LOVE the frosted mini wheats look for the roof. Now if I could only get mine to get as neat and clean. 🙂
Love it!!!!
I love this so much, Kathy!!! What a great idea and what a sweet thing to do with the kids.
So cute–and what a cute little helper you have there. 🙂
You know what? With that slightly caved roof, it looks like an authentic thatched roof cottage. Adorable!
That’s right, Carolyn – it was all part of my original plan as a point of authenticity! Lol, all’s well that ends well.
so cute and I agree with Carolyn the roof is perfect!