December 2012

 December is Gingerbread time! I have made them for the last 57 years.  There were a couple of years after Jerry died that I didn't make them. One year, when I lived in San Diego, I baked the pieces and sent each of my children enough pieces to make their own houses.  When I have live outside of Utah,  I sent the finished house to them.  Traditions!  I hope they are passed down. This year I decided to teach how to as many of my granddaughters as possible.  About December 8th Becky and Jerika came and decorated their house.  I had cooked and put together a few houses.  I made a church with a light in it as I hadn't done that for a long time.

Making the houses is done in three steps.  One evening you make the dough and let it set overnight.  It rolls out easier and is not so sticky.  We found that if we kneaded in the flour until it was very stiff, before putting it in the fridge overnight,  it was easier to work with the next day.

The next day takes about four hours to roll out, cut and cook one batch of dough and 'glue it ' together.  Here are the end pieces with 'stained glass' windows.  The cooked piece is placed on tinfoil, then crushed candy is placed in the windows and then put in a 350 degree oven for a 2-3 minutes.  Watch them or it will melt too much and not be pretty.  The 'glue' is melted sugar.  It will bond anything.

The third step is the most fun as you decorate your house.  These two houses were made for Valentines Day.  One house is made from graham crackers.  The graham cracker house doesn't take as long to put together, but is fragile.

                               You use lots of flour.  It will brush off the cooked pieces.

Kami Dearing and her mom Tami came to do Valentine Houses.  They made darling houses.

Joleen and Raquel came and did the three steps.  See how their house has it's own personality.  Dec.10th Jessica, Curtis, Jace and Cade Spafford, Amber Dubiak, Aimee, Jared, Easton, and baby Ryelyn Hancock came to my house and decorated their Gingerbread house.  Jessica did the three steps this year.  I made copies of 5 house patterns, recipe and instructions for all of them this year.  Making the gingerbread house is time consuming, but rewarding in the end.  Your house will smell of gingerbread all Christmas season.  Traditions!!!

 This was done last year, but shows some of the items used for decorating a A Frame house.

Chuck made this potato and onion ben last year, but I wanted to show it.  The two bottom bens have hinges to pull part way out and the top shelf is for bottles.  I love it!  It is so convenient.  Thanks, Chuck!