Gingerbread House

A friend suggested we make gingerbread houses this year, and I am so glad she did. What fun! I haven't made one since I was a kid, but I think now we'll make this a new tradition.

Here's my little cottage!

 
I knew I was going with a snowy white theme, and I wanted a big contrast between the gingerbread and the decorations, so I used this recipe for Chocolate Gingerbread because it makes a darker dough.

I'm delighted with the result, though I did learn 2 things for the future:

- I need to work on my piping skills! I was going for elegant swirls and ended up with silly squiggles.

- Meringue is not a stable substance. In addition to the mushrooms, I made some lovely branchy trees out of meringue. But I didn't photograph the completed house immediately, and in a few hours time the trees had wilted completely and I had to remove them. So sad, they really added a lot.

Some details:

Some meringue mushrooms perched on the rooftop.

 Side yard, filled with snow and 'shrooms.

Roof line, shingles made of white gummy grapefruit slices.

 Little icy pathway, made with white M&M's.

Meringue mushroom close-up.

White chocolate pretzel star.

How about you? Any gingerbread traditions or aspirations on your end?

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas! 
I'll be taking a little blogging break for the holidays, so I'll see you after the New Year!