Gingerbread houses and frosting cookies

annie1992

2 years ago

OK, so I like to do things that make a mess, and when you have grandkids, well, you can blame them.

Madi and Maci came to spend the night with me a few weeks ago, and they made a gingerbread house. We only made one, so Madi got to decorate one side, Maci got the other. Yeah, I should have covered the tablecloth. and I noticed this was before Madi got her red hair for Christmas, so now you know what her hair REALLY looks like...

This side was Madi's, she just turned 10:

This is Maci's. She's 8, but has much less "focus" and a lot of energy....

While they worked diligently with frosting, I made Diane/CraftyRN's cucciadati, (which is a very adult fig newton, and one of Elery's favorites), some cherry shortbread and a batch of peanut butter kisses with the flourless dough, so Amanda could have some cookies too.

Then we rolled, cut and baked. Let the sprinkles begin!

Please overlook the Minion there on the left, Madi just had to use that tube of decorating gel that The Princess brought. Nasty stuff and it never sets up, so of course we had to use it, LOL.

And then we ate cookies, drank hot chocolate and watched The Christmas Chronicles with Kurt Russell as a car stealing, rock and rolling Santa...

Annie

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

lisaam
2 years ago
I love the 2 different sides of the house. You 3 were very productive. And that pretty red hair makes me wanna go there too—- what a fun times and beautiful memories you are making Annie.
Rho Dodendron
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
That is a great photo of two very cute girlies. May you enjoy all the messes made with them.
Related Discussions
Gingerbread house
Q
Comments (21)
Hello Gabi - I have wanted to reply, but hadn't had a moment to get the picture uploaded! My son and I attend a Community Ed "class" which sponsors gingergbread house making! This is his third year. His houses have lasted many months...of course we don't eat them, but he loves to look at them. They have the houses already put together for us, individual bowls of icing, and then a buffet line of candies and each child goes through the line and chooses what they want to use to decorate their house and "property"! They can go back for seconds too! Each child also has a tube of NECCO wafers. I think the key is to have everything all lined out ahead of time. We did buy a kit of cookie cutters for each piece of a house that also work well and have done our own, but going to the class is a lot easier and not as expensive (i.e. left over candy that we all don't need to eat!). My son's house this year...not quite as fancy as yours, but fun still the same! [Merry Christmas! Wendy
...See More
Decorating gingerbread cookies.
Q
Comments (7)
I love gingerbread cookies, but I loathe decorating them. For some reason, I always feel obligated to make them all look different which is a decorating nightmare. I think I have the problem solved for this year though - I'm taking what I like to think of as the "Jackson Pollock" approach. Instead of boys and girls, I just cut out rounds and my plan is splatter them randomly with icing. Could get a bit messy, but should be quick!
...See More
Do you like gingerbread houses?
Q
Comments (19)
Annie - Your gingerbread house sounds terrific! I bet it was so much fun to make it and eat it too! I am sure your daughters remember all those good memories. And if you ever make them again, maybe for your babies's babies please share a picture... I like to make cookies with friends and then we put them in small bags to share with other friends.:) Teresa - What an interesting life you had! A lot like mine, traveling to different places and now I am here for good, I only take vacations now and for short time, don't like to leave my 3 dogs alone for too long.:) We have parties for friends to practice languages, I do all the cooking for a group under 20 but for a group bigger than that we do a potluck. I always tried to include activities for the parties, sometimes we invite a chef and if it is daytime we always include a tour of the garden, even non-gardeners like that because they get to see how some of the food is grown and I usually include the harvest in the dishes that I make. This year I grew an Italian winter squash that were so big that gave us a lot of meals to share with friends. One of the favorite dishes was the lasagna made with sausage and squash. Silvia
...See More
Best cookie frosting
Q
Comments (1)
I like Nancy's-- it's very forgiving-- east to use-- firm but soft underneath. Diane's Home Cookin Chapter: Christmas Cookies CREAM CHEESE COOKIES ==================== This Dough Is One That You Can Roll Thick, If You Like A Softer Cutout still holds up. 1 ÃÂ½ cup sugar 1 cup unsalted butter 1 8ounce package cream cheese 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla ÃÂ½ tsp almond extract 3 ÃÂ½ cup flour (I like unbleached) 1 teaspoon baking powder . In a mixing bowl cream sugar, butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add egg and flavorings, beat smooth' Stir together the flour and baking powder, add to creamed mixture and mix thoroughly. FOR CUT-OUT COOKIES Chill dough. Roll out on surface dusted with a mixture of ÃÂ½ powered sugar and ÃÂ½ flour, ÃÂ¼ to ÃÂ½ inch thick depending on your preference. Cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet ( I line with parchment paper) and bake in a 375ÃÂ° oven 8-10 minutes. Watch for the edges to just barely begin to brown if you like a moist cookie. Cool and frost. COOKIE PRESS COOKIES Divide dough into portions and add desired colors. Force through cookie press onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in a 375ÃÂ° oven 8-10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack. Before baking brush with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with colored sprinkles if desired. Note...I have added about 4 oz of almond paste to the dough when making the cookie press cookies.....yum! FAVORITE ICING FOR CUTOUT COOKIES 2 c powered sugar, sifted 2 Tbsp softened butter ÃÂ¼ tsp vanilla ÃÂ¼ tsp almond extract 1 egg white ÃÂ¼ C milk or cream Combine egg white and milk, set aside. Beat together powered sugar, butter and flavorings. Add small amounts of the milk mixture until icing is spreading consistency. Tint with desired colors. Using the egg white will give you a nice finish on the icing, the butter will keep it soft on the inside. posted by Nancy
...See More
plllog
2 years ago
Ah, the other shoe drops. I knew it would be worth the wait! Fabulous house and cookies! I love the wild abandon of childhood. :)
annie1992
Original Author
2 years ago
Wild abandon of childhood? Oh, wait, you were talking about the helpers. Yeah...

Lisa, that hair is crazy, isn't it? It suits her, though, and I like the shorter cut.

Rho, that's what we do best, we make delicious, crazy, big, sweet messes! Unfortunately, their idea of helping clean up is eating as much of it as possible, LOL.

Annie
plllog
2 years ago
I especially love the one with the multiplicatous googly eyes. Is that the stay-wet minion? And also Maci's dada-esque interpretation of snow on the housetop.

I kept looking for excuses to play with frosting over the holidays, but with sequestering, and requests for pie, I had no excuses. I don't really like eating it, so needed your kind of helpers, especially in the cleaning department.
Jasdip
2 years ago
Wild abandon. I love it!!!

You are such a kid at heart yourself, anything goes when it comes to your grandkids. Hey it's only a mess right? Easy to clean up, nothing to get all worked up over. No one hurt, nothing broken and a whole lot of laughter. You are a true grandma.

PS I watched that movie earlier this year. I loved it. Part 2 wasn't nearly as good.
lizbeth-gardener
2 years ago
I love the shared gingerbread house and their different takes on decorating! And those cookies look like so much fun. I can see that you're a grandma that lets them do it their way and isn't hung up on perfection. Such a gift to them!
HU-864896825
last year
last modified: last year
I love the common gingerbread house imarku their various takes on adorning! Furthermore, those treats look like such a lot of tomfoolery. I can see that you're a grandmother that allows them to do it as they would prefer and isn't hung up on flawlessness. Such a gift to them!

Gingerbread houses and frosting cookies

Comments (8)

lisaam

Rho Dodendron

Related Discussions

plllog

annie1992
Original Author

plllog

Jasdip

lizbeth-gardener

HU-864896825

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Gingerbread houses and frosting cookies

Comments (8)

lisaam

Rho Dodendron

Related Discussions

plllog

annie1992Original Author

plllog

Jasdip

lizbeth-gardener

HU-864896825

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

annie1992
Original Author