GingerbreadFilter: help me improve my annual gingerbread party this year (A complete blizzard of snowflakes inside)
December 14, 2012 9:34 AM Subscribe
GingerbreadFilter: help me improve my annual gingerbread party this year (A complete blizzard of snowflakes inside)
I am committed to the idea of having an annual gingerbread decorating party. But, last year's party (the first one ever) ended up being a marathon comedy of errors and though we attempted a house, by 3AM the only piece that survived was this guy.
I have summarized my mistakes as:
• Over-optimism - Designing my own too-artistic pattern which featured a Tim Burton-esque pitched roof
• Structure - The pieces got very warped as they baked and did not end up square at all.
• Tools - I didn't really know about making mortar-consistency icing or the need to let it sit and harden before decorating
• Planning - Thinking I could bake, assemble and design all within a couple of hours
Undeterred and foolhardy, I now have a few more people coming this year (around 8 people total). A sensible person would say to either decorate something easier (like cookies) or only build one house, but I want everyone to be engaged. (Also - failure to create an amazing looking house is not the worst thing in the world; last year everyone had a lot of fun and at one point we were laughing hard enough to cry.)
So my plan as of now is to bake and assemble a couple of houses before everyone arrives so that we can focus on decorating. Any way I can speed this up would be awesome, so I was searching online and found the CutterKIT, which is basically a set of cookie cutters that you put into the oven, and the final pieces fit together like a jigsaw so no mortar is needed. It also keeps the pieces from warping in the oven. This would be perfect, except the website seems kind of sketchy (the Buy Now button goes directly to PayPal and there is no explanation of shipping or anything. Also, I looked for reviews online and found none.)
Has anyone used this set? -or- can you recommend any other self-supporting gingerbread house cookie cutter sets?
Most importantly: is there anything obvious I'm overlooking that would make this party way more enjoyable and also keep me from being in the kitchen the entire weekend? Should we all just work on one structure? Should we give up and make that structure out of graham crackers and work our way up to actually gingerbread houses?
Any advice in creating this tradition is welcome!
I am committed to the idea of having an annual gingerbread decorating party. But, last year's party (the first one ever) ended up being a marathon comedy of errors and though we attempted a house, by 3AM the only piece that survived was this guy.
I have summarized my mistakes as:
• Over-optimism - Designing my own too-artistic pattern which featured a Tim Burton-esque pitched roof
• Structure - The pieces got very warped as they baked and did not end up square at all.
• Tools - I didn't really know about making mortar-consistency icing or the need to let it sit and harden before decorating
• Planning - Thinking I could bake, assemble and design all within a couple of hours
Undeterred and foolhardy, I now have a few more people coming this year (around 8 people total). A sensible person would say to either decorate something easier (like cookies) or only build one house, but I want everyone to be engaged. (Also - failure to create an amazing looking house is not the worst thing in the world; last year everyone had a lot of fun and at one point we were laughing hard enough to cry.)
So my plan as of now is to bake and assemble a couple of houses before everyone arrives so that we can focus on decorating. Any way I can speed this up would be awesome, so I was searching online and found the CutterKIT, which is basically a set of cookie cutters that you put into the oven, and the final pieces fit together like a jigsaw so no mortar is needed. It also keeps the pieces from warping in the oven. This would be perfect, except the website seems kind of sketchy (the Buy Now button goes directly to PayPal and there is no explanation of shipping or anything. Also, I looked for reviews online and found none.)
Has anyone used this set? -or- can you recommend any other self-supporting gingerbread house cookie cutter sets?
Most importantly: is there anything obvious I'm overlooking that would make this party way more enjoyable and also keep me from being in the kitchen the entire weekend? Should we all just work on one structure? Should we give up and make that structure out of graham crackers and work our way up to actually gingerbread houses?
Any advice in creating this tradition is welcome!
An old friend of mine used to throw annual gingerbread decorating parties. She supplied the (homemade) cookies - large gingerbread men, as I remember - and then we all went nuts with the icing and sprinkles. I think she just put out the typical confectioner's sugar glaze, some food coloring (we'd mix that ourselves), sprinkles and such, toothpicks, plastic knives, and of course plates and napkins.
I don't remember any disasters, although since she was the hostess, maybe she does! She did bake a lot of cookies, but she used to recruit people to be the baking helpers (getting cookies off the sheets, etc). so that work wasn't all on her. She had people help with the cleanup, too.
posted by Currer Belfry at 10:04 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
I don't remember any disasters, although since she was the hostess, maybe she does! She did bake a lot of cookies, but she used to recruit people to be the baking helpers (getting cookies off the sheets, etc). so that work wasn't all on her. She had people help with the cleanup, too.
posted by Currer Belfry at 10:04 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
The gingerbread party my family goes to every year goes like this:
1. Invitations go out with the theme. Guests are encouraged to make requests for special shapes, and the host bakes in advance. They also bake lots of various extras. Everything is baked in advance; this way if anything is burned or structurally unsound it doesn't make it to the party.
2. Typically the guests come in family units so between 1-4 people work on one "house" (they are usually more like dioramas.) Some people plan meticulously, others go spontaneously with what's available. Party activity is assembly and decoration.
3. They provide decorating stuff. (If it were my party I might encourage people to bring candy to share to decorate too.)
It's a fun party.
posted by fingersandtoes at 10:06 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
1. Invitations go out with the theme. Guests are encouraged to make requests for special shapes, and the host bakes in advance. They also bake lots of various extras. Everything is baked in advance; this way if anything is burned or structurally unsound it doesn't make it to the party.
2. Typically the guests come in family units so between 1-4 people work on one "house" (they are usually more like dioramas.) Some people plan meticulously, others go spontaneously with what's available. Party activity is assembly and decoration.
3. They provide decorating stuff. (If it were my party I might encourage people to bring candy to share to decorate too.)
It's a fun party.
posted by fingersandtoes at 10:06 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
My husband uses the technique of the cutterKIT with his own designs. He cuts out the pieces using a paper template, and when they come out of the oven, he puts the templates back on the cookies and trims them. Then I eat all the scraps.
posted by freshwater at 10:26 AM on December 14, 2012
posted by freshwater at 10:26 AM on December 14, 2012
Best answer: My friends have an annual "gingerbread" house making party, but we use graham crackers instead of gingerbread. It's always a blast, and people get creative trying to cut them into triangles and other shapes and constructing roofs. The real fun is from decorating anyway.
The kind of icing mortar you want is royal icing, the kind made with egg whites or egg white powder. I've found it helps to be able to assemble the houses, then give them some time to harden (maybe eating lunch or dinner) before decorating.
I have used that type of cast iron moulds/pans before, and they work well, but it's very tedious to do more than one house, because they hold a lot of heat and take forever to cool down between batches. I wouldn't recommend them for making gingerbread for a party.
posted by quaking fajita at 10:32 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
The kind of icing mortar you want is royal icing, the kind made with egg whites or egg white powder. I've found it helps to be able to assemble the houses, then give them some time to harden (maybe eating lunch or dinner) before decorating.
I have used that type of cast iron moulds/pans before, and they work well, but it's very tedious to do more than one house, because they hold a lot of heat and take forever to cool down between batches. I wouldn't recommend them for making gingerbread for a party.
posted by quaking fajita at 10:32 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: How important is the gingerbread in your gingerbread house?
If you use graham crackers instead of gingerbread for the houses, there's no baking required. And their uniform size and easy shaping lets you make some pretty fancy houses, or you can stick to the basics.
Also:
Assembling Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses
How To Decorate Gingerbread Houses .
How To Make Royal Icing Part One Part Two
posted by zinon at 10:36 AM on December 14, 2012
If you use graham crackers instead of gingerbread for the houses, there's no baking required. And their uniform size and easy shaping lets you make some pretty fancy houses, or you can stick to the basics.
Also:
Assembling Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses
How To Decorate Gingerbread Houses .
How To Make Royal Icing Part One Part Two
posted by zinon at 10:36 AM on December 14, 2012
Best answer: If you are not going to eat the cakes a cordless hot glue gun in your friend. Hide the glue with icing/frosting, it is much faster than waiting for the icing to set up and hold the pieces.
You can make gingerbread way in advance store it in an airtight container with wax or silicone paper between each piece, also if you make the dough up the day before cooking and leave it in the fridge overnight I find it handles better when rolling out to bake.
Trim pieces as they come out of the oven warm and soft, compare them to the cutter if using cutters and just trim around it.
When in doubt cheat and use gingerbread coloured cardboard or crackers.
posted by wwax at 10:41 AM on December 14, 2012
You can make gingerbread way in advance store it in an airtight container with wax or silicone paper between each piece, also if you make the dough up the day before cooking and leave it in the fridge overnight I find it handles better when rolling out to bake.
Trim pieces as they come out of the oven warm and soft, compare them to the cutter if using cutters and just trim around it.
When in doubt cheat and use gingerbread coloured cardboard or crackers.
posted by wwax at 10:41 AM on December 14, 2012
Best answer: If you decide to bake your own gingerbread house components, Not Martha's posts on making mug-perching mini gingerbread houses and on making freestanding gingerbread partridges in pear trees have some good tips for keeping the panel shapes straight, including laying out the pieces on foil (because parchment can bend, resulting in warped cookie pieces) and chilling all the cut dough well before baking to reduce puffing and spreading. Overall, reading those articles should give you some excellent details on dealing with dough, baking, frosting, and assembling. Good luck!
posted by Elsa at 10:42 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Elsa at 10:42 AM on December 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: These are a friend's notes on her process--she's an amazing cook and generous with her advice, which I've taken on other cooking projects before:
"(1) When rolling out the pieces, use flour liberally. If after baking the gingerbread is a little grey, you can put a bit of vodka in a spray bottle and clean that up. The problem with the gingerbread sticking at the roll-out stage is that your pieces will be misshapen.
(2) If you bake and make ahead of time, just cover with plastic. The pieces can also be refrigerated.
(3) Assemble ahead of time. DO NOT attempt assembly at the party. There are lots of reasons for this, but chiefly, it's because they won't be dry enough to decorate in time and your guests will be frustrated. Glue yours together the day before and cover them with plastic wrap.
(4) When making your royal icing, put it in small bowls covered with wet paper towels, or else the icing will dry out. if children are going to be decorating the houses, give them small pastry or clean paint brushes to brush on the icing. If you want to "pipe" icing, then put it in catsup bottles, not pastry bags. "
posted by gingerbeer at 11:28 AM on December 14, 2012
"(1) When rolling out the pieces, use flour liberally. If after baking the gingerbread is a little grey, you can put a bit of vodka in a spray bottle and clean that up. The problem with the gingerbread sticking at the roll-out stage is that your pieces will be misshapen.
(2) If you bake and make ahead of time, just cover with plastic. The pieces can also be refrigerated.
(3) Assemble ahead of time. DO NOT attempt assembly at the party. There are lots of reasons for this, but chiefly, it's because they won't be dry enough to decorate in time and your guests will be frustrated. Glue yours together the day before and cover them with plastic wrap.
(4) When making your royal icing, put it in small bowls covered with wet paper towels, or else the icing will dry out. if children are going to be decorating the houses, give them small pastry or clean paint brushes to brush on the icing. If you want to "pipe" icing, then put it in catsup bottles, not pastry bags. "
posted by gingerbeer at 11:28 AM on December 14, 2012
Best answer: Construct the house ahead of time so it has time to set up and dry a bit. Melted sugar makes for a quick, strong construction glue.
Rice crispy treats are handy for building blocks or internal supports if the structure needs shoring up!
I've cut boards or Styrofoam to insert snugly into the rim of a Lazy Susan. This makes a terrific base and cuts down on accidents since you can easily and smoothly turn the entire thing to decorate!
Consider pasteurized eggs for the royal icing, especially if there are small children or any one with a compromised immune system.
posted by cat_link at 12:17 PM on December 14, 2012
Rice crispy treats are handy for building blocks or internal supports if the structure needs shoring up!
I've cut boards or Styrofoam to insert snugly into the rim of a Lazy Susan. This makes a terrific base and cuts down on accidents since you can easily and smoothly turn the entire thing to decorate!
Consider pasteurized eggs for the royal icing, especially if there are small children or any one with a compromised immune system.
posted by cat_link at 12:17 PM on December 14, 2012
If you aren't completely committed to baking, what about a pre-baked gingerbread house kit? We bought a Create-A-Treat one from the supermarket for about 9 bucks. I only mention the type because I was really impressed with it - I actually e-mailed the company to compliment them on the quality of the kit. The gingerbread is not bad (although quite crisp), plus you get a plastic tray to help assemble it, a generous pouch of ready-to-use icing, a gingerbread man and tree, and even a few packs of (not-so-good) candy. It's a decently big house that you end up with, probably enough for an average family.
posted by pocams at 12:24 PM on December 14, 2012
posted by pocams at 12:24 PM on December 14, 2012
When rolling out the pieces, use flour liberally. If after baking the gingerbread is a little grey, you can put a bit of vodka in a spray bottle and clean that up.
You can also use a simple trick I learned working in a bakery: roll with plenty of flour, then brush it off the chilled dough with a (perfectly dry) pastry brush before baking. It works like a dream!
posted by Elsa at 1:48 PM on December 14, 2012
You can also use a simple trick I learned working in a bakery: roll with plenty of flour, then brush it off the chilled dough with a (perfectly dry) pastry brush before baking. It works like a dream!
posted by Elsa at 1:48 PM on December 14, 2012
IKEA also sells a house kit, if you want to get away from the baking part.
posted by lakeroon at 2:01 PM on December 14, 2012
posted by lakeroon at 2:01 PM on December 14, 2012
The one year I made gingerbread houses, I ended up making a stiff cardboard house first and gluing the gingerbread panels to it (with actual glue). I figured no one was going to eat it anyway, and once assembled you can't see the cardboard at all.
posted by lollusc at 3:00 PM on December 14, 2012
posted by lollusc at 3:00 PM on December 14, 2012
This is near and dear to my heart. I made a gingerbread house with my son when he was @ 6. It was singed on one panel, and we ran out of energy to decorate it 1/2-way through. But it had butterscotch windows and a candle inside. The next year, I happened to hear him describe it to someone, in a hushed, awestruck voice as "so beautiful."
I now have a cast iron mold for houses. It works well. Or make panels and connect them with straight pins and gobs of royal icing. Glom on lots of candy.
I made gingerbread boys & girls, took them to his school with colored icing and decorations. Some kids iced one with a dab of color; 1 girl made detailed replicas of her family. It was all good.
It's all about the process; play holiday music, get sugared up, laugh a lot, and worry more about the process being fun than about the product.
posted by theora55 at 5:21 PM on December 14, 2012
I now have a cast iron mold for houses. It works well. Or make panels and connect them with straight pins and gobs of royal icing. Glom on lots of candy.
I made gingerbread boys & girls, took them to his school with colored icing and decorations. Some kids iced one with a dab of color; 1 girl made detailed replicas of her family. It was all good.
It's all about the process; play holiday music, get sugared up, laugh a lot, and worry more about the process being fun than about the product.
posted by theora55 at 5:21 PM on December 14, 2012
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posted by troika at 9:59 AM on December 14, 2012