Gingerbread - YUM!

It is an irrefutable fact that Lilly ADORES gingerbread.  Now, Eric and I have tried many times (unsuccessfully) to figure out which side of the family this taste bud trait follows - neither of us are particularly fond of the spicy cookie.  As a matter of fact, I must confess that I never tried it until about three years ago when Lilly had it for the first time in preschool.  Because enthusiasm is contagious, I decided I had to try it.  I really wasn't that impressed - not that I hated it or anything, I just prefer chocolate chip or peanut butter, or oatmeal, or snickerdoodles....anyone else getting cookie cravings?  Anyway, you get the idea. 

Confession #2 - In all the years we have "made" gingerbread houses (probably 12 years), I have always bought the ready to assemble kits.  And, to make matters"worse", about 10 years ago I began hot gluing our houses together!  I was fed up with trying to hold the darn thing together with that gloopy frosting stuff!  So, I think it is pretty clear why I have never actually eaten gingerbread before Lilly introduced it to me. 

Well this year, we received a cute little gift from Eric's sister, Sandy.  It was a Gingerbread house kit!  Complete with directions on how to make your people 3-D.  At first I panicked at the excitement that Lilly demonstrated when she saw that we could make our very own gingerbread.  Then I remembered that all things in life should be done precept upon precept, so I decided that we could attempt to make JUST the gingerbread people this year from scratch.  

So one sunny Saturday I gathered the cooking crew (Lilly and Emmett), donned my apron (they did likewise), and we began measuring and mixing.  It was a bit messy because my crew insisted on working independently, but I am proud to say that in the end, we had some fabulous gingerbread dough!  And a few hours later, we were ready to roll, cut, and bake! 

(The baking is my favorite part because it makes the whole house smell incredibly delicious!)

But, of course, the best part was the decorating.  Lilly insisted that we needed a whole arsenal of decorating delights: frostings, sprinkles, sugars, candies, etc. 

 

I do have to agree that they turned out beautiful AND delicious!  We had so many cookies that Eric's Home Teaching families got plates of surprises, too.  I am sure they felt so loved to have received such hand crafted delectable delights!