I love December. I love Christmas and all the holidays this month – especially my birthday (I’m sure that’s on your calendar, right?). I love decorating and hosting parties and giving gifts (and getting gifts). I love everything about this month. And, given how much I also love candy, you’d think I’d be all about gingerbread.
The truth is, though, that I’m too lazy – or too busy, or a little of both – to be bothere
d most years. That’s why I love the pre-made kits you can buy from Wilton and other specialty baking companies. The kits even come with candy, though in my experience supplementing is always necessary because you can never have enough variety of candy on your gingerbread house.
This year, I’ve also noticed a plethora of bake your own gingerbread kits - the step in between starting from scratch and buying a kit – and I’m thinking about giving it a whirl. I love the concept because it allows you to choose your end results more specifically and to select all your own candy without feeling wasteful. There’s an option available at Williams-Sonoma and I found another at my local Trader Joe’s.
Then again, maybe I’ll skip the whole gingerbread baking project and just make a graham cracker gingerbread house.
8:58 pm on December 9th, 2008
Even those kits with the cut-out pieces of gingerbread are too much for me. I still have one from three years ago when I visited my mother for Christmas and she sent me home with an extra one after we made one house together.
Susan, it’s yours if you want it. Pretty soon I will be able to sell it as an antique on eBay.
9:19 pm on December 9th, 2008
Susan, i love to cook but baking in any form seems like a hurdle rather than pleasure. HINT-I’ll just see what baked goods turn UP UNDER the Christmas tree….
10:59 pm on December 9th, 2008
Ed – I feel the same way. Love to cook, but baking is not my thing. Luckily, Carl and I work with some excellent bakers!