I used the same recipe as I had for my Christmas Gingerbread House last year. The dough seemed far more sticky than I had remembered it being but I persevered thinking that the issue rested more with my poor memory than in the recipe itself. I left the dough in the fridge all day and rolled and cut the pieces that night, the consistency of the dough had not improved but still I ploughed on. I popped the pieces in the oven, the walls warped, the roof sagged and the windows and doorways disappeared - grrrrrrrrrrr. It nearly ended up in the bin at this point!
By the next morning I had decided that the imperfections of the pieces would actually add to the character of a Haunted Gingerbread House so I stuck them all together ... this part of the process actually worked out OK, except that there weren't any snug fitting pieces to support each other, the support came solely from the amount of royal icing that was used to literally plaster it all together. Ho hum ....
Then when I had finished decorating it, it looked kinda bland. Hubby didn't mince his words either "It's not a patch on your Christmas one!"
Well! It nearly ended up in the bin again! But with a couple of days of staring at it, a few ideas cropped up, maybe a cobweb here, some licorice cladding there, perhaps some light in the windows????
OK - so its not a master piece. But I still have a soft spot for it and decided to share it with you all despite its imperfections! And maybe (just maybe!) it does look kind of like a haunted house? My favourite part? That's easy! It has to be the wee Gingerbread Man dressed up as a ghost all ready for Trick or Treating ;0)
Looks like an old abandoned spooky house to me, like the ones in Scooby Do. I tried Rachel Allens gingerbread house recipe once so I feel your pain!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE it - it certainly does have character. Going away to see if I can find your Christmas one now.
ReplyDeleteChele, you are way too hard in yourself! It looks great-and it is quite true, the imperfections add to the haunted house theme and it looks like you did it all deliberately.
ReplyDeleteI think it came out perfectly. A real Halloween house has to be little tilted and odd looking with a roof that needs some repair.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't look at all bad! And that adorable little gingerbread trick-or-treater is too cute for words :)
ReplyDeleteI think it looks just right for Hallowe'en - half derelict and abandoned. Spooky! Cute as well!
ReplyDeleteI think it looks fabulous! The little gingerbread ghostie is so cute. Love the spooky windows too
ReplyDeleteAbsolute genius!!! That ghost is perfection. Did you eat it?
ReplyDeleteI think it's brilliant, I love the fact that you ploughed on and this is the result.
ReplyDeleteThat's just the kind of thing that would happen to me! I think it looks great, very spooky and tumbledown - hee hee, the little man is so sweet.
ReplyDeleteChele I think look spectacular, I love the ghost!!x have a lovely weekend! gloria
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful haunted house - so glad you didn't give up. A perfectly straight house wouldn't have looked right at all.
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