Area Resident Creates Gingerbread Paradise

    We have been enjoying watching the Christmas baking challenges on the Food Network recently. We marvel at the elaborate cookies, cakes, pies, and holiday confections that people create. We bake but only in the most minimal sense such as drop cookies and basic breads. Fancy confections are way out of our league, we wouldn’t even know where to begin.
   We did see someone who knows their way around the elaborate art of gingerbread house-making this week! Sandra Hartman, volunteer at Potter's Clay home school co-op, shared a few pictures of a gingerbread house she was making for her grandchildren. We were astounded and asked her if we could come over to see them when they were done. She politely agreed and we got to make that trip this week.
   Sandra lives in an artistic bungalow cottage from the early 1900s that she and her husband Neal completely remodeled themselves. Her artistic talent shows all around their home with creative touches that they did themselves. Her creativity especially showed in the kitchen where not one, but three completed gingerbread houses were on display.
   These are no everyday gingerbread houses, but more on the scale of dollhouses made of sugar. Every room is filled with ornaments, furniture, characters, treats, toys, and even tiny twinkling Christmas lights.
   Where to begin describing these marvels we can't really say. Sandra has been teaching herself and getting more advanced in her designs since she made her first house in 1966. She just wanted to make something special for Christmas for her own children back then and worked carefully to make her own patterns, recipes, and designs. Each year they have become more elaborate and today they feature special miniature bundt cakes, candy legos, Christmas trees made on ice cream cones, tiny fondant toys and accessories, and so much more. The front columns are sculpted of rice treats and ice and covered in sprinkles, the fireplace is made out of bricks made from rice crispy treats, and everything is coated with royal icing to make it strong. The houses are really works of art.
   This year, Sandra made three. One for each of her family members' homes. Her grandchildren often get to have input on design and even get to make tiny candies and decorations that little hands are just the right size to accomplish. A tiny battery pack provides the electricity for the houses that glow with Christmas lights from within. Each house has a theme. Two are very girl-oriented with Disney Frozen and Encanto-themed characters and one is all boy with Buzz Lightyear, a helicopter, and lots of other cool touches including a lake with a shark in it!
      Sandra spends about a month creating these treasurers beginning on October 1. She has to have them ready by early November because one of the Gingerbread Houses gets driven to Georgia for delivery by Grandpa Neal.
   To fill each room with furniture and characters, Sandra has to build one room at a time, letting it dry and adding all the details before the roof goes on. We can’t imagine the planning this all takes. We enjoyed seeing the cookie cutters, tiny baking molds, sprinkles, and other tools of the trade. What a labor of love these Gingerbread Houses are and we really enjoyed seeing Sandra’s artistic creations.
       In her free time, she also makes decorated sugar cookies to decorate a cookie Christmas tree and garlands in her home. Santa's workshop couldn't be sweeter. We enjoyed the visit to the wonderful world of Gingerbread this week.
   Food is a wonderful way to gather friends for any occasion. It gives us all something to share. You can share your recipes with other readers by emailing hollynewby1@aol.com or contacting us at www.thenorthlakeoutpost.com/contactus.
   For the less advanced cooks, looking to enjoy some gingerbread taste this Thanksgiving try the following drop cookie recipe. Mix and drop by rounded spoonfuls and bake.
Soft Gingerbread Cookies
       3/4 cup butter, softened
       1 cup sugar
       1 large egg, room temperature
       1/4 cup molasses
       2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
       2 teaspoons ground ginger
       1 teaspoon baking soda
       3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
       1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
       1/4 teaspoon salt
       1 tsp. vanilla extract
        Cream the butter, vanilla, sugar, and molasses. Add spices. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and scoop by rounded teaspoon full. We roll them in our palm to make a ball, then roll in a little extra cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.