I went to the craft store last week to get balsa wood to make some faux Roman shades for our guest room. More on that later. I expected to do a little browsing because this particular store was new to me, but I was unprepared for the 60% off Halloween and general fall decorations that assaulted me as I walked in the door, so of course I had to walk away with a few items, including a haunted gingerbread house kit.
I’ve been known to create a gingerbread house or two in the past:
I thought the kit would be a quick little diversion without the headache of making my own gingerbread and icing, deciding what kind of candy I wanted to decorate with, etc. This particular kit came with pre-cut cookie pieces, packets of orange and black icing mix, two piping bags with decorator tips, various candies for decorating, and directions for decorating in three alternative styles, which I promptly threw out the window when I got to the part about letting the base of the house set for an hour before proceeding.
I was amazed that these two pale powders mixed up to bright orange and deep black with just a couple tablespoons of water. I was a bit disappointed in the consistency, though. The orange was extremely runny after following the mixing instructions and I had no powdered sugar to add to stiffen it up. Another reason I threw the directions out: I couldn’t do the suggested piping with such loose icing. The instructions also suggested cutting the jellybeans in half with a sharp knife. Have you ever tried cutting stale jellybeans in half? I just about cut my fingers off three or four times, and I don’t recommend it.
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Despite the few minor hiccups, this is how it turned out. Not my best work, but not bad for an hour or two with a $10 kit.
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