I'd rather devote my holiday prep time to decorating cookies and wrapping gifts, but I still have a deep appreciation of the incredible amount of work that goes into making a prize-winning gingerbread house. Even if that house won a ribbon at the local school holiday bake sale and not at a national competition. The above gingerbread house, found via the lollypix blog, won the grand prize at the national gingerbread house competition in Florida (you can peek inside here) this year.
I'll stick with cookies, but read on for a few more houses.
This candy-coated house, uploaded by pastelginger, is one that I wouldn't mind snacking on!
Maybe next year I'll try my hand at a gingerbread dragon, like the one conquering this gingerbread castle, uploaded by g2 duckworth.
This is another of the entries from the national gingerbread house championships, though judging from the date posted, it is probably from last year's competition. No matter. This just might be one of my favorite gingerbread houses of all time, since it has a great use of color and really steps away from tradition. Originally uploaded by kira1820.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-24-2006 @ 6:51PM
Dr Electro said...
I could eat a dragon or two but I really want the chocolate kisses on the candy-coated house. :D
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12-28-2006 @ 2:10PM
Valarie Enters said...
Hey there, that's my house that you like! Makes me feel good too, since I didn't win a darn thing with it this year!
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1-01-2007 @ 2:25PM
JLM said...
Wow..what creativity! I like them all. But some are too pretty to eat. Hansel and Gretel might have really starved if they'd come along to find the rustic gingerbread that won national acclaim. Thank you and keep up the good work!
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1-01-2007 @ 2:25PM
Glynnis said...
These houses look too pretty to eat. The thing I like when someone makes one of them, it shows the kind of talent they have and just what you can do with something that starts off so simple. This is truly eye-candy at its best.
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1-01-2007 @ 2:51PM
Joanne said...
Wow that castle is amazing! I love the wrap around dragon. I wonder what they used? Here's our houses - nothing that matches these though!
http://www.forkandbottle.com/Kids/holiday_cooking_kids.htm
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1-01-2007 @ 3:13PM
Jen said...
Just wondering what prize the candy coated house would win? Most unimaginative? Best house by a 7 year old? How dull.
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1-01-2007 @ 3:30PM
Cathy said...
Anyone can have a ball with making these. I do the short version. Simple box as foundation. Royal Icing covering it. Cookies like Graham Crackers as walls. Shredded wheat for roofs. Just slap on the plaster of royal icing, grab some treats, let your imagination go and you can delight crowds. The box version is great for kids and super, super fast to make. Using boxes instead of gingerbread I have created crowd pleasers from two inches tall to six feet tall for a company display. No idea what the pull is about these but everyone's eyes light up with them. Cost? Nada. Two egg whites, candy, cookies anything on hand.
Enjoy!
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1-01-2007 @ 3:34PM
Elizabeth said...
The picture on the bottom was one of the Chef's Choice houses from this years Gingerbread competition in Asheville, North Carolina at the Grove Park Inn. All of the houses were incredible and I recommend going to see them!! There are literally hundreds of houses, and are divided into a child, a teen, and an adult category. We spent several hours wandering up and down looking at the amazing houses!!
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1-01-2007 @ 3:45PM
a.grace said...
did anyone ever tell these people to not play with their food?
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1-01-2007 @ 4:03PM
Barbara said...
I think all these gingerbread houses are adorable! If you've never made one, it isn't as easy as it looks - sometimes those walls and roofs just don't want to stay put.
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1-01-2007 @ 4:15PM
Cathy said...
The contest is at the lovely Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC - not Florida. I THINK the dragon castle was entered in last year's competition. Thanks for posting the pics!!
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1-01-2007 @ 4:51PM
Merrie said...
Why is this title called,"Food PORN:..."?
Whoever created that title ought to have their brain washed out with Clorox!
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1-01-2007 @ 5:09PM
Maria said...
I made a gingerbread house at the end of a maze for a geometry project. It would not stay together...we didn't use the right icing, so hot glue helped alot. The gross part was, we left the whole candy house and maze out for about a week before I turned it in, and the teacher graded it and my class ATE it!!! I warned them not to but they ate the stale, hot glued candy and cookies...talk about gross!
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1-01-2007 @ 5:10PM
Lexi said...
Gingerbread houses are so much fun to make as a family project. My friend once made a whole village of them and has homemade templates so that she can share that with others. I don't know if everyone knows that these houses keep very well in the freezer and I've actually preserved a few for a number of years. The only problem is that they take up a lot of room in there.
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1-01-2007 @ 5:43PM
Shirley Cummins said...
Such Talent "Bravo you can all take a blue ribbon home. Shirl . MYRTLE BEACH SC.
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1-01-2007 @ 5:47PM
SIN said...
I WONDER HOW THE HECK YOU GET THAT ICING TO STICK TO ANYTHING.. WE TRIED ONE DEC 06 AND I'M TELLING YOU, THAT ICING STUCK TO NOTHING NOT EVEN OUR FINGERS AND IT WAS OUR FIRST YEAR TOGETHER. OUR MEMORY.. GINERBREAD HOUSES ARE BEST LEFT TO HANSEL AND GRETEL LOL
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1-01-2007 @ 6:48PM
MARY said...
I HAVE MADE GINGERBREAD HOUSES IN THE PAST AND THE BEST WAY TO HAVE THEM STAND UP STRAIGHT IS I PLACE OATMEAL SQUARE BARS AND I BUILD AROUND THAT ( THE WALLS )AND WHEN YOU PUT UP THE WALLS YOU HAVE TO SIT THERE WITH YOUR FINGERS UNTIL IT SETS...
PLACE THE WALLS UP FIRST ..THEN PUT IT IN THE FREEZER
AND THE NEXT DAY
YOU CAN DECORATE...BELIEVE ME IT WORKS...
TRY IT ...
GOOD LUCK OF COURSE
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1-01-2007 @ 6:50PM
MARY said...
NOW OF COURSE MY GINGERBREAD HOUSES ARE NOT LIKE THE ONES THAT ARE ENTERED IN CONTEST LIKE THE PICTURES YOU SEE ON THIS WEB...BUT THEY ARE GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME TO MAKE AND ENJOY ....AND I AM OVER 45 YRS OLD...
AND THIS ISNT JUST FOR KIDS ...ADULTS GET A KICK OUT OF THIS TO....
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1-01-2007 @ 6:59PM
Tess said...
I have pictures of a ginger bread house that blows these away......How do I post them ? Thanks
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1-01-2007 @ 7:07PM
kathy said...
yeah i must agree with the other Cathy that first one is from the Grove Park Inn in Asheville N.C. they have them there every year,I know this because my sister works there happy new year everybody
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