Reviews Cooking, Food And Wine Book

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Amazon.com Review
Miniature houses have an undeniable appeal, especially when they're made out of food. But the architectural achievements in this guide are so charming and sometimes so elaborate that it's hard to imagine actually eating them; they're meant to be admired, not devoured. From rustic to royal, humble to ornate, this eclectic assortment ranges from cooking-school complex to child-simple. Some were even designed by kids and could certainly be constructed by them. (Just be sure to buy extra trimmings, since the budding architects are bound to do some nibbling!)

The authors lay solid groundwork in the introductory section, explaining the key points of gingerbread building, pattern making, and utilizing various types of trimmings, and offer basic recipes for gingerbread dough, royal icing, marzipan, pastillage, and fondant. Then it's on to the structures themselves, contributed by more than four dozen designers. Houses, cabins, inns, chapels, castles, lighthouses, even whole little villages drip with snowy icing, as candies, cookies, and other goodies mimic stone, brick, shingle, stucco, logs, and landscaping. This is not a step-by-step guide but rather a gallery of wonderful ideas, with photos of each creation and some very general suggestions about making them. The photography is not high quality but is adequate enough to show detail, and templates are included for many of the structures. One designer even found an ingenious solution to the edibility dilemma, turning the flat roof of her elaborate Victorian concoction into a serving surface for Christmas cookies. --Amy Handy

Customer Reviews

Overall a good book
Gave this as a gift and the recipient's seemed to enjoy it. The true test will come next holiday season when they try to make a house!

Making Great Gingerbread Houses: Delicious Designs from Cabins to Castles, from Lighthouses to Tree Houses
I checked this book out at the library after my first gingerbread house turned out just "okay", nothing stellar. The ideas and photographs so excited me that I after renewing it, then receiving a library overdue notice, I finally purchased it. The number of plans are limited, but for a house lover and frustrated would-be architect like me who would rather make original designs, this is perfect. Recipes are excellent. I have no regrets.

Encourages risks
Most gingerbread houses are though of as a few pieces of flat cookie glued together with a miracle morter, and decorated to suit the Christmas holiday only to last as long as the oooh!s and aaaah!s. You might have a few Hansel or Gretel types who dare to pick a small chunk off for tasting which inevitable tarnishes the entire effect that you worked so hard to acchieve.This book pushes the ideas beyond the four walls and wheat chex roof to a area that allow imagination to swell. Dare to be different! Add a windowbox, a corn flake tree or a pretzel fence. Go from hoping to get past beginner stage and start assembling like a pro and decorating like a designer. It'll be too pretty and fabulous to nibble on!