Recipe for Christmas...

Well, this is not a recipe for actual Christmas...it's a recipe for Gingerbread, which is kindof like Christmas...it's sweet (like the children), and crunchy (like some of your extended relatives), and highly anticipated by my family each year (like the gifts)!

Go here now for the recipe...but come back for some helpful hints!

First hint - 
It takes a long time to bake the gingerbread. I budget 3 hours for 1 batch when doing houses, and the same amount of time if doing a half-batch of just cookies. Don't try to rush. Just enjoy the process. Maybe bake on Friday or Saturday, and save the decorating for the next day.

Second hint - 
Watch your gingerbread in the oven! If you roll one pan even a little thinner than the last pan, it can bake a LOT faster! Of course, if you want to check your smoke detector, don't pay any attention to this hint!

Third hint -
Trim after baking...use your banana knife! (Well, it doesn't have to be a banana knife, but it does need to be a good, sharp knife.) If you don't trim, your house might not fit together properly later.

But seriously, use a banana knife if you can!

Fourth hint - 
Save the baking for an adults only event. It's not that much fun for the kids, and there is no candy involved. Also, keep some of that aloe stuff (that you put on a sunburn) in the kitchen. Between the hot pans and trimming the hot cookies, you're gonna burn yourself eventually. But that aloe stuff is great, and even though I was "Burnin' Down the House" like a talking head a couple days ago, I didn't get a single blister.

Last hint - 
When you trim up your baked pieces, keep the trimmings on a little plate for sampling. 

There's almost nothing worse on building day than to find that someone has eaten one of the roofs!

Construction tips tomorrow!

Are you going to make your own gingerbread house this year?