Posted 5:41 pm Saturday, December 24, 2011
Gingerbread Houses Spread Holiday Cheer
By COSHANDRA DILLARD
Staff Writer
Gumdrop- and icing-covered gingerbread abodes are a staple for households, parties and are offered as gifts during Christmastime. Its numerous colors, fragrant smell and fanciful features add another element to the season.
Staff Writer
Gumdrop- and icing-covered gingerbread abodes are a staple for households, parties and are offered as gifts during Christmastime. Its numerous colors, fragrant smell and fanciful features add another element to the season.
For Donna Doyle, director of IT Administra-tion/Compliance at East Texas Medical Center, the edible and intricately adorned homes are a relaxing way to spread holiday cheer.
This month, she replicated the office building where her friend, David Flynn, operates a chiropractic office.
This month, she replicated the office building where her friend, David Flynn, operates a chiropractic office.
Using an utility knife and rotary cutting mats, she plastered royal icing — an icing that becomes hard when dried — along with powdered sugar and fondant onto the frame of gingerbread. Stones under the “shrubs” are chocolate rocks. “Christmas trees” are large waffle cones covered in green icing and miniature fondant versions of Flynn and his dog, C.J., stand in front of the gingerbread building.
“I’ve always done the kiddie ones but I wanted to replicate something, and I liked the stones on the building,” Ms. Doyle said.
No detail was left out. She used a string of 60 LED lights inside the building and pulled one out for a porch light. The windows are made of melted butterscotch discs and they each hold a green wreath complete with a red holiday ribbon.
“She asked for a picture of my door and then she just showed up with (the house) one day. I was blown away,” Flynn said.
“I’ve always done the kiddie ones but I wanted to replicate something, and I liked the stones on the building,” Ms. Doyle said.
No detail was left out. She used a string of 60 LED lights inside the building and pulled one out for a porch light. The windows are made of melted butterscotch discs and they each hold a green wreath complete with a red holiday ribbon.
“She asked for a picture of my door and then she just showed up with (the house) one day. I was blown away,” Flynn said.
Flynn sees between 40 and 50 patients each week. Ms. Doyle has been his patient and friend for more than a year. With each patient who enters the back room that contains leather chairs and a table, they immediately notice the fresh, spicy aroma of the house.
“Everyone coming in just does a double take,” he said. “Everyone is amazed at how detailed it is.”
Ms. Doyle has always had a creative flair. She’s baked elaborate cakes and designed rhinestone outfits when her daughter showed horses. She also used to make dog treats to sell at Petland. Christmases past have involved some kind of cooking and baking.
“Everyone coming in just does a double take,” he said. “Everyone is amazed at how detailed it is.”
Ms. Doyle has always had a creative flair. She’s baked elaborate cakes and designed rhinestone outfits when her daughter showed horses. She also used to make dog treats to sell at Petland. Christmases past have involved some kind of cooking and baking.
“I like making stuff, but I’m not one to decorate (during the holidays),” she said. “I just like the baking part. My cousins and I, we’d always make a bunch of stuff. We always did a lot of cooking.”
The popularity of gingerbread houses have been around for at least two centuries, and were introduced to the U.S. with the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel. Ms. Doyle said gingerbread houses can last a couple of years, if preserved carefully.
She doesn’t see herself opening a bakery or selling custom treats from her home, but the art of crafting edible models is a stress reliever she’ll continue.
“I’ll do another one,” she said of the gingerbread house. “I just have to find another place. It has to mean something. I don’t mind making it for people who appreciate what I do.”
The popularity of gingerbread houses have been around for at least two centuries, and were introduced to the U.S. with the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel. Ms. Doyle said gingerbread houses can last a couple of years, if preserved carefully.
She doesn’t see herself opening a bakery or selling custom treats from her home, but the art of crafting edible models is a stress reliever she’ll continue.
“I’ll do another one,” she said of the gingerbread house. “I just have to find another place. It has to mean something. I don’t mind making it for people who appreciate what I do.”
