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of gas,” she said. “I almost gave up completely, but eventually my houses were delivered and they were a big success.”
Ann has learned by trial and error some things that cookbooks don’t tell you: “The frosting is the key,” she said. “It must be very, very thick. If candies start to slip, take the time to scrape off your house, thicken the frosting, and start again.”
The frosting (recipe in box) is the mortar, Ann says. “I recently did some work with caulking, work I wasn’t really accustomed to,” she said. “But it came real easy. I thought, ‘this is just like using frosting and a pastry bag’.”
Ann demonstrated her gingerbread-house making at the Foster-Harris House last weekend, and an observer looked at her work from a different perspective: “That’s just like caulking,” he commented.
Ann’s recipe reflects some modifications she’s devised over the years. Not using any shortening means that the dough is sturdier and lasts longer. But no matter how long the houses remain on display, Ann likes for them to be eaten. “They’re really good,” she said. “And they’re meant to be eaten. I think children feel really special when they’re allowed to eat something that beautiful.”
And all Ann’s houses are beautiful - quite possibly a standard for other gingerbread all over the world to aspire to. She makes them to order to resemble a particular house, she’ll substitute dried fruit for candy, and she tries to reflect a local angle.
This year, her first in Rappahannock, she’s built some Virginia log cabins ftom gingerbread, available at Country Heritage in Washington.
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