Gingerbread Houses

These gingerbread models of all of the public schools in Watauga County were created by Katherine Graham, a physical therapist at Blue Ridge Physical Therapy. She has been making gingerbread models for approximately five years and says it's a good break from her daily tasks. She chose this particular project because her two children attend Watauga County schools, Bethel Elementary School and Watauga High School, and she wanted to show her support for public schooling.

Each school took approximately four hours to assemble. Before that, she had visited the schools to make preliminary sketches. When she had all the sketches before her she decided on a "generic size" (approximately 20" long, 4" tall, and 4 1/2" deep) so that each building would blend into the group, and made a form out of styrofoam, adding the roof lines and other structural details to give each school its own flavor.

She made the gingerbread using the recipe in The Joy of Cooking; however, instead of putting the batter in the traditional pan she poured it into a cookie sheet approximately 1/2" deep and baked it according to the recipe. When the baking time was over she turned the temperature to "Warm" and let the bread stay there to continue to dry, checking it frequently. When it looked as though it might be starting to burn she removed it from the oven to cool completely before cutting it into the necessary shapes with a pizza cutter.

The "glue" that holds these buildings together is Royal Icing. Properly stored, in a plastic bag and an air-tight container, the schools will last for a year or more.

Click on one of the images below for a larger image and description of the model.