Sunday Sweets: Oh, SNAP!
December 12, 2010 'Tis the season for gingerbread, spice, and everything nice, right? So here are some pretties to inspire you before you set off to make those cookies and houses and rocket ships and whatnot. :)
First up, the cookies may be simple, but this gorgeous pattern is not:
By the Whipped BakeshopCheck out the shine on that gold!
Oh, and if you want to try painting on your cookies, fondant makes a great base.
Speaking of which, here's a whole hand-painted gingerbread scene:
So sweet! I love the tiny birdhouse painted above the door.
Gotta have a few traditional cuties in here:
By Eli ChilevI am thoroughly enamored with this fun edible centerpiece:
Submitted by Kimberlee G. and made by not marthaAmanda F. spotted these architectural wonders at the Festival of Trees in Utah:
Love the blue!And I'm sure no one here will be surprised that this one in particular caught my eye:
The amazing Artisan Cake Company actually did a feature on their blog of even *more* fabulous gingerbread houses, so I shamelessly stole these next two from them (but be sure to check out the link for the rest):
From the Carolina Inn Gingerbread house competitionI am in love with all the details: the little rose over the window, the bear topiaries, and the way the "snow" on the roof is dripping from the shingles. Just. A. Mazing.
Forgive me for yet another Disney reference, but does this next one remind anyone else of the Norway pavilion in Epcot?
Now, one thing about gingerbread: it's always so...brown. You know? Not all that exciting for a technicolor dream coat kinda gal like me.
Now, THIS, on the other hand:
By Pat Kilkenny
[nodding] That'll do, donkey. That'll do.
(Is that Fruit Stripe gum I spy on the roof?)
And finally, an undersea treasure from the one, the only...
You just keep rockin' on with your bad crustaceous self, Highland. I mean, seriously: is that octopus attaching the candy seashells on the roof with a wee little piping bag? Really?
Ok, you get a blown kiss for that. **Mwuah!**
Reader Comments (66)
OMG so sweet-I love how they do that
Nnnooooo, Jen....no!
Don't EVER recommend putting nasty icky gross FONDANT on delicious gingerbread! That ruins the gingerbread! It should be illegal to put something as disgusting as fondant (even "good" fondant still tastes like clay so don't tell me it can sometimes be OK) on something as wonderful as gingerbread. FOR SHAME!!111!!!1one!!
WV: dides - anyone who puts fondant on gingerbread in my sight DIDES from blunt force trauma immediately!
These are fantastic! Gingerbread may be my favorite flavor of the holiday season!
Did you see the.... Oh look at the little... and the.. oh oh oh the...
Sigh, I'm in my happy place
I *love* the Highland Bakery's under-the-sea gingerbread house! That is absolutely amazing.
WV: undun. I am just UNDUN by the octopus!
These are so awesome!!! I just can't even comprehend the level of skill and creativity it must take to create these masterpieces.
I am lucky in that I live near Asheville, NC, so I get to see the AMAZING gingerbread creations entered from across the country in the competition at the Grove Park Inn every year!
Oh, the BEAR one, with the little green topiary bruins!!! And it shows that there can, so, TOO be roses in the snow.
And the PASTRY BAG---if I were a "squee" kinda person, the time would be now.
Omg that Octopus is just precious...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9438541@N04/4250111943/in/set-72157605650695949/#/photos/9438541@N04/4250111943/in/set-72157605650695949/lightbox/
The front view of the Undersea Gingerbread house...
this is definitely deserving of an OMG the topiary bears, under the sea... I actually gasped a few times.
Happy holidays!!!!!
(singing) 'Tis the season to eat gingerbread, falalalaLAlalalala. (stops singing) I absolutely LOVE anything gingery. Thanks for posting this, it really brightened up my day.
-Zach
Royal icing makes a great base if you want to paint on cookies.
I wish so much that I liked gingerbread, but I just can't, I've tried. Waaaaaah! Still, these are very beautiful, which, seeing as I'll never be expected to eat any of the cakes featured anyway, is the main thing :).
I have been a visitor for a long time but I have to comment on these amazing gingerbread houses. They are soooo cute.
BTW Jenna, who eats a gingerbread house? They are a feast for the eyes. Plain, no icing, gingersnaps are for eating, with a steaming hot mug of spiced tea.
I do agree that fondant tastes awful. Don't put it on any cake that you intend to eat.
oh my god, the undersea gingerbread is amazing. as someone who's into the whole marine aquarium thing, i think i squeed a little at that.
Wow, at first I thought you were making a "Death to Smoochy" reference when you mentioned the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvMefyDa7Yg" rel="nofollow">rocket ship cookies (2:45 mark, NSFW) but someone actually made a gingerbread rocket ship.
Lovely.
Beautiful! Though as a fellow Disney Geek, I feel obligated to point out that it is not "Cinderella's Castle" at Disney, but "Cinderella Castle"- it's named for her, it doesn't belong to her :)
Wow, thanks for sharing such creative gingerbread artistry!
That sea critter one was quite unexpected, but very well done (I'm just imagining how wrong things could have gone on that one).
But my favorite is the house with the bears and roses. Love it!
Those cookies are just about the loveliest edible thing I have ever seen. And that octopus, attaching the tiles with a tiny piping bag! Squeeee!!!
All of the sweets are beautiful and I am in awe of the talent and creativity shown.
I love this blog. :D
the gingerbread is by a lady named Patricia Howard of Winter Park, FL. Seems she has won a few awards for her work!
http://www.asheville.com/news/gingerwin1106.html
You definitely saved the best for last! Good thing the theme was gingerbread, because I don't know how you'd have picked just one masterpiece from Highland Bakery.
That first entry troubles me, though. The scroll work is suspiciously identical from piece to piece. Could it be the dreaded edible paper? If so, would this be a rare example of using EPP for good instead of evil?
WV: brabies - when babies get rabies.
@Jenna - Have you ever tried marshmallow fondant? I hate regular fondant, but marshmallow fondant really does taste like marshmallows, not clay.
Those cookies look fabulous, but I suspect they were screen-printed or otherwise mechanically transferred, each one is perfectly duplicated... hand-done is just not likely.
This post was AMAZING!!! It almost got me in the holiday spirit... almost. Bah humbug to all, and to all, eat cake!
WV: struk= I was struk senseless by them ginger houses!
Love the under the sea one! So cute! And I agree: Norway, all the way!!!
I'm an octopus fancier and I am in love with the undersea cake. Such a wonderful lifelike octo, and he's decorating the house! So cute!
(I also have to admit to wishing I had a few extra arms when doing complicated icing work.)
Amazing! Though almost a little heartbreaking. I mean, no matter how tasty those are, how could you bear to break and nibble? That little "epcot" house looks like something I'd want to pull out and let my kids play dolls (or action figures....I have boys) in every Christmas. Watching it crumble would be so sad!
Architecturally speaking, I'm kinda in love with the next-to-last one. Mmm, architectural Italianate details you can eat.
SQUEE!!!!!!!!!!! Little octopus and shells and piping bag and...SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! I am in love.
Yes, it does look like the Norway pavilion at Epcot!
from another Disney nut
gaylin
I thought it was "That'll do, PIG. That'll do." Or am I thinking of another movie...
I'm guessing that the textured wood gingerbread was done with some sort of sanding technique. Unlike cake, it should be hard enough to stand up to that.
- abadidea
Aw! These are simply adorable!
The technicolored gingerbread masterpiece and the magnificent castle are absolutely my favs! Thanks for keeping us up to date with the latest Sunday Sweets! You rock! :D
~Eve S. D'ropper, of http://wordsfromthehallway.blogspot.com
Wow, those are beautiful! I loved all of them, hard to pick a favorite!
The Highland Bakery Gingerbread house was made for the GA Aquarium, and is a throwback to the giant octopus cake done for them as well: http://www.flickriver.com/photos/9438541@N04/4060870450/
By the way, all the seashells, sea creatures, and the piping bag are made of white chocolate....yummmm!
One of these days I will bribe someone to build me a wooden replica of that Norway looking gingerbread house in my backyard. I will sit in it during summer and have tea and cookies.
The gingerbread/cake one is actually all cake and fondant and is created by cakecentral member anxeli
She has a tutorial on how to make it on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31289853@N08/sets/72157623239872554/detail/
That octi is awesome! I want that little gingerbread because of him.
This. was. amazing! I could almost smell the spices of christmas wafting from my laptop!
But That'll do, donkey? That'll do, pig! There was a reason Shrek referenced the line! If you haven't seen Babe then you now have a task for the day!
The wonderful house that reminds you of the Norway Pavillion is by Patricia Howard in Winter Springs, FL.
I've never been so I'll have to take your word for it :)
These are amazing! I've honestly never seen a gingerbread castle that large!
Although I really like the third one - it reminds me of Hobbits for some reason...
Highland Bakery!!! The name sounded familiar, and yes it is right in my neighborhood. ATL folks should check it out ASAP!
At last -- photographic evidence of gingerbread men and women that don't look like something from the Martin Scorsese remake of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. The legends were true; it is possible.
There is a cute little cottage inside that big, gray golf ball-looking thing in Florida? [Runs to the shelter...]
Holy MOLEY this was a good line-up!
love this blog. the sunday sweets are absolutely gorgeous. thanks for sharing them with us all. -LJB
These'll ALL do, Donkey! lol
I learned a new term for the noise I make when I check out Sunday Sweets here --- Squeeeee!!
A definite squeeeeee day!!
Thanks for the gingy goodness.
~~Di
Lovely.........too lovely to eat!
BTW, found some urban decay pics you may enjoy, Jen.
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Urban-Decay/ss/events/us/120810urbandecay;_ylt=Am2BdQ6fnUAVhyylVDA5ZIG9IxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBubW10OGo5BHBvcwMxOQRzZWMDZXAEc2xrA2ltYWdl
oooooh You know you've made it when Cake Wrecks "steals" some of your pics from a post that you "stole" from someone else's post *yipes!* haha Really this is awesome and that octopi cake takes the cake! er...gingerbread :)
Those are gorgeous! I love gingerbread houses and these take my breath away. I can only imagine how long it took them to complete and am totally envious of their talent.
YIKES! STRIPES! Fruit stiped gum
It's the yummy fruity one
A sticky stripe of gum...
ahhhh memories
Hey, thanks for the distraction today from the worst research paper ever. It's actually giving me Songebob Procrastination flashbacks.
Wow, those are so amazing. I love seeing what people can do with Gingerbread houses because I've tried a few times and they come out looking like...a three year old put them together. lol