Customer Reviews

Making Gingerbread Houses: And Other Gingerbread Treats

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Even though this is a small book, almost all the designs in it are wonderful. Not complicated at all, with great looking results.
It holds patterns for a train, a crown, some smaller candy-decorated houses, a log cabin, decorated cookie ornaments and Noah's Ark. Everything is illustrated with beautiful pictures. All could easily be made with children as well.
It holds three recipes for gingerbread and Lebkuchen and has various tips to offer on making your projects work.
I gladly recommend it!!

This book, by Joanna Farrow, is the same as her other gingerbread books, just with a different title. I wonder if there were 3 editions made for different countries - like one for the UK, US and Australia? Because each one has all the same stuff. While I like her ideas for Middle-Eastern style cookies and decorations, and I do like her very simple castle and Noah's Ark, her templates are woefully inadequate. For all of her ideas, she only gives you the main thing you need to start from, not even actual size so you'll have to scan them and enlarge, and then you have to measure and cut everything else yourself, minus a template. That's pretty annoying, and makes this just an idea book you might go through once for ideas rather than being an instructional book you'd want to have around.

Both the title of this book, "Making Gingerbread Houses
and the photo on the cover page are misleading. With 24 recipes in total, only four are for houses (interpreted liberally): crelated castle, noah's ark, hansel and gretel cottage, christmas cottage. The majority of the recipes are for "and other gingerbread treats" (subtitle): crown, steam train, teddy bears, elephants, cookies, wreath, plaque, heart, etc.

The instructions for the gingerbread houses are fair, and the recipe, which includes, butter, questionable.

I bought the book on the basis of the other review and the charming photo of the house on the book cover.

I cannot recommend this book at all.