{"id":17807,"date":"2026-03-10T15:04:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T15:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/a-childhood-memory-inspired-him-to-become-a-gingerbread-house-artist\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:04:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:04:29","slug":"a-childhood-memory-inspired-him-to-become-a-gingerbread-house-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/a-childhood-memory-inspired-him-to-become-a-gingerbread-house-artist\/","title":{"rendered":"A Childhood Memory Inspired Him to Become a Gingerbread House Artist"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media-youtube-player\"><iframe class=\"media-youtube-player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2tUVVYtaU8M?autoplay=1&#038;mute=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Not many people have thought as much about <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/gingerbread-men\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gingerbread<\/a> as I have. Making cookies with Mom\u2019s special gingerbread recipe was always a Christmas tradition. One year, for something a little different, she and I made a simple gingerbread house for dessert.<\/p>\n<p>It was the centerpiece of our Christmas table. My cousins eyed it throughout the meal. \u201cWe can\u2019t <em>eat <\/em>that,\u201d my aunt said. \u201cIt\u2019s too pretty.\u201d I was the first to help myself to a chunk of roof. Eating it was the whole point.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_99525\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-99525\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/gingerbread_house_embed.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"longdesc-return-99525\" class=\"wp-image-99525 size-full\" tabindex=\"-1\" src=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/gingerbread_house_embed.jpg\" alt=\"Gingerbread house; photo courtesy Matt Maley\" width=\"250\" height=\"360\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles?longdesc=99525&amp;referrer=99437\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-99525\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of Matt&#8217;s gingerbread creations<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Well, eating that one was. When my daughter, Lianna, and I made one of those gingerbread house kits many years later, eating it was definitely <em>not <\/em>the point. But we had a blast, adding a few touches of our own. Then my wife, Adrienne, mentioned an annual gingerbread house contest held at Mohonk Mountain House resort in the foothills of the Catskills, not far from where we live. \u201cFirst prize is a two-night stay,\u201d Adrienne said. \u201cWhy not enter?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m an artist by trade, mostly graphic design and illustration, but I\u2019ve also done quite a bit of sculpting. And what was a <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/entertainment\/recipes\/dessert\/try-making-this-award-winning-bakers-ginger-cookies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gingerbread<\/a> house if not a type of sculpture? Only every part of it had to be edible. The challenge! The creativity! The fun!<\/p>\n<p>I considered digging out my mom\u2019s gingerbread recipe, but her cookies were a little too soft for what I had in mind. I needed the industrial strength stuff that would taste like something right out of <em>The Flintstones<\/em>. My aunt had been on to something with her comment about a house that was too pretty to eat.<\/p>\n<p>In the fall of 2017, I worked feverishly on the project. Educating myself, testing out ingredients\u2014but first I built a cardboard and foam core mock-up of my vision: a spiral staircase and flower tower with a gigantic <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/entertainment\/recipes\/dessert\/mrs-clauss-peppermint-wonders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">candy cane<\/a> as the central load-bearing rod. I worked out the kinks in the model, so rebuilding the whole thing with gingerbread pieces wasn\u2019t that hard. At the end I went nuts with icing for the ivy and flowering vines.<\/p>\n<p>On the day of judging, Adrienne and I walked around the grand hall at Mohonk. More than 100 gingerbread houses were on display amid the Christmas finery. \u201cIt\u2019s like the Academy Awards,\u201d Adrienne whispered as the winners were announced. I took first place. I was <em>hooked<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018 I was sure that the candied stained-glass windows on my gingerbread treehouse would give me the winning edge. I nabbed fourth place. In 2019 I crafted a three-story grist mill with a water wheel and a stream. I pulled an all-nighter trying to get the water to look like it was flowing. I woke with a start, surrounded by bits of chocolate and gingerbread crumbs, when Lianna put a steaming cup of coffee in front of me. \u201cKeep going, Dad,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I won third place. But my real reward came when I noticed a little boy carefully studying the mill. \u201cMomma,\u201d he said, \u201cI want to live in there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maybe that\u2019s what my crazy hobby was all about. A way to recreate the wonder I felt the year Mom and I made our first gingerbread house. That, and the camaraderie that comes along with it. Last year, a college friend and I participated in a national gingerbread competition on the Food Network. We didn\u2019t win, but I did get invited to the Gingerfriends Facebook group. (Who knew?)<\/p>\n<p>One late night I posted about my frustration: \u201cThe chocolate melts down my fingers faster than I can sculpt it!\u201d Ten minutes later: \u201cDude, I keep a glove in the freezer for that.\u201d What a game changer! Each year I design and build a different house. None of them last more than a single <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/trisha-yearwood-christmas-in-the-kitchen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Christmas<\/a>. But the gingerbread house tradition is fixed in me forever.<\/p>\n<p>Adrienne recently surprised me with an out-of-season request. \u201cI have a craving for gingerbread,\u201d she said. \u201cNothing fancy. Maybe some cookies?\u201d We pulled out Mom\u2019s recipe. I really did intend to make only the <a href=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/entertainment\/recipes\/dessert\/gingerbread-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cookies<\/a>. But I found myself sculpting a little log cabin to slide into the oven alongside them. Despite the softer texture, that house was as strong as anything I\u2019d ever made. Delicious too. This year, I\u2019ll use Mom\u2019s recipe in competition, and the family tradition will reach a new height.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-99437 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-large'>\n<figure class='gallery-item'>\n<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Matt_Maley_at_work.jpg'><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"270\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Matt_Maley_at_work.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-99615\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Matt_Maley_at_work.jpg 270w, https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Matt_Maley_at_work-240x320.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-99615'>\n\t\t\t\tMatt Maley at work<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class='gallery-item'>\n<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/gingerbread_treehouse.jpg'><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"270\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/gingerbread_treehouse.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-99616\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/gingerbread_treehouse.jpg 270w, https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/gingerbread_treehouse-240x320.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-99616'>\n\t\t\t\tMatt&#8217;s gingerbread treehouse<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class='gallery-item'>\n<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/gingerbread_mill.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"270\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/gingerbread_mill.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-99617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/gingerbread_mill.jpg 270w, https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/gingerbread_mill-240x320.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-99617'>\n\t\t\t\tA gingerbread water mill<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not many people have thought as much about gingerbread as I have. Making cookies with Mom\u2019s special gingerbread recipe was always a Christmas tradition. One year, for something a little different, she and I made a simple gingerbread house for dessert. It was the centerpiece of our Christmas table. My cousins eyed it throughout the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[172,136],"tags":[24,57,188,25,76,40,288],"ppma_author":[1772],"class_list":["post-17807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-friends-and-family","category-positive-living","tag-christmas","tag-creativity","tag-daughter","tag-family","tag-father","tag-holidays","tag-joys-of-christmas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Childhood Memory Inspired Him to Become a Gingerbread House Artist - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Childhood Memory Inspired Him to Become a Gingerbread House Artist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Not many people have thought as much about gingerbread as I have. Making cookies with Mom\u2019s special gingerbread recipe was always a Christmas tradition. One year, for something a little different, she and I made a simple gingerbread house for dessert. It was the centerpiece of our Christmas table. 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