If You Eat the Outside, Is It Still Bigger On the Inside?

Pumpkin Bread. Cranberry-Orange Walnut Cookies. Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie. Sugar Cookies. Glazed Doughnut Muffins. Madeleines. Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins. Tiramisu. Red Velvet Cake. I could keep going with this list of yummy treats I like to whip up over the holidays, but you get the point. I like to bake. However, there does seem to be something missing from this list. What was it again? Oh! Yes! Gingerbread! I have never made gingerbread. At all. Period. No idea why. That said, should I ever decide to do the whole traditional gingerbread home construction thingy, this would have to be attempted:


Photo Credit: That's Nerdalicious!


I love, love, love this! The weathered shading, piped detailing (that's not easy), and--my favorite part--the itty-bitty Christmas wreath all come together to make a gingerbread TARDIS so full of win, I think the Doctor himself would be speechless.

The thing is, this time of year, I never have time to really decorate. My baked goods tend to be just that: baked and good (we hope). No one ever said anything about pretty.

Well, today I was digging around the interwebs, and I came across this silicone mold for a gingerbread house. All the detailing--shingles, log walls, windows--gets baked in, and then you can decorate as simply or elaborately as you want. Even better, the man who suggested this piece to OpenSky (the site I found it on, and a fantastic site for deals. I highly recommend it) noted that you could also use the molds to make the house out of chocolate. Holy Mother of Pearl.

Photo Credit: OpenSky

Of course, this is a man who knows his chocolate and his molds. He's none other than Mr. Chocolate, himself, Jacques Torres. I had the pleasure of working for him for a (very short) while, so I've seen first-hand the love and care he puts into his chocolate. His candy bars are like his children. If he says this is a winner, that's good enough for me. It's on my wishlist, and next Christmas, I hope to have a chocolate house to admire and devour. $20, OpenSky.