I loved the teaser for this book! Just what does happen when you combine an architect who bakes with a pastry chef with a flair (or rather "obsession") with houses? You get a book like The Gingerbread Architect: Recipes and Blueprints for Twelve Classic American Homes, by Susan Matheson and Lauren Chattman. Beautiful houses (all edible), hints on how to do the details that give them a period flair, with gingerbread house blueprints at the end.

For more ideas I moved on to Making Great Gingerbread Houses:Delicious Designs from Cabins to Castles, from Lighthouses to Tree Houses, by Aaron Morgan and Paige Gilchrist. I loved some of the ideas included here ... from leaving the back open so you could see what was inside (which means crafting tables, lamps, beds, sofas and more) to using shredded wheat for a thatched roof.

While searching

for books about gingerbread houses, something strange popped up! Take a look at Twisted Cakes: Deliciously Evil Designs for Every Occasion, by Debbie Goard. Here you'll find dead mouse cakes, heart shaped boxes (the real heart shape, not the one you find on cards, etc)!, severed hand cakes ... boxes of eyeball cupcakes, and other odd and macabre designs. Creepy and fun!

Reading Hermit With Dog