Mini Gingerbread House Hot Chocolate Mug Perches

These Mini Gingerbread Houses are perfect for slipping on the top of a hot chocolate mug. Super cute and just too much fun to decorate. Happy Holidays! GUEST POST by Cravings of a Lunatic

I’m so thrilled to be visiting In Katrina’s Kitchen today to help celebrate I’ll Bring The Cookies 2013. Katrina is one of my favourite people on the blogosphere. She’s so kind and thoughtful, always a pleasure to visit. Plus she just makes scrumptious food, which is a huge perk.

I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Katrina in Florida at Food Blog Forum in the spring. She really is just as sweet in person as you imagine her to be. I think it’s all that sugar she puts in her goodies. It makes her extra sweet and extra special. Plus I’m a serious sugaraholic so I think we’re kindred spirits.

Many of you might be wondering who I am. I have a very indulgent blog called Cravings of a Lunatic. I like to make easy recipes that are just a tad over the top. There is nothing I like better than playing with food. My Dad used to always tell me not to play with my food. If he only knew I’d grow up to do that for a living. It’s a fun job, not going to lie. I pinch myself (not hard) every single day. Spending my days in the kitchen is a joy. It’s my happy place.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret now. I have been chomping at the bit to try these Tiny Gingerbread Houses I saw on Not Martha last year. I think I stumbled on them while playing on Pinterest. If you don’t follow me yet (you should totally be following me!) I’ll let you in on another little secret. I’m a Pinterest Addict. I know, I know, everyone claims to be a Pinterest Addict these days. I’m not exaggerating at all, I have a serious problem with Pinterest. I can spend hours, days even, perusing boards and pins. On one such adventure I came across these tiny houses and I knew I had to try them.

I used Martha Stewart’s Gingerbread Snowflake Recipe and also her Royal Icing Recipe for these. I figured if they were good enough for Martha, and Not Martha then why mess with perfection. It’s a good thing.

They are a tad tricky to make. I’d love to keep experimenting with them. I made mine a touch too big. Yet if you make them much smaller they may not hold up well. It’s a gamble how to handle them. I will say I love them so very  much and cannot wait to make more. They take some time, and lots of steps but it’s totally worth it when you finish and see them perched on a mug.

My only regret…I took the photos in artificial light. With winter here and the sun setting so darn early I didn’t take the shots early enough. I confess I ran out of meringue powder so I had to have hubs pick some up on the way home from work. By the time he got home and I finished up the natural light was long gone. If the hooligans don’t snatch these all up I may try taking some more photos in the daylight. Lighting aside aren’t they adorbs? I just love them.

I’m planning on making a huge batch for Christmas Eve so we can have hot chocolate with little perches while we open a few gifts. Tradition here is we each open one gift from one another, then one gift from my sister who lives far away but spoils us rotten. We usually end up opening about half our gifts. It’s hard not to get caught up  in the excitement of it all. Maybe these will slow us down a bit so we savour the moment instead of acting like wild hooligans.

I hope you get a chance to make these. They are worth the effort for certain. I wish you all a Happy Holiday season and hope it’s everything you want it to be. And so much more!

Thanks to Katrina for allowing me the pleasure of posting on her fabulous site today. Make sure you all stop by Cravings of a Lunatic for lots of scrumptious goodies. I also have a grilling blog called Kiss My Smoke. I love to grill, even in winter. Which just shows my complete adoration of grilling since I live in Canada and it’s freaking freezing here in winter. I just pile on the woolies and head on out to the deck. That, my friends, is how us Canucks roll.

Toodles and (frozen) smoochies! xx

This post is part of our Third Annual I’ll Bring the COOKIES Virtual Blogger Cookie Swap. Be sure to check back here every day in December leading up to Christmas where some of the best bloggers will be sharing their favorite cookie recipe! You can also follow along Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+ with the hashtag #BringtheCOOKIES. Thank you to OXO for being our exclusive #BringtheCOOKIES sponsor.  Be sure to visit Kim,s blog, Craving’s of a Lunatic to enter a sweet OXO Baking Prize Pack. 

More delicious cookie recipes from Kim:

Peanut Butter and Nutella Swirl Cookies

Chocolate Fudge Brownie Sandwich Cookies

Black Forest Sandwich Cookies