By Kathleen McAleese
Managing Editor 

My baby cousin Jonathan was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy in 1996, a disease that left him with little muscle tone and breathing and eating problems; it was a disease that eventually took his life. After his passing, my family responded with the construction of something bigger than a gingerbread house. It was an outlet. It was a way to turn my parents’ helplessness into an effective machine to raise money for the SMA Foundation, the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation.

Jonathan was only six months older than I was, and I have no memory of him, but I still feel the impact that his life had and is still having on my family. He was my parents’ godson, and this year’s construction of the house was the first time I saw the meaningfulness that my parents have felt in their houses in the past.

This year, the house was raffled off for the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps facilitate our country’s service men and women after their returns home. Regardless of the cause, I know I am helping make someone’s holiday season a little bit brighter, and that is what has always mattered the most to me.

When I was little, I “helped” my frantic parents with the magical construction of a gingerbread house (or what was eventually shortened to ‘the house’). They were on a deadline, and I was eager to offer my supports, physical or mental. Primarily the latter of the two. I was too young to offer a steady hand or the attention span necessary to complete the task. I probably spent the time with my parents were working on construction and decoration, admiring their craftsmanship and more likely eating the candies they intended to use as decorations.

Perhaps, with my only sibling in her first year in college, I was the only child in my house for the first time in my life and just searching for a sense of tradition. So this holiday season, I embarked on a journey I never fully understood in my younger days. The task was daunting and only vaguely familiar. I had a clear vision of the end product, but without a plan on how to get from point A to point B.

With a heavy dose of advise from my parents, the veterans, and the yellowed, tattered, and ragged-edged recipe card by my side, I set out to complete the daunting task of construction.

The Recipe:

3/4 C. Shortening

1/4 C. Molasses

1 Egg

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Clove

1/2 tsp. Ginger

1 C. Sugar

2 tsp. Baking Soda

2 C. Flour

1 tsp. Cinnamon

Melt the shortening and cool until warm. Incorporate molasses, egg, and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining dry ingredients. Gradually add the dry to the wet ingredients. Roll the dough out to about 1/8- 1/4 inch thickness for house cutouts; for cookies, roll into 1″ round balls, roll in sugar, and bake. Bake at 375º for 9 minutes.

Construction would be nothing without a firm stabilizer. My family has used the same royal icing recipe for years. It is quick drying and strong enough to support the foundation and copious amounts of candies. The recipe is as follows:

1/3 cup egg whites (about 3 eggs)

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 lb confectioner’s sugar

Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar first, achieving stiff peaks. the gradually beat in confectioners sugar until icing’s consistency is very thick.

As delicious as the cookies are by themselves, we only make the cookies after the house is constructed. We make four wall pieces, three house shaped pieces, and two roof pieces. Once assembled and royal icing has dried, decoration begins. I used a wide variety of candies and depending on the look you want to achieve, you can stick to a certain color scheme or style. The more creative you get with decoration, the better. Some of the decorations that I incorporated were as follows:

Necco Wafers

Hershey Kisses/ Hershey Bar

Spearmint leaves

Jelly Wreaths

Lollipops

Teddy Grahams

m&m’s

Tootsie Rolls

Rock chocolates

Peppermint sticks

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