Master gingerbread architect-baker man Kevin Kiley said the secret to gingerbread building is to plan ahead. A builder since high school, each year Kiley leads the gingerbread construction 101 class at the Opera House in Boothbay Harbor. 

He had 16 students in this year’s class Nov. 18. Ten were newbies. After passing out the oh-so-detailed Kiley family blueprint for the best baking and decorating results, the fun began.

Sweet fact 1: All gingerbread recipes are not equal, or edible. For example, the pre-mixed, just add water gingerbread is quite edible and looks like an old structure (OK, that may just be me).  It will also expand and require some trim work. Alternatively, the Kiley recipe isn’t the best for eating, Kiley said, especially if you have crown work. But still, it can be eaten and, more importantly, it makes for a sturdy structure.

Sweet fact 2: When planning how much gingerbread to bake, especially if you are going large scale, make sure the right-sized baking sheets fit into your oven! This gave everyone a chuckle, including Kiley who was speaking from experience. If you are not baking right away, roll out the dough in squares, wrap them in plastic and store them in the refrigerator, up to one month ahead.

Sweet fact 3: For stained glass or see-through windows, cut them out in the dough before baking your gingerbread on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Sweet fact 4: Icings can be tricky. Kiley’s informational handout includes a frosting recipe of confectioner’s sugar, cream of tartar, and egg whites. Once mixed, the frosting needs to be kept covered with a wet cloth so it does not dry out. Store-bought is OK and convenient when you are using a variety of colors.

Sweet fact 5: Lay the groundwork before erecting the walls: What will you use for the base of your house? Covered plywood? Silpat (a non-porous silicone mat)? If you plan to have light inside your house, make a small hole in the back for the cord before setting them in icing. Apply icing with a decorator’s tube or pastry cone along the edges of the ground floor; work quickly, but carefully, before it hardens. Attach the four sides of the building by inserting each wall in the center of the piped icing. Apply icing to the top edges of the walls to secure the roof.

Sweet fact 6: The gingerbread must be left to dry overnight ... no matter how tempted you may be to press on!

Kiley had a wide array of sweet hard candies, pretzels – grids for windows or, because they come in so many shapes, the actual windows; matzo, cereals including Frosted Mini-Wheats, which make excellent thatched roofs; chocolate confections – some that looked like stones for walkways or fireplaces; silver beads, jelly beans; small gingerbread men, candy canes, Jolly Ranchers … Sheila Wiken shared how she used Ranchers to make a pond for one of her past Gingerbread Spectacular entries: crush them on a baking sheet and melt in the oven. Just keep an eye out so your pond does not turn into a murky moat – or maybe that is just what you need! Wiken also made a lake out of menthol cough drops.

All of the participants had the chance to practice at the event. Small gingerbread houses, icing, candy canes, a small candy gingerbread man and other sweets and savories were set up on round bar trays for each person.

A few of the students planned to enter the Spectacular, as families. Rebecca Rodgers and her teenage sons will, but they had not decided what they were baking. “But it’s a topic of great discussion,” Rodgers said.

Emily Hurd was there with her three young sons saying they, too, were all in; all that was left was designing their entry.

National Gingerbread House Day is Dec. 12. What better way to celebrate and get into the holiday spirit than baking and building one of your very own?

Whether you’re into baking them or not, everyone loves to marvel over the imagination, execution and sheer sweet creative genius of the gingerbread bakers among us at the annual Gingerbread Spectacular! This year’s sweet event is Dec. 2-5 at the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.