Gingerbread Project 2016

Full disclosure: I have never seen an episode of Paw Patrol (or papa troll - as auto-correct is so fond of calling it). Because I have grandchildren aged 2, 3, and 4 this information came as quite a shock to my family. How did I manage to avoid watching a single episode? It’s a mystery.

Nonetheless, Krista gave me a crash course on the important elements by sending me a bunch of pictures. It just wasn't coming together in my head and I was ready to either binge watch Paw Patrol on Netflix or give up. Then I found the PP lookout tower piñata. Paw Patrol was on a roll!

Coming up with a pattern was challenging. How do you create a gingerbread model of something that only exists in the digital world or the toy aisle? On the other hand, it’s a bunch of puppies who drive heavy machinery - maybe it doesn’t have to be very realistic. Or to scale. Or level.

I started with a sheet of construction paper which I folded into thirds. This seemed like a reasonable size for the sides of the tower. I think you’ll notice that the doghouses are way too big proportionally - but I kinda like them like that.
 
Here’s where you can find my recipes for the dough and royal icing.

Tower pieces

Using masking tape and construction paper, I did a mockup of the tower. From the bottom up, the pieces I created were:

• 6 tower sides
• 3 base supports + 6 base support sides
• 1 platform base (for the top of the tower)
• 6 platform windows
• 1 platform roof
• 2 periscope base pieces (rather than one thick piece, I opted for 2 thinner pieces glued together
• 2 mini ice-cream cones (for the periscope)
  

Pup houses

• 12 roof pieces
• 6 fronts
• 6 backs
• 12 sides

The pup houses are basic gingerbread constructions that you can either google as "easy gingerbread house pattern" or wing it with graham crackers.

Other considerations

Platform guardrail: Could have been made with small sticks of gingerbread (like I did in 2013), or even pretzels. In the end I went with mini Cadbury fingers (because they are delicious) and fruit-bite chunks (because I could kid myself they were a “healthy choice.”)
 
The slide: This one took a lot of thought. How could I create a curvy gingerbread slide that would hug the shape of the lookout tower? I suppose it’s possible, but seemed like too much work. (The hull of the 2012 Viking ship still haunts me.)  
     While Joshua’s suggestion to use bacon was obviously meant in jest, it got me thinking. What is like bacon, but made of candy? Answer: Fruit by the Foot! (FbtF) There was trial and error involved. I took one for the team and ate the mistakes. 
     I started by laying one strip on top of the other for extra strength. Then I attached it to the top with icing - folding it over the top of the tower piece and winding it around. One length of FbtF made it perfectly all the way to the bottom! 
     Unfortunately, the curves were folding, not flowing. So I g-e-n-t-l-y stretched the outside edge of the FbtF at each join in the tower panels. Just enough to get a curve. Pull too much and you'll split it.
    Then I dabbed on icing on the underside (as necessary) for support and used chopsticks to hold it in place until the icing dried. Then I added another layer of icing for good measure. I’m not 100% happy with the look and I think it would be just fine to omit this part.

Very very gently squeeze and pull along one edge to form a curve.

 
The pups: Yes, I suppose I could have crafted the pups out of marzipan or fondant. But I have an actual life. So I confiscated stickers from the grandkids and reworked the snowman cookies (details below).
 
The badges: I googled images of the badges. I literally traced the badge shape onto parchment directly from the computer screen. I used an HB2 pencil - just don’t press too hard.
 
Vibrant colours: For the right colours, you’ll need paste or gel. I got mine at Ming Wo.
 
Icing tips: I have an assortment of tips including multiple #2, #3 and #4. I make mini icing bags out of parchment so I don’t have to change tips every time I want a new colour. For a project of this size, multiple tips and bags are a must.

When the Paw Patrol experts arrived, they wanted to know where Ryder was. Ryder was not part of the sticker set I acquired so he is “in the elevator.” Also Everest is missing. I’m a terrible grandma.

Except for the slide, it was pretty easy to create. And I think you could have a really fun project with kids just by making the pups’ houses and not worrying about the tower.

The pieces for the lookout tower.
The pups' houses can just be regular 6-piece houses with 2 sides, a front and a back and 2 roof pieces (not shown here).

I always like to do a paper mockup before I start.
At this stage I realized I didn't want to make a guardrail or periscope out of gingerbread. Curves are too tricky. Stale ice cream cones from the summer seemed like the answer.

Here are all the pieces laid out.
Since I had extra dough, I made some trees and snowmen.

I started with the pup houses. Just simple structures.

I constructed the tower around a 1-litre plastic pop bottle.
Tins held everything in place until the icing dried. Be careful not to let the icing dry and stick to the cans and bottle.
There was a bit of fiddling to get everything in place and look like a proper hexagon from the top. Over the course of an hour, you can very carefully make some minor adjustments as the icing dries.
 More care and attention could have made it less like the leaning tower of Pisa.

The three supports are easy to make. You'll also notice that sides of the tower are not all the same height. Don't worry. Icing is a great help in hiding mistakes.

This is the room at the top of the platform. The original plan was to make "glass" out of melted Lifesavers. However, I think it would work just as well if the pieces were solid. The key is to have the bottoms shorter than the top so they angle outwards when assembled.
The little piece on the right is going to be the computer console.

The periscope is two mini ice cream cones covered in icing. I put a jelly candy in the centre.

You can see the console inside the room. And the fence looks yummy, doesn't it?
The roof has two smaller circles on it to act as the base of the periscope.

The badges were cut out by hand using a sharp-tipped knife. The pattern I traced from the computer screen is on the left.
I used a coffee spoon to clean up the top indents on the corners of the badges (spoon is in place to show how I just took a little "bite" out of the tops while the dough was still raw.)
I iced the bottom of the cookie (the side that was on the baking pan). It was flat and easier to draw on.

The backs of the pup houses with badges.

The fronts of the pup houses

For the pup figures, I cannibalized my snowman cookies. If you use a serrated knife, and cut back and forth evenly and slowly, the gingergread can be cut into smaller pieces.  
A rasp will smooth the edges.

I cut each cookie to a shape corresponding to the pup stickers. I glued half a jelly candy to the back so it would stand up. Then I covered the cookie in icing on the sides and the back.