Gingerbread architects design holiday feasts for the eyes

STATE COLLEGE — Over the past decade, it has become a beloved tradition for guests of the Nittany Lion Inn to marvel at an elaborate gingerbread replica of the inn displayed in the lobby throughout the holiday season. 

Penn State’s executive pastry chef, Heather Luse, is the sole architect and artist behind the masterpiece. The term “architect” is not a stretch; she had to create her own blueprints before she started working on the first gingerbread replica in 2007.

“I remember going over and sitting in the parking lot, taking pictures and drawing plans,” she said.
Luse reproduces the structure each December, and refers often to photos that she has taken during the creation process to make sure no detail goes overlooked.

The edible inn is made from 20 pounds of gingerbread, 50 pounds of icing, 25 pounds of candy and 70 pounds of Rice Krispies treats. The only part of the structure that can’t be eaten is the hot glue that is used to hold the seams together.

“I have to fill the inside with Rice Krispies treats, because they keep it sturdy. I used to use styrofoam, but the Rice Krispies treats are really moldable and they just work better,” Luse explained. 

She said the process takes about four days from start to finish, including one day for baking, one day for putting it together and two days to decorate and add details, such as a walkway and Christmas trees and sleds.

Luse, who has been working at the Penn State Bakery for 24 years, also creates gingerbread houses for the university to use in other campus locations. Although she did attend culinary school and has her own baking business, Delectable Delights in Centre Hall, she has never received any formal training in gingerbread design.

“It’s all been trial and error, and a lot of work,” she said. “It’s also a lot of fun.”

Penn Staters and visitors to the Nittany Lion Inn appreciate tradition, Luse said, and, therefore, she changes very little about the replica from year to year. “I may use different candy for some of the details, but the base remains the same,” she said.

In contrast, visitors to the annual gingerbread display at Diamond Deli in Bellefonte will never see the same display twice. That’s because it is made up entirely of entries from the Bellefonte Victorian Christmas gingerbread house contest.

According to Bellefonte Victorian Christmas co-chairman Sally Houser, “This is one of the traditions that everyone looks forward to and encompasses many generations of participation. The participants range in age 5 years to 84 years. They are all amateurs and show such amazing creativity in all they do as they design their houses.

“One year, we had an entry that was the Centre County Courthouse. and it not only featured the outside of the courthouse, but the inside, also. This year, we had many themes. Some that stood out for me were a log cabin, a tree house, a football stadium and Hagrid’s hut and forest from the ‘Harry Potter’ book series, to name a few,” she said.

This year’s display can be seen in the window of the Diamond Deli at 103 N. Allegheny St. through Monday, Dec. 18.