And speaking of gingerbread houses, Barbara writes:
"I am trying to build a gingerbread house. I need snow and, of course, I do remember when you just beat Ivory flakes. If I grate the bars, will I get the same effect?"Yes, this will totally work. Craft recipes (like soap crayons and paints) sometimes call for Ivory Soap Flakes. Unfortunately, the company stopped making the flakes in 1993. Here's how you can make your own soap flakes and maintain the quality of these recipes.
I do recommend using the smaller holes (like the kind used to make extra-fine cheese) for this activity and of course the finished product will not be edible. This is fine, though, since gingerbread houses are rarely eaten, anyway, and are purely for visual effect. Even if you could eat it, some of the items (like gum drops and hard candies) that make great decoration are actually choking hazards for toddlers, so close supervision during this activity is required.
I use coconut flakes….. i spread them out on a baking pan and put in the oven on low do dry them. This can take 5 – 20 min depending how moist they are. Just watch so they turn brown. I dry them so I can grind them down to be a bit smaller almost powder like. Of course they can be used right out of the bag too.
rather so they *don’t* turn brown. Sorry for the typo.