By 
Until recently, life-size gingerbread houses have been the stuff of fairytales and animated Christmas movies. Over the last few years, equipped with a desire to always be bigger and better year after year, the internet has exploded with plastic recreations pop-up in parks and oversize gingerbread houses just big enough for Fido—but nothing you could really walk through or sit down and kick your feet up.
This year, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort decided to turn it up about about 10 notches. Along with a team of 11 pastry chefs, executive chef Scott Tennant constructed a life-size "bakery" from more than 2,500 gingerbread "bricks," over 700 pounds of frosting, and 200 pounds of candy including nonpareils, Nerds rope, candy canes, gum drops, and peppermints.
Not only is there space to fit a whole family, there's also a working fireplace, a full-size Christmas tree decorated with a marshmallow garland, and a table for decorating sugar cookies. Of course, after hearing about this sweet wonder, we had to see it for ourselves ... and obviously take a close-up tour to share with all of you.
And so, along with my colleague and ace videographer, Jonathan, I ventured far into the wooded and very rural area of Farmington, PA—like Hansel and Gretel IRL. Good thing there weren't any witches to cook us up in the end.
Follow Delish on Instagram.
