Any high school kid who is willing to sacrifice her sacred sleep-in time each weekend to make hard rolls, ice donuts and fill coffee cakes at 4 a.m. is either an insomniac or destined for bakery greatness.
Grafton's Debbie Kolz fell into the latter category.
Working at Falls House of Cakes during high school definitely bolstered her love for bakery, yet the now mother of two says that it wasn't until she made her first gingerbread house for Thanksgiving in 2002 that she saw a future in it.
"I was working really hard to create a gingerbread house from scratch that actually looked good. It was time-consuming, yet gratifying, and it really got my wheels spinning."
By 2003, Auntie Debbie's Gingerbread Factory was launched with one objective in mind: to perfect the traditional gingerbread house by making it both easy to build and scrumptious to eat.
"Gingerbread house building is a wonderful, family project, but only if it is manageable and the outcome is successful," says Kolz. "Most of the kits available on the market fall into the 'craft project' category. And, they typically require you to do something more -- make royal icing or purchase extra candy, because what's supplied is always sparse."
Unlike cheap, store-bought kits, Auntie Debbie's dessert house kits come with enough supplies to tackle the décor as well as your taste buds. "We provide extras for nibbling, because, after all, tasting all the delicious ingredients as they go on the house is half the fun!"
As the most complete kit on the market, no detail has been overlooked. The walls and roof pieces interlock together, the trimmings are all customized, and include chocolate-dipped toffee chimneys and handmade marshmallow corn flake greenery. Chocolate mortar holds everything in place. The finished house, which takes about 30 to 60 minutes to construct, measures just under 5-by-5 inches, with a 7-inch tall chimney.
"Our unique interlocking design keeps the project very manageable. Plus, everything is made from scratch with the richest, finest, freshest ingredients. It's something a mom can feel good about letting her child eat."
Naming her new creations "dessert houses" not only reminds customers to eat them, but it also has allowed her to expand beyond just gingerbread. She now offers a buttery shortbread dessert house kit and a decadent chocolate dessert house kit.
The old-fashioned gingerbread house kits sell for $47, the buttery shortbread for $48 and the decadent chocolate for $49. Kolz also sells starter kits for $22 that include just the panels and the chocolate mortar, as well as a marshmallow-granola wreath. Glass display jars are available for $22.
Kits can be ordered from her Web site at auntiedebbies.com or by calling (888) YUMMY-HOUSE. Also, this year all Wisconsin Coldwell Banker offices are official pickup sites for Auntie Debbies House Kits. Local customers can save the $6.75 flat postage rate by calling factory headquarters at (888) 986-6946 to make arrangements.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
