There’s a joke that all fun secular holidays have “Jewish” equivalents.  Halloween has Purim, Christmas has Chanukah, etc.  But Chanukah, in all its fried deliciousness, does not offer an opportunity to bake the mother of architectural sweets: The Gingerbread House.  Now, the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot has stepped in to fill this wide gap in the Jewish culinary calendar with The Gingerbread Sukkah.

Boston resident Julia Greenstein (daughter of renowned baker, George Greenstein)  makes gingerbread sukkahs every year with her family.  These miniature “dwelling structures” are as temporary as their real-sized cousins – if only because they are irresistible to eat!  Find out how she does it, and how you can build your own cookie sukkah below.

How long has your family been building gingerbread sukkahs, and where does the tradition come from?

We have been doing it for about 6 years. My dad owned a kosher-style bakery when I was growing up and he made gingerbread houses at the bakery. When I saw the idea in The Jewish Holiday Cookbook by Gloria Kaufer Greene, I decided to give it a try.

What are your primary construction tools?

Our hands. The walls and the roof are all made from gingerbread and then it is decorated with candy fruits and other candy

Where does the edible sukkah live during the holiday?

We have always brought it to a community pot luck Succah lunch that is held by the Newton Centre Minyan and it is on display with the desserts until it is demolished by the kids!

Any advice for people who want to make their own gingerbread sukkah?

Get the cookbook above and be brave! It takes some patience to glue the structure together with the icing.