How to make a gingerbread house castle

Sometimes I get these ideas—culinary ones, that is—that come completely out of left field, full of frosting and sugar and unexpected combinations of ingredients and thing, which at first make me balk and at second make me rush into the kitchen, rubber spatula and cookbook in hand. This is one of those ideas.

After making the basic gingerbread house, I knew I wanted to try something else. Something grander, more elaborate. The first one was fun, after all, so naturally an even bigger gingerbread house would be far more fun; it’s just logic. Then the idea struck me. A castle! I ought to make a castle...out of gingerbread cookies!