Handlebars template assembly

Sometimes you need to assemble the templates before actually rendering the data. Both actions shouldn’t be broad sweeping, but specific. For example, sometimes the data presents an either/or render that the HTML needs in order to assemble the partials and code blocks properly.

My use-case was email templating. I wanted to run the HTML thru Premailer prior to compiling with the data. The trick, undocumented Handlebars variable escaping.

If it seems confusing, don’t worry, you’re not alone; It’s a rare use-case so even the community and collaborators were stumped too.