Christmas just isn’t Christmas without gingerbread.  The smell of all that cinnamon and ginger and nutmeg…. mmmm…! (All this talk of gingerbread would make my mouth water if I hadn’t already eaten my fill during the big baking session earlier today.)

As I mentioned yesterday, the studio has been overrun by cookies as we get ready for our annual Christmas Cookie Party. Today’s creativity has been all about gingerbread (and chocolate chip cookies, but that is something for another day) and this year, we ‘kicked’ our gingerbread ‘up a notch’.

There will be no gingerbread men and women gracing our cookie tables this year. No, instead, we put the gingerbread to good use as our platters and trays. Yup. That’s right – the cookie is the plate. (Strange, but true…)

So – while you may not be hosting your own cookie party this year ( it’s a lot of fun) you may just need the perfect last minute hostess gift – and this, is our Creative Christmas Gift Idea # 23: The Gingerbread Cookie Tray filled with your favourite cookies.

Start with your favourite crispy gingerbread recipe (soft gingerbread may be a real joy to eat, but will be too soft to form a good solid basket). Mix and roll out according to your recipe’s directions, but instead of forming this dough in to little men and women, grab a well shaped oven proof baking dish. Oil it well. Cut your gingerbread in strips and lay the strips inside the baking dish (you can also try using the outside of the dish – it should work too, but I haven’t tried this personally) in a woven pattern. Bake according to your recipe’s directions, making sure that the cookie is firm to the touch. Let cool. No, I mean let it sit really good and long until it is cool. Gently remove from your baking dish. Fill with cookies. Wrap in cellophane and give to your neighbour, extended family, or whomever was nice enough to invite you to their party.

Here is a picture of my tray – all ready and waiting to cool so I can put some chocolate chip cookies in it. (I also may pipe some icing around the outside edge to make this really festive for the our party, but I think that this will be a last minute decision.)

If making gingerbread trays is not for you, I did a little internet search on gingerbread for other great ideas:

• Celebrating-Christmas.com has some really neat ideas for an all-gingerbread Christmas Party
• Give the gift of gingerbread with this recipe for Gingerbread-in-a-Jar from Allrecipes
• Get the kids to help you make some fun gingerbread men and women – with clothes too! (it looks like the clothes are shortbread… mmmm…)
• And for some more great ideas (lots) and tons of neat gingerbread history and facts, visit Squidoo.

Happy Gingerbread! (or should I say Merry Gingerbread?)