 Clearly, gingerbread has been a theme here at Baking Bites for most of the month thanks to the gingerbread cookie contest currently going on (one more week to submit your cookies!).
The obvious gingerbread accessory is a gingerbread man cookie cutter, either whole or prebitten, depending on how traditional you like your cookies to be. Another favorite of mine is the gingerbread man pan. Simply a full-sized pan shaped like a rather dapper gingerbread figure, the pan is a nice way to get the look of a gingerbread man with any kind of cake, rather than with cookies. I tend to see this pan as a good option for those who would rather have chocolate cake than gingerbread, but still want something festive around the holidays.
For a gift, I really like the gingerbread man loaf panat Sur La Table. It’s made by Nordicware and is very, very sturdy. It holds as much as a regular loaf pan and includes a gingerbread cake mix (which is what makes it a nice gift set).
The cutest baking accessories, however, must be the gingerbread man sprinkles. I’ve seen these sold in holiday sprinkle multi-packs and have several containers with them in my cabinet, but you can order them individually, as well (Thanks for that tip, Alanna!). They’re ultra-tiny but well-formed gingerbread people, perfect for topping cakes and cookies. Unfortunately, they’re not flavored, but they certainly look great on top of a baked good.
Finally, take a look at the entries posted so far at the contest’s Flickr gallery. It’s great inspiration for cookie decorating – so far, everyone’s submissions look fantastic.
What do you think?