Santa Cookie Wreath

Part cookie, part centerpiece, this gingerbread wreath dresses up the holiday table and gives little hands something fun to decorate. A box of gingerbread mix does the flavor work, so you skip measuring out all the warm spices and get straight to the festive part.

You roll most of the dough into a big circle, then cut out the center to form the wreath ring. The reserved scrap gets rolled and stamped with a holly-leaf cutter for the little leaves that trim it.

Keep a close eye on the oven and pull the cookies the moment the edges firm up. Overbaking turns gingerbread hard and bitter, and you want it tender enough to bite.

Once everything has cooled, melted candy coating becomes both the glue and the paint: dab it on the holly leaves, add mini chocolate chips and marshmallows for berries and snow, and the wreath comes to life.

Kitchen Tips

• Let the baked pieces cool completely before decorating, or the candy coating slides right off.
• Work the candy coating in small batches over low heat so it stays smooth and doesn’t seize.
• A ribbon bow or red gel-icing berries dresses up the finished wreath even more.

Variations

• Use sugar cookie or shortbread dough instead of gingerbread for a milder, paler wreath.
• Tint white candy coating green for the holly leaves and red for the berries.
• Make individual mini wreaths as place-setting favors.