Neighbor gifts

I've never been much for the cookie tray. It always seems like a ton of work to make 6+ different kinds of cookies, taking into consideration the dietary concerns of each friend I have. I'd rather just make a landslide of nut-free brownies and let them sort through their own dietary issues.

Anyway, if you're the sort who likes to get all creative and stuff for your holiday treat giving, here's a nice topic of the month put together by Recipezaar. It includes cookies, those weird cookie in a jar things (I don't know that I've ever ended up actually baking cookies from a jar), homemade ornaments, and even some treats you can make for your favorite canine. Heck, you can even bake something to put your cookies into. Edible cookie plate?? That's going the extra mile, especially calorically speaking.

I'm just going to stick with my old standby. Made on jelly roll pans, you can whip out many plates' worth in just a couple of hours, no frosting needed. Plastic wrap, stick on bow, smile when you knock on the door, get home in plenty of time to enjoy hot cocoa and candy canes with the husband and kids. The plates also stack in the stroller basket if you take them Christmas caroling. Just take a small bag of bows with you so they don't smash, then add at the last minute.

Or, even easier, snowman soup. I've seen this made with those tree and star colored marshmallows which makes for very cute presentation and, with no cooking time and just-add-water, it's more likely to get used.