When you think of Christmas desserts, one of two things come to mind: the dreaded fruitcake or the beautiful-but-not-too-yummy gingerbread house.
Granted, we celebrate Chanukah, so I’ve never even tried a fruitcake. Or eggnog for that matter. As for gingerbread houses, I think they look like a lot of fun but I’m not a big fan of the gingerbread taste
But we never really get to put any together. (Note: after a quick search, I discovered that I did once build an Edible Chanukah House with the boys over a decade ago, though none of us have any recollection.)
Until this year, that is.
While shopping for some last-minute groceries at our local Acme, I came across the Batman Wayne Manor Cookie Kit.
I normally would have just said “ooooh!” and then moved on. But this bad boy had a few things going for it.
- It’s a sugar cookie kit, not gingerbread
- It’s nut-free! (my oldest son Jason has food allergies)
- It’s Batman. Period.
So yeah, I bought it. Over the long holiday break this year, Jason and I sat down and attempted to build an edible Wayne Manor.
The initial cookie parts took us a few minutes to decipher. We were confused as to why Batman was so tall. Until we realized those three small rectangles at the bottom (under his cape) are just pieces that you break off to use for support.
We quickly split up the chores with Jason taking on the Batman, the Batmobile and Bat Signal cookies. I took the Wayne Manor pieces and quickly proved why I went into a career in writing, rather than illustration.
The Batman Wayne Manor Cookie Kit comes with a few packages of icing (white, blue, green and yellow), along with bags of sugary treats in various shapes like snowflakes, candy canes and even little Christmas lights.
Yeah, that’s me showing off the front of Wayne Manor. Let me offer this one disclaimer: except for the white frosting, none of the bags have actual tips on them. Instead, you cut the corner of a plastic bag and squeeze out the colored icing. Even with the white tip, it’s not easy getting small details right.
Jason proudly displayed his decorated Batman cookie.
For the Batmobile, Jason actually had to decorate both sides, and then use two of the small rectangle pieces to support the sides. With white frosting in the place of glue, he managed to bring the Dark Knight’s wheels to cookie life.
I love the Batmobile headlights, which are just yellow Christmas lights candy.
Jason takes a well-deserved frosting tasting break.
He did a great job with the Bat Signal cookie. No Gotham City criminal is safe from that cookie!
I realized that by adding a lot of colorful candies, and all sorts of extra frosting, the Wayne Manor Cookie looks slightly better. Especially if you squint really hard with your left eye.
The Batman cookie parks his Batmobile cookie right in front of the Wayne Manor cookie.
Hmmm. I wonder if the neighbors ever get suspicious that the Dark Knight is spending the holidays with Bruce Wayne.
The final piece is a Gate to let guests into the Wayne Manor grounds. I honestly don’t even remember putting that piece together, but I must have used up the icing and tossed on some more colorful candies.
So how did we do? Compared to the box, you can barely tell the difference, right?
But more importantly, how does a Batman Wayne Manor Cookie Kit taste?
Since it’s the New Year and I’m on a diet, I didn’t get a chance to take a bite out of crime. Jason, however, didn’t hesitate to sink his teeth into the Gate. He apparently liked it because as of this writing, there’s not much left of the entire cookie.
Okay, so it may have been harder to decorate than we thought. And, as my buddy Dave pointed out, it’s quite obvious that my wife did not help us at all. (Allie’s amazing at decocrating cakes, just see last year’s Super Grover birthday cake for evidence.)
Regardless, we had a blast putting this together. It’s fun. It’s messy. It’s edible. And it’s Batman.
If Create-A-Treat keeps offering nut-free Cookie Kits, I think we’ve got ourselves a new annual holiday tradition.
Andrew, that’s a collector’s item! Might want to consider getting a second one to display unopened in the box.
Some collector’s do that with certain brands of cereal by collecting them and displaying them, among other food and beverage items, etc. (but you already knew that). I have to agree with you about the ginger bread taste. It’s not absolutely horrible, but it’s not a flavor that I’m fond of, either. I won’t purchase anything with the ginger bread flavor for myself., though lol
Hey Ronald. I hear ya on the collector’s item part but I prefer to just open and play with my toys these days. I used to do exactly that, though, buying two of everything so I could open one and save the other.