FoxTrot recently posted a comic that features a redshirt as a gingerbread cookie. I figure, what the heck — I’m going make some real ones.

The first step is making the cookie cutter. I took a trip to the local big box hardware store and ended up grabbing some aluminium roofing trim that I could easily slice up with a pair of old scissors. It cost $2 for 10 feet of it (I only ended up using like 2 feet).

The next step was to plan out what I wanted the cookies to look like. I whipped up a little image that I thought was appropriate.

Then, I got to work with the scissors and cut the aluminium into strips. I ended up using a pair of pliers for the tricky edges. With a little bit of effort (and taking care not to slice up my hands) the cutter starts to take shape.

After finishing that up, I added a few scrap pieces for support and put everything together with plain old clear packaging tape.

As I type this, I’m waiting for the gingerbread dough to chill in my fridge. I’ll make sure I post the results soon.