Elisa Barber and Brenda Nibley are receiving national attention for their unique cookie creations. Barber, who owns The Baking Hive, a bakery in the Salt Lake Valley, attended culinary school in Ireland and gained experience as a chef in a prominent London Michelin Star restaurant and leading London bakery. Barber's friend Nibley has a natural flair for creating gingerbread houses and owns an artisan cookie architecture company called GingerGiddy. Together they have created some spectacular gingerbread houses.
When Nibley began posting photos of their creations on Instagram, a production company took note and approached them about the possibility of hosting their own reality show on national television. According to an interview with KSL, Barber was initially skeptical and even believed the offer was some kind of scam; however, they decided to take the plunge and filmed a pilot episode of Crazy Cookie Builds in February.
The pilot episode features a gingerbread replica of Rice-Eccles Stadium, which was built for Kyle Whittingham to celebrate his 100th win as head football coach at the University of Utah. It also features a giant gingerbread schoolhouse built for students at William Penn Elementary School in Salt Lake City. The episode claims that the schoolhouse is 7 feet tall, but Barber and Nibley say it was actually 10 feet tall. "We need credit for that extra 3 feet," said Barber.
The pilot episode aired on the Cooking Channel on August 5 and will air on the Food Network on August 12. They also filmed a holiday special that is tentatively scheduled to air in November.
Check out some of their incredible creations.
A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Feb 9, 2015 at 8:02pm PST
A post shared by The Baking Hive (@bakinghive) on Dec 6, 2015 at 6:50pm PST
A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Mar 9, 2015 at 5:33pm PDT
A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Aug 3, 2017 at 5:16pm PDT
And the winner.....of the Ginger Giddy Giveaway is.....drumroll please.....@ghthatch!! 🎉🎊 To claim your prize call Brenda at (801) 556-9880 or email at brenda@gingergiddy.com . Special thanks to all of those who entered. Happy haunting! 👻 A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Sep 23, 2016 at 7:25pm PDT
GingerGiddy Custom Build 2015 A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Feb 10, 2016 at 10:17am PST
Custom Build 2015 A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Feb 10, 2016 at 10:25am PST
Summer cottage... A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Jul 30, 2015 at 8:32pm PDT
These fairy cottages need to go home with an owner tomorrow night. Will YOU be chosen? A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Sep 11, 2016 at 7:40pm PDT
Check out these Vintage Image Sugar Cookies. They will be on sale at the Festival on Monday. They are each designed and handmade to benefit the charities this year. There are only 50 available so calling all fairies...flitter over and fly them home before they magically disappear! A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Sep 10, 2016 at 11:34am PDT
Thank you #cassandraallred photography for #gingergiddy images. You are a talented woman! #gingerbread #smallbusinessowner #bakinghive #imgingergiddy #baking #gingerbreadhouses A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Sep 7, 2016 at 6:51pm PDT
Christmas Mansion 2015. This whimsical house is so fun for family gifts and as center pieces on your Christmas buffet! The home lights up at night to add a magical touch. It makes your heart melt! #GingerGiddy #ImGingerGiddy A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Feb 10, 2016 at 10:49am PST
Heather and Mark Jensesn's house...thanks for having me build this guys! A post shared by GingerGiddy (@gingergiddy) on Aug 10, 2015 at 12:30pm PDT
