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You don’t need to be crafty to create a unique and meaningful gift for those on your list. Baked goods and confections are always a great bet because they wrap well and make a beautiful presentation. Plus, you can truly personalize homemade gifts to fit the recipient, taking inspiration from one ingredient you know they love. For example, if your mom loves bananas, or your in-laws love everything chocolate, you can construct your own recipe to feature that ingredient.
Here are a few crowd-pleasing gift ideas. Don’t forget to include the recipe with your gift so they can add it to their own family favorites—and remember you when they make it themselves.
Gingerbread People
Recipe from Christmas Sweets by Georgeanne Brennan (Chronicle Books, 2007).
Gingerbread people are virtually required for the holiday season, and they are easy to make. If children help, it is great fun. The ideal dough is soft enough to roll out, yet stiff enough to hold the forms, resulting in finished cookies that are moist but not crumbly. Decorate with currants, cranberries, candies, frosting, and confectioners’ sugar.
Makes about sixteen 4-inch cookies
Ingredients:
1 TSP plus ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup light molasses
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 TSP baking soda
1/4 TSP freshly ground cloves
1/2 TSP freshly ground cinnamon
1/2 TSP freshly grated nutmeg
1 TSP ground giner
1/2 TSP salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup milk
Dried currants, red-hots, fresh or dried cranberries, and silver dragees for decorating
Frosting (Recipe Follows) and confectioner’s sugar
Directions:
Melt chocolates in separate double boilers, Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Using the 1 teaspoon butter, grease a large baking sheet.
In a large bowl, beat the 1/2 cup butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses until well blended. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.
Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until well blended. Beat in about 1/2 cup milk, then add the remaining flour mixture, beating it in well. The dough will be very stiff. If it is too stiff and crumbly to roll out, add 1 tablespoon of additional milk.
On a well-floured work surface, roll the dough out to a thickness of about ½ inch, then cut into shapes using cookie cutters or by tracing with a knife around cardboard cutouts. Transfer the shapes to the prepared pan.
Decorate the gingerbread people with currant eyes and red-hots for buttons, pressing them into the dough before baking, or attach them with frosting after baking.
Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and spring back when pushed with your finger. Transfer the cookies from the pan to a wire rack to cool. Decorate with the frosting as desired.
Frosting
Ingredients:
1/3 Confectioner’s sugar
Milk
Food coloring as needed
Directions:
To make the frosting: In a medium bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar and milk and stir until a stiff but spreadable paste forms. (It may seem overly stiff, but too much milk will make an unworkable frosting. If it is necessary to add more milk, do so only 1/2 teaspoon at a time.) Divide the frosting among separate bowls and mix in food coloring as desired.
Spicy Nut Mix
Recipe courtesy Jennifer Zeigler
If those on your gift list have tastes that trend toward savory instead of sweet, try a tin of spiced nuts. This simple recipe toasts up in a snap and keeps well for those last-minute, need-a-gift-in-a-hurry emergencies
Makes about 1 pound
Ingredients:
1/3 pound raw organic cashews, shelled and unsalted
1/3 pound raw organic peanuts, shelled and unsalted
1/3 pound raw organic pecans, shelled and unsalted
2 Tbl. Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped
1/8 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
2 Tsp. Brown Sugar
1 Tbl. Organic buter, melted
2 Tsp. Sea Salt
Directions:
Melt chocolates in separate double boilers, Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts on a heavy baking sheet and toast in the oven about 10 minutes, or until lightly golden.
In a large bowl, combine rosemary, pepper, sugar and butter. Stir warm nuts into mixture, tossing to coat thoroughly. Add salt and toss to mix. Cool thoroughly. Store in an airtight container until ready to package and give away.
Peppermint Bark
Recipe courtesy Jennifer Zeigler
Why buy candy when you can make it yourself? Experiment with flavors and toppings with this recipe—peppermint, while in keeping with the holiday theme, may be only the beginning.
Ingredients:
1 Pound Fair Trade , Organic dark chocolate (We like Green & Black's 70% Dark)
1 Pound white chocolate
6 candy canes
3 TO 4 drops organic peppermint oil (Not peppermint exract)
Directions:
Melt chocolates in separate double boilers, or in heat-proof bowls set over simmering water, being careful not to let the water get into the bowl, as it will cause the chocolate to seize.
While chocolate melts, line an 11x17-inch jelly-roll pan with a piece of parchment or wax paper large enough to overhang the edges. Place the unwrapped candy canes in a zip-top bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
When dark chocolate has melted, add the peppermint oil. Spread in the bottom of the jelly-roll pan. Chill until firm. When set, spread the melted white chocolate over the top, and sprinkle the crushed candy evenly over the top. Lightly press into the chocolate. Chill until firm.
When completely set, lift the candy out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Using a sharp chef’s knife, rough-cut the candy into odd, one- or two-bite shapes. Store in a cool, dry place until ready to wrap and give away.
