PrintFavorite Food Gift to Give
Most years I make homemade lemoncello as gifts for my friends for the holidays. Do you have anything special you like to make as your big holiday food gift?
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27 Comments:
I make cookies. I have for over 20 years. I make a huge amount and then get a half sheet cake box and large cupcake papers and fill it like a Whitman sampler. Usually each box is over 8 pounds. People know when that box comes it means they are cared about.
JerzeeTomato at 3:57PM on 12/10/07
I also do cookies. Glad I'm not the only one anymore! Everyone is soooo concerned about health and carbs and sugar (which is not to say that I'm not—I am probably one of the most health-conscious eaters I know) these days that I almost feel guilty for creating a homemade gift that is nothing but deliciousness, warmth, and love. Here's my conclusion:
A. There probably aren't many of us who still do cookies, fudge, and the like for holiday gifts, especially not people my age (early twenties);
B. Not many people appreciate the time and effort that goes into homemade baked goods, and most people probably underestimate the COST;
C. I do this to keep my grandmother's tradition alive, and I love sending my friends and family a little piece of my heart around this time of year, as I imagine many of you do as well; and
D. I love all of you who love these things that I do. Amen.
kmnola at 7:28PM on 12/10/07
I usually do candy - fudge, peanut brittle, coconut bon bons, toffee - plus maple pecan tarts, banana bread and chocolate dipped/decorated pretzels. This year I added chocolate drizzled caramel corn to the mix!
If I'm not doing it myself, the Unbelievable Apple from www.grandavenuechocolates.com is amazing and everyone loves it. The site seems to be giving everyone trouble this afternoon though. I highly recommend them!
jmoilanen at 7:58PM on 12/10/07
I like to do themed food baskets. For instance, one year we did a movie theme -- gift card to Blockbuster with popcorn and theater-size candies, like red vines, milk duds, etc., all wrapped up in a big popcorn bowl for a "basket".
Another was a winter theme. I made chocolate chip cookie mix and put it in quart-size mason jars, added some made cocoa mix, some good teas, cinnamon sticks, and I can't remember what all else -- put it all in a big mixing bowl (for the cookies).
We've done so many of these, I can't even remember all of them. But it makes it fun thinking of stuff to put in there and selecting an appropriate "basket" to hold everything. And, when my kids were small, it was something they could easily help with, so the gift was truly from the entire family.
LoCo at 8:48PM on 12/10/07
We do cookies. And I have to disagree with item b on kmnola's list. In my experience most people totally appreciate the time and effort that goes into homemade baked goods especially as many people are too busy to do it themselves. And then there are those who, amazingly enough, don't know how to cook from scratch!
smallblondemom at 1:44AM on 12/11/07
Home Made Mixes - everything from baked goods to rice to bread. They're great - all the weighing and measuring is done for your gift recipient, all they have to do is add the wet ingredients.
Mixes include (in various flavors):
Scones
Pancakes (or waffles)
Beer Bread
Cookies
Brownies
Jambalaya
Saffron Rice
Bulghur
Chocolate Cake
I started doing this because of financial problems and when things got better, people still wanted the mixes!
therealchiffonade at 6:21AM on 12/11/07
Chisai, can you put me on your list please? ;) havent had homemade lemoncello in years! I'm also the cookie giver at least untill recently, SO dosent care for cookies or most pastries, so the last 2 years have been candy, peanut brittle, spicy and sweet varieties, as well as homeformed choc. although I do still make some breads for a few friends.
huney_bumper at 11:01AM on 12/11/07
I'm on a budget so I'm going to try doing the mixes in a pretty jar idea a few people mentioned. This is going to be the first time I try this, but I've seen them sold at stores for over $10. Ouch.
ag3208 at 11:14AM on 12/11/07
I took a handmade pledge this year-(almost all my gifts are homemade)Folks are getting beer bread mix from me! Or homemade peppermint stress-less footsoak- for my hardworking party hostesses/bartender/waitress friends.
bisbee at 2:04PM on 12/11/07
I do boxes with peanut butter fudge, two kinds of home made truffles and cookies. For my vegan friends this year I've started making a vegan variation on chocolate rice krispy treats. Everyone I've given stuff to, even people I know who are quite health conscious, have been quite happy to receive homemade goodies.
Michelle Jones at 2:12PM on 12/11/07
I have done cookies - chocolate chip, toffee and cherries,mmmmm!! And last year I did cranberry preserves. People loved it, particularly here in Puerto Rico, where we're not used to eating cranberries as much as they do in the US.
This year I am doing "coquito", which is the Puerto Rican version of an eggnog, but I do it without the eggs. It's a concoction of evaporated milk, condensed milk, coconut milk, vanilla and heavily spiced tea. Traditionally it has rum in too, but I do the non-alcoholic version so kids can have it too.
karmafreecooking.wordpress.com
MadelynRodriguez at 4:12PM on 12/11/07
I do caramels, fudge and toffee every year. Last year I also did caramel popcorn and have done bread in the past. I love to do homemade gifts and I hope everyone enjoys getting them. There are so few people who do a lot (or any) of cooking or baking from "scratch" anymore I feel like they do appreciate the gifts. And I get to make all the yummy goodies I try not to eat too much of during the rest of the year!
mrsmoosie at 8:41PM on 12/11/07
I am doing old fashion candys, divinity, fudge, 3 nut brittle, chocolate covered cherries, carmel corn, penache, toffee, rocky road, chocolate dipped hazelnuts, gingerbread boys for kids, and popcorn balls with red hots.
These are the foods I associated with Christmas in the midwest, now I live in Oregon so I add hazelnuts to the brittle. Also I have been making Meyer lemon marmelade, quince jelly, pickeled peaches for duck confit, and cutneys, pear and or peach all of these are very well received. If I am short on time toasted hazelnuts, with differert flavors are good as well.
Nourishment at 2:30AM on 12/12/07
I make a variety of my own spice rubs.
I make a BBQ type rub, a Sunshine rub with lemon/pepper, and a hint of lavender flowers, garlic powder, and onion powder, and a Moroccan spice rub.
They make a great gift (IMHO) for anyone that loves to cook.
I started making my own rubs when I saw a skinny bottle of Paul Prudhommes Cajun Spice rub for about $5 in my local store.
After reading the ingredients, I said "Hey, I can make that myself !"
Thanks for the inspiration Paul.
Grifola frondosa at 5:06AM on 12/12/07
I love the spice rub idea, I think I'll be doing that next year, and the themed baskets sound really cute. This year I'm doing cookies and cocoa mix with a bag of homemade vanilla marshmallows. Happy holidays everyone!
protest at 8:50AM on 12/12/07
I too started baking for gifts when I was broke in grad school, but now my friends enjoy getting their box of treats so much, I can't stop doing it, even though my finances have improved. The funny thing now is that it costs me more to ship the cookies than to bake them, because I send them to grad school friends all over the country!
psychsarah at 9:44AM on 12/12/07
I like to give quick breads. There are so many varieties, and they're not quite as "fussy" as making several different cookies.
I have linked pans that make four smaller loaves from a standard two loaf recipe, which makes them a good size for gifting. Plus, the little loaves are easy to wrap, and they travel and keep well.
srhcb at 10:47AM on 12/12/07
This year I am making homemade stollen to give as gifts to a few people. It's one of my favorite holiday foods. One recipe makes three large loaves, so it's great for gift-giving.
KitchenKore at 1:29PM on 12/12/07
In the past I have done apple baskets w/a home made cinnamon caramel dip, different flavored jams, cookies, and one year I attempted to make chocolate covered dried fruit...that was interesting. This year with two children under 3 I am buying my gifts...I am going to keep up the food theme, but I've purchased them all from Delightful Deliveries. I chose the mint chocolate covered strawberries and the chocolate drizzled apples and pears. Someone on another forum told me about a free shipping offer so it saved me a bit...huge Italian family.
By the way someone mentioned a movie themed gift basket, I also mad those one year, using a roll of raffle tix, purchased at Michael's, I held them off of the table about 8 inches and let the middle fall to the table, the deco podged it. It created a basket for the dvds, candy and stuff that I put inside. It came out really cute!
Gourmet Gal at 2:20PM on 12/12/07
cookies, rum cakes, rum balls and yeast rolls. A lot of people count on my rolls for their Christmas dinner and I'm always happy to bake for others. I
elderberry44 at 4:01PM on 12/12/07
I typically give homemade wine (I live in California's wine country and make Sangiovese and Tempranillo), homemade pickles or homemade Italian salami. I make several different kinds (with pork, poultry and wild game) and love to see the look on people's faces when they realize I didn't buy it at a store. Totally worth all the work!
HunterAnglerGardenerCook at 4:45PM on 12/12/07
So good to see all these inventive gifts makes me want all of you as my friends because I know this year people are going to buy me stuff I don't need or want. I don't know many who take the time and trouble to do what we (collectively) do. I keep hoping that we will inspire others to go into their kitchen and make homemade gifts. It is by virtue of the fact that we aspire to create that seperates us from the pack.
The spirit of the holiday is lost to me when people just buy something impersonal. Ok I am done waxing nostalgic, carry on!
JerzeeTomato at 10:09AM on 12/13/07
I make homemade Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Sugar every year. Top shelf vodka with a splash of dark rum and two madagascar vanilla bean split down the middle and scraped out in a cute glass bottle with a cork. Red wax and ribbon sealed.
kcline at 4:15PM on 12/13/07
kcline: I love that vanilla extract idea..how long does it take to make? More details please!! Where do you buy tiny bottles etc? Do you need to boil before making?
izzy's mama at 8:38PM on 12/13/07
I get the tiny bottles at the craft store ( you can buy the corks and wax there as well). In a pinch you could use small pint or 1/2 pint canning jars... come to think of it that would probably look pretty cute and down-homey :)
No boiling needed. Cut all of your beans in half and scrape the content of the pods out with a knife. You can put the scrapings in the extract (which will make little floating beads everywhere that will settle on the bottom) or you can save the scrapings for use later... it freezes really well. So beans and scraping into the bottle, then free pour the vodka and rum to your liking. I like to give it to my friends and family "freshly made" and just instruct them to shake it every week and keep it in the cupboard.
You can get away with a single bean per bottle, I just like the look of a bottle packed with gorgeous vanilla beans releasing their essence.
Typically with two beans, you will have amazing vanilla extract in about 60 days. One bean about 90 days. Although the longer it sits the stronger it gets. PLUS it is the gift that keeps on giving.... if they refill it with vodka or rum when it is half gone they can replenish their vanilla extract :)
Vodka makes for a lighter extract with more pure vanilla essence.
Rum makes for an intensely carmel-ey extract with a vanilla essense.
I like a small splash of rum added to the vodka as it really brings a layer of depth to the extract that is just so amazing.
For the sugar, I get one of those huge glad snap top containers (like large enough to fit a big square cake) and fill it with casting sugar (extra fine sugar). Casting sugar is a little more sparkly too. ;)
Just dump the sugar in, then add in either split and scraped beans or two beans that you have cut into chunks (unscraped). Cover it and shake it everyday to move the beans around. Within a couple days the vanilla with already start imparting it's fragrance to the sugar. When you go to gift it, just make sure you have a bean chunk in each container and leave a little room for them to shake it.
Vanilla sugar is another gift that keeps on giving. Your lucky recipient just needs to replenish the sugar when it gets half way finished and wait a couple days. Lo and behold more vanilla sugar!
Vanilla sugar is an amazing addition to dust sugar cookies or to have with a nice chamomile tea :) Or hey... make vanilla sugar cookies AND tea :) Even better!
kcline at 2:50PM on 12/14/07
kcline- I make vanilla sugar whenever I have a vanilla bean lying around, and yes, it makes for the best dusting ever, though I like it best in coffee. BUT, it never dawned on me to give it as a gift, which is a seriously great idea. Thanks! And I'm totally going to try making your extract, which sounds lovely to the eyes, to the mouth, to the nose. Seems like a perfect thing to make and give.
chisai at 4:21PM on 12/14/07
Hello kcline, I just joined and love your vanilla extract. I live in Canada and can't find the "Carmel Vodka" to make carmel apple martini's. Would you know ...if I make your recipe would I be able to use the vodka with the sour apple mix to get the carmel apple martini taste ??? Thanks so much
cindydeleon@hotmail.com
Cindy
mumstang at 10:13AM on 02/13/08