Homemade gifts for Christmas
Tasty gifts you can make for all your friends and family this holiday season!
I always have the best of intentions of making all of my Christmas gifts, but it quickly goes out of the window. I think you need to be one step ahead and plan to achieve this goal - one thing that that I am DEFINITELY NOT at this time of year as I am always so busy with work. (My other life is running a preserves company in the UK). You would think that I’d have learnt by now. I haven’t even found my Christmas tree - never mind about putting it up.
Do not fret as one thing that I am on top of is food - everything is ordered.
I made some Clementine, Lemon and Lime marmalade and included the recipe a few weeks ago in our Substack. That will be circulated to friends. Here are few more easier and quicker ideas that make great gifts.
Marshmallow Lollipops
I haven’t been specific on amounts. You may want to make these for a classroom of friends or just a few to have with hot chocolate.
Ingredients:
Marshmallows
Milk chocolate chips
A variety of sprinkles
Lollipop sticks
Instructions:
Pop enough chocolate drops into a bain-marie or into a heatproof over a bowl of lightly simmering water.
Leave to melt. Do check that the water does not simmer dry, keep it topped up.
Pop the lollipop sticks into the centre of the marshmallows to create a “lollipop”. Single or double up with two.
Pop some parchment paper on a board or wire rack. Alongside, place little bowls of your chosen sprinkles to decorate the lollipops.
Over the pan of chocolate, using a spoon, pour the melted chocolate over the marshmallow until covered. Tap gently on the side of the bowl to release the excess chocolate. Rotate and tap again. I recommend doing this or it will get messy at the next stage.
While the chocolate is still unset, dip into the chosen sprinkles. Set to one side on the parchment paper to set and repeat the process with however many you want or need.
Foodie Notes: If you fancy making your own marshmallows, we have an amazing recipe in our cookbook, “The Twelve Menu’s of Christmas”.
Gifting:
Place the lollipops into cellophane bags with the stick pointing out of the open end. Close and secure with a ribbon.
If time is not your friend, consider buying all of the ingredients, copy the instructions onto the front of a craft bag and gift. A bit of delicious fun!
Cookies and Decorating Sets
This is one of my favourite recipes for biscuits. One that I used to make every year with my son George when he was little.
There are a lot of spices in these biscuits, and I recommend finding a deli or whole food shop that sells spices by the weight. It will work out a lot cheaper than buying jars. Just remember to write on the packet what the spice is.
Saint Nicholas Biscuits
350g / 12oz plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground aniseed
½ teaspoon ground ginger
250g / 9oz unsalted butter
100g / 4 oz caster sugar
125 g / 4oz dark brown sugar
50ml (2fl oz) sherry
Christmas shaped cookie cutters.
Baking trays and parchment to line.
Instructions:
Heat your oven – 180’c / 350’f / gas mark 4
Sift the flour into a bowl and then mix in the baking powder and spices.
Beat the butter and sugar together until soft and creamy, then beat in the dry ingredients. Add the sherry, then bring everything together into a ball of dough.
Roll out to biscuit thickness on a lightly floured board and cut out your chosen shapes. Place on the parchment on a baking tray. If you are making decorations for a tree, use a skewer to make the hole for the ribbon. Don’t worry if this closes up when the biscuit grows in the over. You can re-open the hole after cooking.
Cook in your pre heated oven for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray before moving to a cooling rack.
Decorate your biscuits with icing and as many gaudy decorations as you fancy. I love going to town. Tie the ribbon through the hole ready to attach them to the tree.
If you’re making a gift, line a pretty tin with tissue and or parchment and add your home made biscuits.
To Gift:
If this is all a little too much, consider buying some undecorated GINGERBREAD MEN. Buy from a bakers or prep-packaged, usually found in a deli’. Your local supermarket or cake decorating shop will have packs of different colours of icing, already in tubes to make life even easier. They will also have a range of decorations and sprinkles.
If you are buying for someone that is coeliac, consider a box of buttery gluten free shortbread biscuits. Perhaps plain shortbread for those that are not keen on gingerbread? I think that the recipient will appreciate the thought that you have put into it!
Gather a set of each and package in a craft bag with a lovely Christmas message on the front.
Cocktail Kits
These are a bit of fun and are a great grown up stocking filler or gift for a host or hostess!!!
You will need to think about who you are gifting to and what their favourite tipple is. You then build the gift around the person.
What you’ll need:
Attractive glass jars with lids (this will act as the cocktail shaker if required)
The fruit of garnishes & spices that you need
Miniatures and mixers for the chosen drink
Suggestions:
Mulled Wine: Cinnamon stick, slices of dried thin slices of orange or clementine, cloves. A small bottle of red wine, and a miniature of rum. A small amount of sugar cubes.
Hot Cider: Cinnamon Stick. Thin slices of dried apple and plums. Small parcel of grated nutmeg, some sugar cubes, brown if you can find them and single star anise. A bottle of artisan cider.
Recipe for Boozy Cider available in our book “Twelve Menus of Christmas”
Pina colada: Thin slices of dried pineapple and lime. A miniature of white run, mixer of pineapple juice, coconut water and soda. The obligatory umbrella and pink flamingo to decorate.
Or why not try an “Alcohol free” version for the designated driver? I’ve put a Mojito mixer with a miniature non alcoholic spirit from “Atopia”, accompanied by dried lime and lemon slices.
It is possible to buy the dehydrated fruit or you can create your own. Make some extras for decorations and wreaths! Or tap the link below to source some already dried!
Elevate cocktails with the Zest Company
Package ingredients into the jar and pop on the lid.
Add all of the additional bottles that do not fit into the jar into a decorated craft or gift bag, along with instructions and Christmas wishes.
Scale up if you are invited to a party.
Dehydrating Fruit Slices
Most fruit can be dehydrated but not many of us have a dehydrator cabinet. However …. most of us have an air fryer and most have a dehydrating setting.
If yours doesn’t, set the temperature to 60’c / 135’f.
If the fruit you select is really juicy it will take longer and the thicker the slices, once again, the longer it will take. Try to make slices a maximum of 5mm. You can see in the picture, mine are really thin.
Lay a single layer of fruit slices so that they do not overlap in the air fryer. Check it regularly during the drying process, which can take up to 6/7 hours.. The centre of the slices should be hard when you tap them, but rind should still hold it’s original colour and not be turning brown.
Ohhhh Jane has set the bar high this week!!
Ok….while Jane has aspirations of making all her Christmas gifts, I usually set the bar quite low for myself. I’m thrilled if I can pull together some cookies for Santa. Yep, my kids are adults and we still put out cookies for Santa…..lol.
What I DO like to make are hostess gifts. Especially hostess gifts that can be enjoyed the next morning. Is there anything better, the morning after a party or having friends over, than not having to worry about breakfast. Waking up, pouring a cup of coffee and diving into a basket of pastries, or granola or muffins is literal heaven anytime, but especially after a night of entertaining.
One of my favorite things to make it granola. It doesn’t take a lot of time and is so versatile. You can make it with oats or without oats, go crazy with nuts, add extra seeds, leave out the seeds, add dried fruit or skip the fruit. I think you’re probably getting picture.
Here’s a rough recipe, but feel free to mix it up based on what you have in your pantry! I tend to like my granola less sweet and clumpy, but if you have a sweet tooth and live for crunchy clumps, than up the sugar and maple syrup amounts.
Granola Recipe
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups oats — steel cut or rolled or a combo
1 cup almonds
1 cup pecans
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 packed dark brown sugar — if you like sweet, add 1/2 cup
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 heaping teaspoon apple pie spice (I love this one from SpiceWalla)
Flakey sea salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, nuts and pumpkin seeds. In a small bowl mix whisk together the brown sugar, olive oil, honey, cinnamon, apple pie spice and a generous pinch of flakey sea salt.
Pour the sugar mixture over the oat mixture and stir until the sugar mixture thoroughly coats the oats and nuts.
Spread granola mixture evenly onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 5-8 minutes so it gets toasty and golden brown on all sides.
Let cool on a rack and divide into small mason jars. Tie them with a festive ribbon and they’re all set for you to gift them to your hostess friends.
Cookie Jars
These are similar to Jane’s cocktail kits. And, by the way, can we just take a second to appreciate the fact that Jane is the one sharing cocktail recipes? Usually that falls to me, but I’m loving that we’re switching things up a bit! Always trying to keep you on your toes!
Sugar cookie mix is the most obvious choice for these, but you can make a chocolate chip jar, snickerdoodle jar, peanut butter cookie jar…..use whatever your favorite cookies are. An old family recipe would be perfect, too. Did your grandmother make the best thumbprint cookies? Is it a holiday tradition to make your aunt’s shortbread cookies? Any cookie recipe will work!
Take mason jars and layer with all the dry ingredients from the recipe — ingredients like flour, sugar, brown sugar, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, etc. Put the lid on and attach the recipe with a decorative ribbon. I like to type the recipe up on Canva (there’s a free version that’s fabulous) and use holiday illustrations to make it festive. The only thing left for your friends and family to do is add the wet and perishable ingredients (eggs, butter, milk, etc) and bake them.
We hope you’re inspired to make some gifts for your friends and family! If you make any of our suggestions, leave a comment below and let us know which recipe you made!
See you next Friday, Foodie Friends!
xo
Lisa and Jane
