What are your holiday gift recipes?

My mom would always go to Kroger, and buy all the cranberry bread mixes, and tons of cranberry sauces. Then she would bake the bread, replacing the cranberry sauce for a portion of the water in the recipe.

Then she’d wrap the breads in colored aluminum foil and tie a ribbon and bow around them, and mail them out to relatives and other people.

I swear she made like 50 or so bread loaves.

I don’t generally give away baked goods but am thinking about doing it for a couple of neighbors this year. Normally our goodies are just for family gatherings. Since my mom is gone (died in March) I’m going to try to continue a tradition that she started a number of years ago. Every Christmas (or Christmas Eve after midnight mass) we would have homemade cinamon rolls. This year Christmas is at my house with my family so I’m going to try and make them. I’m also making chocolate chip cookies (my dad’s favorite), scotcheroos (hubby and kids favorite), and chocolate dips (I remember these from my childhood..again something my mom used to make…haven’t had them in years). If you would like the recipes let me know.

I give wasabi almonds in cute tins that I get at TJMaxx & Tuesday Morning. I sometimes gift these with a wedge of great chesse and some interesting crackers…or…a bottle of wine…or some seasonal beer.

1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 pound whole Almonds, natural and unsalted!!
2 tablespoons wasabi powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt finely ground
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Line a sided baking sheet with greased foil – you need the foil for handling later.
Whisk egg white, water & soy together until foamy. Add almonds and toss to coat. Transfer to a colander; toss gently and let drain. Stir together wasabi powder, salt and cornstarch in a large bowl. Add almonds and toss to coat.
Spread almonds on baking sheet in a single layer, and bake 30 minutes. Gently stir, reduce temperature to 200 degrees F and continue baking 20 more minutes. Let cool completely before serving. Serve, or store in an airtight container for up to a week

I use the linked recipe for Toasted Coconut Marshmallows. They are divine, and really easy to make, granted that you have a stand mixer.

I give rock-hard fruitcake, because I like tourturing people.

My mum and sister make fruitcake every year. Because they like it.

bythebay That sounds (looking around to see if I see Gail) awesome!

@ bythebay: Thanks for sharing! My mom loves almonds and wasabi so I am going to try your recipe out this holiday!

Tonedef, I just read that marshmallow recipe, I may have to try that. I am not going to “bake” this year, but I am thinking about making about three kinds of candy. I got some neat tins yesterday and want to fill them with not so ordinary stuff. I am thinking maybe some caramels with fleur de sel and somthing pepperminty. Those marshmallows may be just the ticket, thanks.

…so many yummy things, so little time!

I make home made chokecherry jelly and apple butter. But you have to pick the chokecherries in August, cook them and can the juice in quart jars. Then it is ready to make in to jelly or pancake syrup when ever you want it. Same with wild grapes and juneberries (servicberries). The apple butter can be made anytime you have a big bunch of apples to make use of.

I love to make food gifts for my friends and neighbors. Over the years, I have made flavored coffee creamers, pumpkin butter, Amish peanut butter, beer bread mix (where you put the ingredients in a cellophane gift bag) with instructions to add a can of beer and how to bake. This year I am making a group gift basket for my co-workers with several flavored coffees, teas, hot chocolate, latte, and hot cider mixes (all bought at an Amish store) for my coworkers. I’ll probably add my homemade coffee creamer and maybe some homemade chocolate dipped spoons.

I have 2 great books, ‘Gifts of Good Taste’, and ‘Gifts that Taste Good,’ by Leisure Arts, that have great food gift ideas. Also, if you google, ‘gift mixes’ you can find some great ideas. People really like getting this kind of gift. I usually line the basket with a nice Christmas towel and tuck an ornament or something similar in the basket (usually something that I bought at the end of season 75% off sales the year before). There are so many creative things you can do.

Another favorite food gift I like to make are pizzelle cookies. They are made with a special pizzelle cookie maker that resembles a waffle maker only with flat irons. They make a wafer thin cookie that is very lacey and pretty. They make great gifts.

Fruitcake Cookies. I can’t stand fruitcake but I love these cookies. They are nothing like the cake.