Easy Gifts (to make and give)

[ChesterV]

Easy and economical gifts to give!

A lot of people like to give (and get) food gifts.
Are you one of these people?

Do you have any favorite easy recipes you make for gifts?
List photos, recipes, and/or descriptions.

What are your favorite food gifts to give and to get?

 

[ChesterV]

Ok, I know this "recipe" isn't really BAKING..............but it IS an easy, quick, and economical way to make something that is fast, fun, and can be done in a variety of ways and flavors.

Dipped Pretzels

You can use ANY kind and type of pretzels too!

You can--

dip them in chocolate
dip them in fudge
dip them in white chocolate
dip them in candy glaze

You can flavor the glaze and white chocolate to make your own combinations!
Lime
Lemon
Orange
Butterscotch
Peanutbutter
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Clove
Bacon! Yes, bacon!

You can sprinkle the wet dip before it dries too!
Sprinkles
Seeds
Chopped nuts
Candies
Crystals (edible)

You can also use food coloring to make them any color you want.

 

[ChesterV]

One of my favorites when I was little.....

Peanut Patties

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon butter

• 3 cups raw peanuts (you can use baked, salted ones if you want) (cashews work for this as well)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 dash red food coloring (optional)

Directions

1. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the sugar, corn syrup, evaporated milk, and peanuts. Bring to a slow boil, and stir to blend once heated. Let boil until the mixture reaches a temperature of between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. This may take up to 1 hour.
2. Stir in the butter, vanilla and food coloring once the mixture has reached the proper temperature. Spoon out onto waxed paper or parchment paper to form patties. Cool until set.

 

[ChesterV]

Spiced Candied Nuts

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw peanuts (or salted cashews, brazil nuts, pistachios, pecans, walnuts, or whatever your fav nut is) (this also works well with dried fruit chunks, dried date pieces)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup water

• 1 pinch coarse sea salt, or to taste
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch dried red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Grease a baking sheet or line with a silicone mat.
2. Cook and stir nuts, sugar, and water together in a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat until liquid evaporates and nuts begin to crust with the hardening sugar; about 5 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to coat nuts with syrup as the sugar begins to melt and darken to a deep caramel color, about 10 minutes. Tilt pan away from the heat as needed to allow peanut mixture to darken without burning. Remove from heat immediately when peanuts are deeply bronzed; stir.
4. Sprinkle nuts with sea salt, cinnamon, and pepper flakes; tilt nuts onto prepared baking sheet to cool completely. Break up clumps. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

 

[Becky]

Mmmm yum!

My favourite thing to make as a gift is chocolate truffles. You can use either dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate, and there are so many options to coat them in too! It's quite nice using different colours for the filling and coating - for example dark chocolate truffles coated in white chocolate are lovely.

 

[Trellum]

Delicious! I love to give that kind of gifts, but only to people I truly like and who seem to have it everything I'm not sure this kind of gift would be good for other occasions though, like Christmas or a birthday. I have a great recipe for a homemade taco mix, I think a goodie basket would be a great gift I'd love to receive something like that for Christmas. I also love home made liquor and traditional candies, like for example quince cheese:

 

[Diane Lane]

Those spiced candied nuts look delicious. I've never heard of quince cheese, but that looks lovely. I haven't made anything this elaborate in a while. I have done the dipped pretzels and also dipped spoons as gifts for use with coffee, hot chocolate, and even ice cream. These days, I tend to stick to fudge and various types of cookies or smaller quick breads for friends and neighbors, but I have also made gift truffles in the past. With Easter and Mother's Day coming up, I guess I'd better start planning.

 

[Winterybella]

I have to say I have never really gifted any of the nice looking type things shown in the images above. I will share whatever I bake that I think is good but it would be great to make a gift specially for someone. Because I am still new to the baking arena it would have be something like my banana bread. It's something to think about.

 

[Zyni]

Banana bread and stuff like that is great. I also like the cookies and candies (even if I don't need them). I may give most of them away, but I'm definitely going to taste test first.

Top post, top picture, left corner, in the red and white box... they look like "wedding cake" cookies. I love those things. I think they are pretty too, so they make a nice gift.

My oldest daughter makes these Oreo bite things that have cream cheese and Oreos and stuff in them and are dipped in chocolate. Those are always a hit too.

I just saw these today: http://foodal.com/recipes/desserts/marzipan-hazelnut-chocolates/

I would happily receive a batch of those.

 

[cupcakechef]

I love food gifts - I'm really trying to minimize and decrease clutter, so gifts that I can consume are both thoughtful and useful, you know? A friend of mine made us some lovely pumpkin butter back in the fall, and it was so delicious! I made cake balls for friends over Valentine's Day, and they really appreciated those too!

 

[ChesterV]

Quince Cheese, also known as dulce de membrillo (Spanish: [ˈdulθe ðe memˈbɾiʎo]), is a sweet, thick jelly made of the pulp of the quince fruit.


Mmmmmm......jelly fruit!!!!

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

I also like to give baking goodies especially during the holiday season. And what I am usually giving is either brownies, cupcakes and macaroons. @ChesterV You gave me a new idea what I will give next as a gift and these Dipped Pretzels is really amazing! Like what you had said it is easy, quick and fun to make and it is economical too. I love the creativity and it really looks delicious!

 

[ChesterV]

Most people just think of "food gifts" for holidays, but they can be given for SO many reason!

And like Cupcakechef says, food gifts are useful, thoughtful, and they don't add to someones clutter!

But as with all gifts, base the type/kind of gift on the intended recipient for best results.


Just remember, food gifts are good for EVERY occasion!

ALL holidays
Birthdays
Anniversaries
Being sick/getting over being sick
Breakups
Divorces (yes....)
Baby Showers
Wedding Showers
Bachelor Showers/Party
Welcome Home
Thank You
Friendship
Sports Events
New Home
Graduation
Co-worker Appreciation
Bosses Day (if you love your boss that is!! LOL)
etc....etc....

 

[Zyni]

I love food gifts - I'm really trying to minimize and decrease clutter, so gifts that I can consume are both thoughtful and useful, you know? A friend of mine made us some lovely pumpkin butter back in the fall, and it was so delicious! I made cake balls for friends over Valentine's Day, and they really appreciated those too!

That's another good point, giving gifts that don't add to clutter. The older we get, the more we accumulate. Something that will get used soon after receiving it (or eaten soon after) is a thoughtful choice.

That's true, @ChesterV. It certainly doesn't have to be a national holiday. Food gifts are also nice "just because."

 

[ChesterV]

Well, it is getting to be "that time" of the year, where it's holiday after holiday, so...........
thought I would "bump up" this thread.

 

[ChesterV]

Here is a gift that was popular down my way a few years ago......Gift Jars......

What these are - jars with premeasured recipe ingredients in them....usually for cookies or brownies, but can be for anything you can put dry ingredients in. You layer in all the dry ingredients in a clear jar and add a gift card to it that tells you how many wet ingredients to add, the measurements, and how long to bake.
(the gift user opens the jar, dumps the contents in a bowl or pan, and adds the remaining wet ingredients listed on the card)

They can even be for batches of hot chocolates, ciders, spice cakes, or anything that has lots of dry ingredients to the recipe.

This is a good "do it yourself" gift you can give to people who don't really bake for themselves....or even those who do.

 

[Corzhens]

When I started working, the usual gifts in the office for the Christmas season are pastries and sweets. Until now, that is the standard to give to your colleagues. Sometimes it is a box of pastry that you open and place on one table and point to everyone - help yourself. That's why pastries and sweets are very salable during the holiday season.

For us, we used to cook sweets particularly the special yam jam that never fails to be a hit in the office. And we also bake cassava cake. Definitely it is cheaper that way instead of buying gifts that needed wrapping. However, it is tiring to bake goodies especially during the holidays when there is too much work to do.

 

[rz3300]

One of the best gifts that I have ever gotten was a jar of pickled green beans from my a friend of a friend, and those things were absolutely delicious and they lasted about ten minutes. That is always the sign of a good gift, though, they don not last long.

 

[Diane Lane]

I love the look of the treats in the jar @ChesterV. I've never received homemade ones like that, although I have received the gifts of jams and other food items from places like Hickory Farms. I think the homemade ones are nice because although they're probably not difficult to assemble, it shows that you've put some thought and effort into collecting the ingredients, jars, etc., and then putting them together. The temperature has dropped a degree or two, and that hot chocolate looks delicious.