About Aimee

Chances are if the title of this post caught your eye, there are still a few names on your gift list you just haven’t gotten around to shopping for – and now it’s the eve of Christmas Eve.

At this point I strongly advise against heading out of the house to shop, for you will only endure painfully long line-ups, grumpy sales clerks, crowded parking lots, and, if you live in the north as I do, slippery roads.

Instead, why don’t you slip into something cozy, wrap on an apron, choose an item or two from this list and create a delicious homemade food gift?

Here’s how you can get the most out of this post. There are 17 homemade edible gift items that are varied enough to suit anyone on your list. They are divided into three groups by the estimated amount of time it takes to make them.

Some recipes are included here, others are found elsewhere, although I’ve listed the ingredients for each recipe so you can see at a glance if your pantry has them in stock before you click through to the recipe. Salt is the only item not listed, as that is one staple I can safely assume each kitchen has!

Container Check

Before you get started, do a quick check of potential containers you have on hand that would work for presenting your recipe. Homemade food gifts can be transported in many different ways, but often the container can limit your choice of what to make.  If you’re loving the walnut and dried-fruit topping, for example, but have no jars, things could get a little sticky.

Here is a wide variety of suggestions to choose from:

• Bags – clear cellophane or brown paper decorated with children’s art
• Jars – any size or shape will do
• Bottles – good for oils and vinegars
• Tins – all shapes and sizes; antiques are particularly charming
• Dishes – a pretty mug, an ice cream bowl, an espresso cup
• Small boxes – you can cover them in Christmas paper
• Small flower pots
• Baskets
• Wax paper and ribbon
• Baking tins, mini loaf pans, or small pie pans

Now round up as much ribbon as you can — there should be plenty of leftovers from the Christmas gift wrapping — and get the kids set up with stiff paper and markers to make and decorate labels for your homemade gifts.

INSTANT Gifts

1. Homemade Jam, Jelly and Preserves

Don’t disregard this summer’s spaghetti sauce as too plain! As far as I am concerned, any type of home preserve is liquid gold.

2. Homemade Cookies and Holiday Baked Goods

That college student on your list is going to appreciate a tin of these.

3. Vanilla sugar

Pantry Items: sugar, vanilla bean

10 Minute Gifts

4. Salted Cocoa Roasted Hazelnuts

Pantry Items: nuts, butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa

5. Honey, Walnut & Dried-Fruit Topping

Pantry Items: walnuts, dried cranberries, dried apricots, honey

6. Herb oil

Pantry Items: Olive Oil, fresh herbs

Infused oil is a great way to add quick flavor to salad dressings, marinades, or vegetables dishes. I make mine with rosemary because I’ve got a big bushy plant of it, but you can use most any fresh herb here. Sage, thyme, oregano and tarragon would all be top choices for me, as well as rosemary.

Here is the basic method; estimate 4-5 generous stems of herbs for each cup of olive oil.

• Sterilize bottles or jars.
• Wash herbs and part dry.
• Warm olive oil in a pot.
• Stuff herbs in bottles.
• Top with warm oil.
• Allow to cool, then top with cork or screw cap.
• Label and include instructions to remove herbs after a week.

7. Savory and Sweet Spiced Walnuts

Pantry Items: nuts, egg, sugar, whole orange, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves

8. Cookies in a Jar

Pantry Items: flour, baking powder, baking soda, oats, M&M’s, chocolate chips, white & brown sugar, (pecans), eggs, butter, vanilla

You’ve heard of pancake mix and muffing mix, but Bakerella brings us a perfected ‘cookie kit’ that is too cute for words. Layer the dry ingredients in a jar and in the label or tag, include remaining ingredients to be added (egg,vanilla, and butter), as well as baking instructions.

9. Hot Cocoa Mix

Everyone loves homemade hot cocoa, especially at Christmas. It’s fast to stir together the ingredients and then package in bags or jars for gifts. Mix it up by layering mini marshmallows, crushed candy cane, cinnamon, espresso powder or mini chocolate chips in the jar–just not all at once! Include a mug and a spoon, if you have some to spare.

• 2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Measure all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir until they are evenly blended.
Include these instructions in the packaging: Spoon 3 or 4 generous tablespoons of cocoa mix into your cup, add 6 oz boiling water, and stir well. Enjoy!

10. Ridiculously Easy Butterscotch Sauce

Pantry Items: unsalted butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, vanilla

30 Minute Gifts

11. Aimee’s Canadian Mincemeat

Pantry Items: apple or cranberry juice, whole cranberries (fresh or frozen), brown sugar, spices, currants, raisins, dried cranberries, apples, whisky or brandy, maple and/or vanilla extract, maple syrup, honey

Don’t be daunted by the lengthy list of ingredients; this yummy pie or tart filling is simple to make and a holiday classic.

12. Peppermint Bark

Pantry Items: semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peppermint extract, candy canes

13. Peanut Butter Fudge

Pantry Items: sugar, butter, evaporated milk, peanut butter, marshmallow cream, vanilla

14. Caramel Crunch Bars

Pantry Items: flour, instant coffee, cinnamon, butter, brown & white sugar, vanilla, milk chocolate, Heath toffee bits

15. Garam Masala

Pantry Items: whole cloves, black cardamom, cumin seed, cinnamon stick, mace, nutmeg

If you have the ingredients on hand, my Garam Masala spice blend makes a stunning and fragrant gift.

16. Pork and Poultry Spice Rub

Here is a classic spice rub from Martha Stewart for pork or poultry:

• 1/3 cup coarse salt
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup paprika
• 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (optional)

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients, using your hands to break up the sugar. Package in small jars and label: ‘Store in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months.’

And finally, a simple taco seasoning.

17. Taco Seasoning

• 1 ½ tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• Ground red pepper flakes to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients together and package the same as the Spice Rub above.

Packaging and Labeling

Remember, less is more; a simple ribbon or handmade label is often sufficient decoration. Obviously, if you are making many gifts, hand-written is a lovely personal touch, but printing labels is the most practical.

Think about to whom you are presenting the gift. They would probably appreciate a thoughtful note included with the gift, rather than an overdressed jar, so keep it simple and have fun!

No question today; you’ve got to get busy and make those gifts! But feel free to share your last-minute thoughts on the holiday season.  Merry Christmas, one and all.

Enjoying homemade Christmas baking is highlight of the season for many families, but making everything from scratch can be time consuming and a lot of work. So how does you stock your freezer with a delicious assortment of cookies and bars without spending several days in the kitchen? By hosting an old-fashioned holiday cookie exchange!

The Concept

Invite a group of bakers to come to your home and have each one bring 10-12 dozen homemade cookies. Bake up a big batch of your family’s favorite holiday treats and exchange baked goods together in a cheery, festive environment. Everyone leaves with a variety of goodies to stash away for Christmas entertaining – and perhaps a new recipe or two.

Is a swap really as great as it is made out to be?

A cookie swap is a social event with a practical side. For me, it marks the beginning of the holiday season and brings friends together for more than just cocktails and chit-chat.
A cookie swap also…

• Saves valuable time during the busiest season of the year. It is much faster to make multiple batches of the same cookie, than to track down ingredients for 7 or 8 different recipes and prepare each one.

• Provides you with a wonderful selection of homemade baked goods to serve your guests over the holidays.

• Introduces new types of cookies to your palate and unique recipes to your repertoire.

• Provides a fun, casual social event that is easy to host – the guests bring the goodies!

• Offers opportunities for a charitable outreach. Guests can be asked to bring non-perishable food items to donate to a local food bank.

What are you waiting for? Pull out that organized holiday calendar and pencil in a tentative date. Then use these simple and fun steps to plan a festive cookie swap your guests will remember well into the new year.

How to Host a Cookie Swap

All photos are by Aimee

1. Invite Guests

• Go digital to save time, effort and money. I typically use evite or Facebook for my invitations.

• Invite double the amount of guests that you feel you can accommodate. This is the busiest time of the year and not everyone will be able to attend.

• Ask invitees to prepare 6-10 dozen of their favorite or ‘most requested’ cookie or bar to swap, and an extra dozen for sampling pre-swap.

• Suggest that the cookies be well suited for traveling and freezing; meringues may not make it home, let alone being jostled around in the freezer.

• Request the swap be ‘nut free’, if this is a concern for you. I have done this in recent years as so many of my girlfriend’s children have severe allergies.

2. Bake Cookies!

• Prepare a tried-and-true, favorite recipe. You probably already have a family favorite in mind as you read this post. You know, the one that garners the most requests for the recipe, the one you couldn’t imagine celebrating Christmas without.  Now you can share it.

• Make them pretty! Don’t be shy about showing off if you are gifted with decorating skills. Maybe you have a bit more time on your hands than some of your guests and the opportunity to exercise a piping bag. Trust me; guests will appreciate you making the extra effort to dress up those gingerbread men.

• Store the cookies in an airtight container in the freezer if you have made them in advance. Try and maintain their freshness until the big day.

3. Prepare to Host

This may be the easiest party to host over the holiday season; the guests bring the treats; all you have to do is put on a pot of coffee and open your home! Sounds simple? It is! If you’re the Martha Stewart type, here are a few extras touches you can add to make the event even more special:

• Plan a door prize. A cookie cookbook, a pretty apron, or a cookie jar — you decide how simple or elaborate you want it to be. One year I asked each person to bring a cookie cutter. They showed up with all different sorts of shapes –mittens, stars, and angels—which I placed together in a gift bag. At the end of the swap, I drew a name and one lucky lady went home with the whole collection of cookie cutters.

• Provide tea, coffee, and a festive drink such as hot cocoa or mulled apple cider. My guests have come to expect a pot of apple cider and spices simmering on the stove and it’s my most requested beverage.

• Make labels for the cookies. This is a practical ‘extra’ that identifies everything on the table and can inform guests who contributed which cookie.

• Set up a packaging station where guests can assemble and wrap small boxes of goodies to give away as presents. Provide Chinese take-out boxes (available at craft stores) for holding the cookies and items for dressing up the boxes such as tags, ribbon, and felt-tipped pens.

4. 1-2-3 SWAP!

Taste

Once all the guests have arrived and the table is laden with hundreds of cookies, invite guests to enjoy a hot beverage while you prepare a tasting tray. If each contributor brought extra cookies for tasting, you should have ample baking to serve up to your guests –and any husband that may have ‘happened’ to stroll through the kitchen.

I love the stories that emerge during this time of sampling and socializing; tales of failed batches of cookies, recipes handed down from grandmothers, and confessions of having felt the need to impress with their cookie contribution!

Swap

The formula to actually exchange cookies is simple, with guests taking home as many cookies as they contributed. Start by everyone taking a dozen each, rotating around the table so everyone has a chance to access all the cookies. Continue with another dozen and another until all the cookies are gone. This usually takes about two minutes!

Smile

Observe and enjoy the smiles all around as guests cradle tins stuffed with gorgeous baking; baking which they in turn will bless others with. It’s the holiday event that keeps on giving!

Do you burn out over the holidays trying to get everything accomplished? How important is homemade baking to you?