Edible Homemade Christmas Gifts

Every year, I like to give the people on my Christmas list edible homemade Christmas gifts. These heartfelt and simple gifts can be tailored to the recipient, depending on whether they like sweets or savories, cookies, breads, or homemade candies.

Are you stumped on what sorts of edible homemade Christmas gifts to stuff your Christmas gift baskets with this year? Listed below are recipes for some of the edible Christmas gifts I presented to friends and family last year.

Layered Peppermint Bark
A friend from work made these at our annual company cookie swap last year, and I they were so good, I greedily ate every bite of my portion and didn't share a crumb. She included the handwritten recipe below with the candy and credited her original find to Allrecipes.com. If you make this bark this year, I definitely recommend using quality chocolate: the results are well worth it.

Ingredients:
20 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped and divided
30 peppermint candies, crushed and divided (I stole candy canes off our Christmas tree for this.)
10 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Line a 9x12 baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Melt half of the white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. Spread the white chocolate into the prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/4 of the crushed peppermints evenly over the white chocolate. Chill until firm (about 15 minutes).

Meanwhile, melt the dark chocolate, heavy cream and peppermint extract together in the top of a double boiler over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. Quickly pour the chocolate layer over the chilled white chocolate layer; spread evenly. Chill until firm (about 20 minutes).

Next, melt the remaining white chocolate in the top of a double boiler, over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently, until just melted. Spread quickly over the chilled bark. Sprinkle with the remaining peppermint pieces. Chill until firm (about 20 minutes). Cut or break into small pieces and serve.

Grandma Rolfe's Peanut Butter Fudge
My mom has memories of sneaking down to the kitchen in the middle of the night when she was little and raiding this delicious peanut butter fudge that my Grandma always made around Christmas. Grandma Rolfe's Peanut Butter Fudge is supposed to be a bit more on crumbly than chewy, and if you make it just right, it melts in your mouth when you bite into it.

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar (1/2 white and 1/2 packed brown)
1 cup milk
dash salt
2/3 cups peanut butter (about 2/3 of a small jar)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla

Cook sugars, milk and salt to soft ball stage, stirring constantly. (I use a cup of cold water and drip a bit into it occasionally. When it forms a soft ball, instead of dissolving immediately, it's ready. This can take up to 10 minutes or more.)

Remove from heat. Add peanut butter and butter, and stir until mixed in. Add vanilla and beat until firm (or your arm falls off, whichever happens first). Spread in a buttered pan.

Grandma Rolfe's Christmas Sugar Cookies
If you hadn't already guessed by the previous recipe, my Grandma Rolfe was a legend in the kitchen. Her Christmas cookies were certifiably amazing and have been an integral part of Christmas since well before I was born.

I like to frost one batch of these with Wilton's royal icing recipe (which can be found here), decorate one batch with simple sprinkles before baking, and cut another batch into pretty, scallop-edged circles with my old fashioned biscuit cutter, and top them with an eggnog-flavored glaze.

Grandma's Sugar Cookie Recipe can be found here, and if you'd like to try the eggnog glaze, I've included that recipe below:

Eggnog Glaze
In a small mixing bowl, stir together 3 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon rum flavoring, and enough eggnog (2-3 tablespoons) to make a glaze that's easy to spread.

Recipe Credit: My trusty Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book - one of my few non-vintage, go-to cookbooks.

Twickers
Ever since I found this recipe on the site of one of my favorite food bloggers, A Southern Grace, I've had to make them over and over again because of the ridiculously high demand of my family and friends. If I didn't include these in my homemade Christmas gift baskets, I run the risk of being disowned by everyone I know. Warning: These are totally addictive, but luckily, pretty easy to make.

Find the original Twickers recipe here, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels
I don't really have a recipe for these quick and easy treats. I just take some pretzel rods and dip them in some quality white or dark chocolate, melted slowly in a saucepan with just a dab of shortening (which enables the chocolate to set when it cools). After dipping the pretzels, I lay them on a sheet of wax paper to harden, and dust with brightly colored sprinkles. Then, I simply stick a few in a plastic candy bags, chocolate side down, and secure with a twistie tie.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread and Cinnamon Honey Butter
Last year, my house smelled like cinnamon and baking bread for two straight days. I used a basic cinnamon bread recipe, like this Kitchenaid-friendly recipe from Average Betty, and paired it with homemade cinnamon honey butter.

To make the Cinnamon Honey Butter, simply beat a stick of butter with a hand mixer until fluffy, add 3 tablespoons of honey and a teaspoon of cinnamon, and beat again until well-mixed. Transfer to a sealable container and gift with a loaf of Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

If your creative talents lie closer to the kitchen table than the crafting table, make some edible homemade Christmas gifts this year. Edible Christmas gifts are a simple and inexpensive way to make sure everyone on your list gets a gift they'll truly appreciate.