Make Food Gifts for Christmas

Food gifts are very popular at the holidays, and rightly so. They are the perfect thing to take along to a party, you can keep them on hand for last minute visitors, and they are all-purpose enough to be given to everyone on your list, from your postal person to your child's teacher. Luxury food gifts can become very expensive very quickly, though, such as these candy treats or these baked goods from Williams-Sonoma. If you wanted to give peppermint bark to everyone on your list, it could easily add up quite quickly to be hundreds and hundreds of dollars before you'd finished buying it all.

It's still very possible to spend less and still give all the people you care about wonderful treats. Making candy yourself is much simpler than you may think, and the money invested in ingredients is so little that it will more than make it worth your time. Baked goods are even simpler to make than candy, and are fun for the whole family to work on.

Besides saving money, one great reason to make your food gifts yourself is the control you have over ingredients. If you have family or friends with special dietary needs, you'll be able to tailor recipes to their needs, and this will be very appreciated in a season during which they're surrounded by foods they're not allowed to sample. You know that your baked goods are fresh and do not have preservatives or odd colorings or other chemicals. And if you research your ingredients, you can make organic fudge or other candies to fit your needs exactly.

To make your own candies, you'll need a nice heavy pot, a wooden spoon for mixing, and a candy thermometer. A candy thermometer is easy to find at most department stores or grocery stores and only costs as little as five dollars, though digital styles can be as much as forty dollars.

Some easy candies for beginners to make are fudge and barks. The hardest part about making fudge is the stage at which you have to beat it, but if you do this as a family and take turns, it is quickly accomplished. Barks are essentially melted chocolate that is sometimes flavored with extracts and then poured into layers with fillings like crushed candy cane and nuts. These are great items to allow your imagination to run wild. Experiment with different combinations and themes, such as dark chocolate with dried cherry pieces or maybe an Elvis Lover's Bark, with chocolate, dried banana, and a layer of melted peanut butter chips.

Banana bread and other quick breads, like pumpkin spice or apple spice, are always welcome gifts. They are great for people who like to indulge a little bit, but find that chocolate and sugar candies are a bit rich. Make sure to test any recipe you'd like to use for a gift before hand. It is important to know that the recipe is a good one and you like the results before you invest in a large scale baking of that recipe. If you'd like to multiply the recipe to make a larger quantity in one batch, that is fine, but bear in mind that you'll probably want to write out the doubled or tripled ingredient list so you don't forget to multiply a crucial ingredient. Also, make sure that if you don't have oven room to bake the whole batch at one time, you make something like cookies that will not be harmed by waiting their turn in the oven.

I hope you will try making your own homemade treats this year, because no fancy mail order gift tin can compare to the quality of homemade, from scratch, treats that are prepared with care right from your own kitchen, and packaged lovingly. Your loved ones will look forward every year to the chance to taste your famous treats, and you'll know that you're giving them something that truly expresses your love.