This is the time of year to give. And to gain ten pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years.
So as long as everyone’s in the cooking, baking, and eating spirit, why not skip the mall and give that someone special on your list the gift of food.
I’m pretty sure everyone I know would rather have a dozen cookies than a pair or socks.
Here are a few food gift ideas:
Cookies
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies (combines my three fave kinds of cookies into one. Super soft ‘n chewy. Tied for First Place as my fave cookie on my blog)
Dark Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies Stuffed with Chocolate Covered Strawberries (Try TJ’s for a large selection of chocolate-covered dried fruit; or just omit if you can’t find it. The cookies are great without them. Very dark and not overly sweet. A chocaholic’s cookie.)
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (naturally Gluten Free, with Vegan option. One of the easiest cookies to make – one bowl and five minutes- and always a hit with folks)
Peanut Butter Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies (Tied with the first cookie in the post as My Fave Cookie. Soft, chewy, a hint of peanut butter, white chocolate in abundance. Love these)
Fudge
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge (microwave friendly, 5 minutes but no one will guess it was that easy)
White Chocolate Cookies & Cream Fudge (Oreo cookies and chocolate, no bake, easy; and the creamy combined with the Oreo crunch is perfect)
White Chocolate Peanut, Pretzel, & Chocolate Chip Fudge (no bake, microwave friendly; a white chocolate lovers dream)
Puppy Chow
Peanut Butter Chex Mix, aka “Puppy Chow” (vegan, GF. No-bake, easy, always a party hit)
White Chocolate Vanilla Peanut Butter Puppy Chow (GF, no-bake, easy, addictive! A fun white twist on the dark chocolate original, above)
Nut Butters & Sauces
Chocolate Coconut Cashew Butter (homemade nut butter is such a treat. Get your earplugs out and get ready to blend. Vegan, GF, chocolatey, creamy, wonderful)
Dark Rum Caramel Sauce (rum is optional but adds such a wonderful flavor. Use homemade caramel sauce on ice cream, in a pumpkin spice latte, in these Caramel Apple Bars, or on top of most anything)
Nuts
Coconut Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Almonds (vegan, GF. Omit the coconut oil and roast without if you’re not a ‘coconut person’. Cinnamon and sugar roasted nuts are always a hit. Or add a little honey for honey roasted)
Rosemary Chipotle Roasted Almonds (vegan, GF, slight kick from the chipotle; savory, herby, and addictive)
All these ideas and recipes are shelf or refrigerator stable for a very long time. Or, colder storage in the freezer always works for long-term storage if for some reason you don’t expect the recipient to gobble up what you give her fairly quickly.
The winner of the $75 SpaFinder Giftcard Stress Relief Giveaway is:
Amanda December 9, 2011 at 5:49 am
“All of the family obligations stress me out a little. Don’t get me wrong – I love my family – but sometimes it doesn’t leave me with enough “me” time to just unwind. Getting in a morning workout helps to get rid of a lot of that stress and sets a positive tone for the day. “
Congrats, Amanda!
Questions:
Have you ever made someone a gift of food? What was it? Did he or she love it?
Are you giving any homemade goodies this year? And if so, what?
If you’re looking for store-bought gifts that won’t break the bank, also see my 10 Gifts Under $10 Dollars post
Wow! All of those look so yummy! My homemade gift this years is Cognac Whole Grain Mustard with Fresh Pretzels. Can’t wait to see how they turn out :)
Cognac Whole Grain Mustard sounds divine!
I usually just take homemade goodies to my in-laws and my sister. I haven’t really even given food as gifts, but I like the idea.
with all that you bake and cook, your relatives would love foodie gifts from you, Jolene. You’re such a great! cook!
I have white chocolate PB oatmeal cookies in my oven right now – thanks for the recipe! I’m thinking cookies and fudge will be on my homemade goodie gift list this year.. yum!
Oh I hope you love the cookies!
Ohh you’re right.. the cookies are a-maaazing! I can see why they are your favourite :) Thanks again!
Oh I am so happy you are enjoying them…thanks for the report back!
You take the best cookie pictures! I love how you capture their “yumminess”! I hardly ever make cookies, but you make me want to try. ( :
Ashley
thanks for the compliments :)
I hope to make either your peanut butter or cookies and cream fudge for this year! And I would like to try some of your nut butters! I made your Nutter butter special K bars last week and they were so amazingly addictive and wonderful!
I am so glad you liked them! Thanks for telling me!
haha most of my gifts to people are food :) love homemade food gifts
LOVE homemade Food gifts. They are seriously the best, and everyone always loves them. This year I made some nut-date balls in all sorts of flavors…and pumpkin pie bars!
My dehydrator’s running right now preparing the first of my good gift batches. Great compilation you have there. And hey, I bet my bottom dollar you’re not planning on gaining 10lbs btwn Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Yes, yes, and yes :-)
This year’s goodies are cookies (including your flourless chocolate peanut butter cookies) and some awesome roasted spiced nuts that I’ve put my own unique spin on. Can’t wait to see what everyone thinks.
LMK how the flourless choc PB cookies go over and the nuts, too!
Whoa! What an amazing collection of goodies you have here. I believe you just made this diabetic’s blood sugar soar, just by looking at it all! ;)
Hehe, I just blogged about the gingerbread I made a friend for Christmas earlier this week. I get major anxiety whenever I give people recipes I’ve never made before but fortunately my friend loved it. I always know they aren’t just being nice when they polish off one and immediately reach for another….
I can’t wait to get home and bake more than I can eat, so I am sure some friends will be getting edible presents :-)
These look like the best gifts ever. (Especially the food ones.) The only problem is that I’d probably eat all of them before I get a chance to give them away. Oops.
I always give homemade gifts. Cookies, bars, and other random holiday treats. Fun and tasty for me, and I definitely agree people would rather have tasty goodies than socks.
Hmm, I don’t know. Dustin would love everything on this page, including the socks. Fudge and socks are two of his favorite things in the whole world, so I think it could go either way with him, LOL. He’d love to eat everything on this page, except maybe the PB cookies. He doesn’t care for PB cookies but likes everything else PB. He’s odd. I need to make him some fudge or puppy chow. Maybe when we make xmas cookies. :)
And I would love to receive anything sweet on this page instead of what I’ll probably get, haha.
Dustin doesnt like PB cookies but likes everything else PB? Silly, silly boy!
Make him the puppy chow too….you can use it as a bargaining chip if necessary. I think he will go crazy for it. lol :)
Handmad,e DIY gifts are my MO. I’m totally adding the white puppy chow to my baking list. I want to make it now but that is just a bad idea. I’ll make them when there are a lot of other people around to help me eat them. Otherwise, that 10 pounds? More like 20. ;)
Lol and yes, it makes a huge batch and I’m sure you can halve the recipe but I have mine stored in the freezer here and it’s totally fine…I actually like the cold ‘nuggets’ when I take them out.