Christmas Gift Ideas – Easy Christmas Gifts From Your Kitchen

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:57:40 +0000

Some of the best Christmas gift ideas are heartfelt gifts from your own kitchen. There are many wonderful ideas for Christmas gifts to make that will delight friends and family alike and are not difficult at all.Home made gifts from the kitchen appeal to young and old alike. After all, who wouldn’t appreciate a tin of your trademark holiday cookies (or soon to be trademark if you start now!), or a box of sweet and crunchy nut brittle? Here are several Christmas gift ideas that may be inexpensive but look impressive and come from the heart. You can create a “bake a treat” gift basket with a favorite recipe (or bake a batch of the actual cookies or mini loaf the recipe is for), along with a colorful tea towel, the baking pan or muffin tin required to make the recipe, plus any other necessary utensils, such as measuring cup, stirring spoons, a citrus zester, or a whisk. Wrap it all up in cellophane with a beautiful ribbon and it will look like it came from the best kitchen shop.Buy a pretty mug or teapot and fill it with your friends favorite homemade candies or special cookies. As with the gift basket, taking care to wrap it beautifully makes it look like it came from a specialty shop.Homemade truffles are actually quite easy and relatively inexpensive to make. Placed individually in festive paper or foil cups and packed in a pretty gold box with a red bow, they make a very tasty and thoughtful gift, perfect to take to any gathering as a hostess thank you gift. Here is an easy recipe for chocolate truffles, perfect as a hand made gift from the heart.Chocolate Truffles6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips3 tablespoons unsalted butter3 tablespoons powdered sugar3 egg yolks1 tablespoon rum cocoa Place the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the chocolate melts. Add the butter and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat. Add the yolks, one at a time, beating with an electric mixer after each addition. Stir in the rum. Pour the mixture into a bowl. Cover and let sit for 12-24 hours in a cool dry place. (Do not refrigerate). Shape the mixture into 1 inch balls and roll them in the cocoa. Freeze for 1 hour. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Makes about 2 dozen.Many of us visit friends and family during the holiday season and it is always thoughtful to bring along a little something for the hostess. In addition to truffles, consider baking one or more mini loaves of your favorite sweet breads, and presenting them nicely wrapped in cellophane. It makes a much appreciated gift.You can see that with a little creativity and just a bit of effort you can make your own unique Christmas gifts and show the special people in your life just how much you care.

Karen Ciancio is a cook and lover of all things food and cooking related. Her website www.CookingNook.com contains hundreds of recipes, cooking tips, measurement conversions, kitchen product ideas and diet and nutritional information. Find more Christmas gift ideas here.
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Make Your Own Candy This Holiday Season

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:24:07 +0000

Make Your Own Candy This Holiday SeasonWhen it comes to holiday candy, I prefer to make my own. Making your own confections, is easier than you might think.When it comes to making candy, you need to prepare ahead of time. Read the recipe completely, making sure you have all of the ingredients and equipment needed. Lay out everything that you will need before you begin to prepare the recipe. Candy Making TipsHow To Crush Peppermint Candies: I find the easiest way to do this is by placing the peppermint candies in a heavy duty zipper close bag. Wrap a clean kitchen towel around the bag, then use a hammer to smash the candies. Storing Your Homemade Confections: I find it best to store my candy in the refrigerator in an airtight container. If you are worried about sticking, line your container with parchment paper.Presenting Your Confection’s As Gifts: Purchase some quality plastic containers, or some round decorative holiday theme ‘d tins. If you are using metal tins, line the bottoms with parchment paper. If you are making the Bonbons, purchase mini muffin cup liners. You can place a Bonbon in each liner, this keeps them separated and presentable.Here are 3 of my favorite Holiday Recipes.The following recipes do not require the use of a candy thermometer.Peppermint Marble Bark 6 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate 6 squares premium white baking chocolate 1 c. crushed peppermint candies Microwave semi-sweet and white baking chocolates in separate microwave-safe bowls, on high for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir until chocolates are completely melted. Stir 1/2 cup of the peppermint candies into each bowl. Alternately spoon melted chocolate onto waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Swirl chocolates together with knife to marbleize. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces.White Chocolate Fudge with Cranberries2 pkg. (6 squares each) white chocolate 3/4 c. sweetened condensed milk 1 c. chopped almonds 1/2 c. dried cranberries 1 tbsp. grated orange peel Line a 8″ square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over the sides of your pan, set aside. Microwave chocolate and milk in a bowl until chocolate is almost melted. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add almonds, cranberries, and grated orange peel. Stir until blended. Spread chocolate mixture into a prepared pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours until firm. Remove from pan via foil and place on a tray; cut into squares. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.Peppermint Bonbons 1 lb. vanilla flavored confectioners coating 1/2 c. whipping cream 1 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract crushed peppermint candies In a heavy saucepan, melt confectioners coating over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in whipping cream and peppermint extract. Beat at high speed with mixer until smooth. Chill in freezer for 25 minutes or until candy is stiff enough to be shaped. Form candy into round balls. Roll balls into crushed peppermint candy pieces. Arrange on a non-stick baking mat; let cool. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Shelly Hill has been working from home since 1989 in Direct Sales. You can visit Shelly online at: http://www.classybusinesswomen.com or at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com
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Homemade Chocolate » holiday recipes

Christmas Gift Ideas – Easy Christmas Gifts From Your Kitchen

Make Your Own Candy This Holiday Season