Sweet Gestures: The Best Homemade Edible Holiday Gifts

We don’t mean to throw shade on your usual holiday cookies – they’re tasty and bring joy – but perhaps you were thinking of shaking things up a bit this year with a food or drink gift that’s just a wee bit different. So we’ve gone out and gathered a host of delicious gift ideas, all of which require something valuable: your time.

Truffles And Cuddles

Homemade French truffles look and taste lush and decadent, but they’re actually super easy to make: you only need premium-quality dark chocolate, cream, butter and cocoa powder. If you’d like to get fancy, you can infuse the chocolate ganache with a little rum or cognac, vanilla essence or orange peel. Pâtissier Bruno Albouze suggests coating them in chocolate before rolling them in cocoa powder to add a little crunch and increase shelf life. You can make these babies fully vegan, too! Store the finished truffles in a shallow box in the refrigerator. 

Infuse Some Happiness

Have a passionate home cook in your life? Consider personalising high-quality oils and vinegars with their favourite ingredients. Chef Rudakova shows you how to master the technique and infuse any type of flavour, whether herby, lemony, garlicky or spicy – there are so many different directions you can go. If you start well ahead of the holidays, the flavours in your oils and vinegars have some time to blend and intensify. Zhuzh it up with elegant bottles, personalised labels and even a card with a few recipe suggestions.

For Zest Friends

Transform any type of citrus peel – orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit – into a delicious candied confection. Chef Jacques Pépin demonstrates a quick and easy method in this video, but you can also use a more slow-infused method that you have to start well in advance. Dipped in dark chocolate, these candied bits make for an exquisite gift. 

Spice It Up

The quality of store-bought spice blends is generally not quite gift-worthy: they might look nice but are often loaded with salt, sugar and sub-par spices. If you make your own, you can present a spice mix that actually tastes good and is tailored to the taste of the recipient (More heat? You got it!). Try Middle Eastern Za’atar, Japanese Shichimi Togarashi, North African Ras El Hanout or Bengali Panch Phoron. If you like to give a spice blend for holiday baking, follow the directions in the video below. The Domestic Geek shows you how to make Apple Pie Spice, Pumpkin Pie Spice and Gingerbread Spice, whose aromas alone evoke instant holiday cheer.

Granola La La La

Give a nice big jar of homemade granola this holiday season: great for breakfast, dessert or just for snacking. Using rolled oats as a base, simply add chopped nuts, mixed seeds, honey, vanilla and oil, then mix, spread out evenly on a sheet pan and bake. The key to getting nice chunks is to press the ingredients firmly together with the back of a spoon, without any gaps. Once cooled, add dried fruits, coconut flakes or whatever strikes your fancy – here are a few creative flavour ideas. As with all these gift suggestions, make sure your gift recipient isn’t allergic to any of the ingredients!

’Tis The Season

We all know that a great dish is one that’s seasoned well. Take a high-quality salt and add herbs, garlic (not too much) or citrus zest, and you’ll end up with a personalised seasoning that will elevate so many dishes, from salads to roasted vegetables. For more flavoured salt ideas, follow along with the lads of Sorted Food.

Getting All Syrupy

Surprise your cocktail-loving friends with homemade simple syrups that will form the basis for their favourite fancy drinks, as well as for lemonades, mocktails or desserts. Cocktail expert Anders Erickson demonstrates how to make a few different syrup varieties, including Demerara, cinnamon, grenadine and orgeat. Once you’ve got your syrup game down, you can experiment with other fruits or even flowers, such as lavender, rose or hibiscus. 

Spread Some Joy

Anything delicious that you can spread on a cracker will be a sure hit. This holiday season, line up your sterilised jars, stock up on fresh ingredients, and whip up a basil, olive and sun-dried tomato tapenade, a chunky salsa, a fruit chutney or an irresistibly sweet and tangy chilli jam. If you really want to impress, gift the jars along with a selection of cheeses and crackers. 

Get Into The Spirit

A bottle of homemade liqueur is a thoughtful gift for your holiday host and makes for a sweet after-dinner treat, too. The four examples in the video are extra indulgent: chocolate, Nutella crème, Irish cream and coffee (a great base for your espresso martinis!). If you have more time until the holidays to let your flavours infuse, make the Italian walnut liqueur called Nocino, or perhaps a Laurino (with bay leaves) or Limoncello.

Santa’s Batter Half

With cookie or muffin mixes in a jar, you give the recipient the possibility to whip up something delectable whenever they’re hit by a sweet craving. Make a classic chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookie, lemon crinkle cake mix cookies, or this pretty cranberry and white chocolate version. With a brush, make sure to carefully even out the layers and clean the side of the jar to make it look pretty. Finish off with a cute ribbon and some twigs. Also, don’t forget to draw or print a recipe card.