I just finished making the ginger-cinnamon caramels. They are wonderful! I am on a big ginger kick so these were perfect. I am also going to make some espresso caramels from 101 cookbooks. I have plans to make granola and two kinds of bread. I like to give something savory (such as rye bread) with all the candy people get this time of year. I am packaging the granola and candy in canning jars but am still trying to figure out a cute but cheap way to package the loaves of bread.

Usually, I would struggle to figure out something to get my parents and my grandparents without just buying them something to buy them something. Not this year! I am getting them photo books of their grandkids (our kids) and homemade goodies.

My good friend and I make truffles each year, trying out a few fun flavors. This year we're doing raspberry, strawberry, kahlua, chipotle, and hazlenut truffles. It's a fun day for us - hanging out all afternoon, gossiping and playing with chocolate, and it nets us a huge number of truffles to give to various friends and colleagues.

Baklava! I tried it for the first time ever this year, and I've gotten such over-the-top rave reviews that I'm sending it to pretty much everyone.

I am a broke-just-graduated-college 20something and I can't afford to buy anything let alone presents. I just got a job at an organic produce distributor and I get produce at cost. I am hoping to get creative and make something for the family instead. Pear honey perhaps? Anyone have any clever ideas they'd like to share?

I am making some parmesan crackers/biscuits in addition to some semisweet and white chocolate and nut "bark".

Today I made white chocolate covered Candy Cane Joe-Joe's (from Trader Joe's), pretzel turtles, and Sara Kate's mailing toffee!

I can't wait until everything cools so I can take pictures. This weekend I'm also going to make buckeye balls and sea salt caramels.

I'm going to be making truffles this weekend.

And then cleaning chocolate off of random kitchen surfaces for the following week.

Almond biscotti, espresso caramels without the espresso from 101cookbooks and probably peppermint patties. I was hoping for some good savory nuts recipe but haven't come across one yet.

Looking forward to the wrapping ideas!

Every year I spend some time over the Thanksgiving break and make pumpkin rolls. This year I made 6 in one day of marathon baking. They freeze really well, and I take them to special events, parties, and give them to friends during the holiday season.

Growing up we always made sugared-spiced nuts (pecans) for our teachers. And my grandmother always made fudge. My aunt makes mini-loaves of cranberry bread and pistachio-cinnamon bread. I have to remember to ask for the recipes from them this year!

I'm making some toffee and fudge, gifted in some old tins I've collected, and then the mini panettones from the Martha Stewart holiday issue wrapped in some cellophane. And maybe a batch of mixed, spiced nuts. It depends on how much time frees up around the holiday crunch!

This year I made homemade marshmallows in three different flavors - vanilla, peppermint, and raspberry. I packaged them up with hot cocoa mix and sent them out by priority mail, and they seem to have traveled well.

Marshmallows are extremely easy to make! So far everyone's reaction has been, "Wow! I didn't know you could even make these at home. They're so delicious!"

I followed Martha Stewart's Candy Cane Marshmallows for the base: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/candy-cane-marshmallows The only change I recommend is using a 9"x13" pan instead of the 8"x8" since the smaller pan might overflow if it isn't deep enough.

Every year I've made cupcakes and given them away to my guests over the holidays. But this year I decided to combine a couple of them with oreo truffles recipe I found on Bakerella. I simply fell in love with the white heart shapes and thought they'd make great little giveaways coupled w/my cupcakes.

Here's the link if anyone's interested:

http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2008/01/grocery-item-turns-gourmet.html

Also, I'd thought I'd try these using oreo mint cookies! Hope they turn out ok.

Every year I make a big batch of lemon curd and can it into half-pint jars for my mother and sisters. Usually I add something else homemade such as dried pasta or cookies and dried herbs or seeds from the garden.

Rather than buying gifts for coworkers, I'm going to put together a bunch of goodie bags of treats from my kitchen.

We're making granola and pumpkin butter.

Melanie, I would love to hear about where you found a great baklava recipe. I love baklava, but am sick of paying 2.50 per tiny triangle at our local co-op, even though it's worth every penny.

Osteophagia, I also dabble in the Martha Stewart marshmallow recipes. I love the Mama Reiner's recipe for fudge covered marshmallows. I don't do the fudge part, just the marshmallow part. They turned out great though. So pretty. I love to just cut them up in squares and do a Smores gift pack with graham crackers, a hershey bar, and a few marshmallow squares. Sometimes I pair them with a can of my favorite hot chocolate (Godiva dark hot chocolate).

This year I am going to make blondies, sugar cookies shaped like trees with green icing and marshmallows. I made the marshmallows for everyone last year at my baby daddy's work, and they were a big hit.

We're having the neighborhood kids over to make/decorate cookies this year - I'm expecting 16 kids. I will be finding colored sugar in the corners of my floor on 4th of July, I'm sure!

We're making a couple of kinds of icebox cookies, chocolate crinkles, cutouts (of course), hazelnut thumbprints, and spritz cookies with the press. The Mommies will be inhaling cosmos to dull the pain.

spiralcma: If you have easy access to fruit, you might try jams or fruit butters. If you don't want to go through the whole canning process, make sure to tell the lucky receipents to keep them refrigerated and to eat them within a few weeks. It'd be lovely with a loaf of homemade bread, too.

I've already sent large ziploc bags of toffee to family from the recipe that was posted here a week or so ago. I took some to work too and everyone loved it!

I will be making the same granola and dried cherry biscotti I've made the past 10 years - required or my family disowns me.

And for the first time, baklava as a special gift, with almonds, (by request) from the epicurious site (unless Melanie gives up her recipe)

:)

cookies (gingerbread, shortbread, cheesies), and cinnamon bread.

i have to say, if you make the same thing to give as gifts every single year, this is one time NOT to be creative. :) i love the tradition of getting mint chocolate cookies from my aunt and eating my mom's date nut roll.

i made some booze balls (thought i was buying bourbon and ended up with whiskey!) and holiday bark (half peppermint, half pistachio-cranberry) to mail my dad. i love baking and giving it all away!

Simple cookies. REALLY simple cookies. I went psychotic rolling out and cutting last year. This year I'm going to do that with my toddler, but it's not a gift for presentation--the point is to make quite a mess and use cookie cutters. The gift cookies are a super basic drop-cookie dough with lemon zest. I'll put a walnut on half and fig jam on the other half and that is that.

I'm also making mini muffins--pumpkin, chocolate chips, and sliced almonds. They are DIVINE with coffee. I decided that the fact they don't scream Christmas makes no difference once you eat one and are suddenly so happy.

I will eventually break down and make walnut penuche, too.

Making my traditional granola, buttercrunch toffee, and spicy mixed nuts (a new addition this year).

This year I am making mustard and soft pretzels to give as gifts. The mustard is packaged in freecycled baby food jars which are the perfect size. It's a nice change from sweets, and is very cheap to make with bulk seeds and vinegar. It's also easy to make several different flavors by varying the beer, wine, or spices.

Those on a health kick will be getting homemade granola. Those not on a health kick will be getting homemade peppermint bark (so easy to make, and have you SEEN how much it sells for at Willams Sonoma?).

pedalpowered--that sounds great. Would you share your recipe sources?

My boyfriend and I canned jams from berries we picked in the summer, then made pickled carrots in the fall. We'll give those with some homemade caramels. After filling stockings with caramels last year, I was told they would be required from then on.

I whipped up the dark gingerbread pear cake with extra ginger one morning before heading into work... and it was delicious! Many raves. Do this recipe.

We made loads of food this year--double chocolate espresso cookies, chocolate almond biscotti, peanut butter cup tarts, snickerdoodles, all sorts of truffles, chocolate chip zucchini bread, and granola.

I had the most happy discovery of a friend with 5 Asian pear trees in her yard she'd never discovered! We canned ginger cardamom pear butter, spiced pear butter, pear sauce, and pear chutney. I'm going to be sharing with recipes-- esp for a stuffed french toast with cream cheese and the ginger cardamom butter. Yum!

brittanykate: I used recipes from The Mustard Book by Jan Roberts-Dominguez. I looked through several at the library and it was the best! It also has really great recipes featuring mustard like vinaigrette and lentil soup which I plan to include with my gifts. I used Alton Brown's recipe for soft pretzels.

I am loving all of these ideas!

My plans are to make:

Cranberry pecan granola (based on this recipe that I've modified a bit - http://www.travelerslunchbox.com/journal/2007/6/9/the-lip-ladys-secret-granola.html)

Espresso caramels (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/espresso-caramels-recipe.html) or Cocoa molasses toffee (http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/sweets/recipe-cocoa-molasses-toffee-038614)

Brown butter brown sugar shorties (http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/12/brown-butter-brown-sugar-shorties/)

I might make a few jars of hot cocoa mix. I always want to make marshmallows, but never get around to it. I usually make a few batches of almond biscotti and pecan brownies (from Nick Malgieri's untoppable Cookies Unlimited - http://www.amazon.com/Cookies-Unlimited-Nick-Malgieri/dp/0060192852/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229109969&sr=8-8)

Hi pedalpowered, have you ever seen the cookbook 'Better Than Store Bought'? I would bet your library has it, and you can sometimes find used copies. There are great recipes in it, including a fantastic one for soft pretzels.

And 2 more possible recipes for holiday gifts:

Cashew brittle - http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2007/12/karen-demascos.html

Hot fudge sauce - http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2008/12/nancy-silverton.html

Jams, jellies and preserves (and some other canned foods). So, so many jars. On the list:

preserved lemons
crabapple jelly
pear preserves
pear syrup
pear jelly
grapefruit marmalade
pumpkin butter
vegetable stew
pumpkin soup
chili
earthy meat sauce

I think that's it. I'm not sure because I'm elbow deep in pears right now.

Yep! Home made goods all around! I am super excited this year as I finally found a good source for peanut-free nuts!! (Walgreens Blue Diamond brand Almonds)
Also I am a spinner so almost everyone is getting scarf or hat etc. :)

I'm making a few kinds of truffles or "balls":

Red velvet cake balls: http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2007/12/red-velvet-cake-balls.html
(I'll have to make these myself, using all-natural cake mix with no vinegar or buttermilk, and carob instead of chocolate, because I'm making them for someone who can't tolerate any food acids.)

And Oreo truffles: http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2008/01/grocery-item-turns-gourmet.html
(Which will be thoroughly evil and decadent. :)

And maybe Peanut Butter Balls, too:
http://www.grouprecipes.com/12988/peanut-butter-balls-1.html

I'll be visiting some very young cousins over the holidays, and I think crushing cookies, rolling balls, and (maybe, carefully) dipping them in chocolate might be fun for all.

Fruitcake. (It only sucks if you choose fruit that sucks--like those creepy green cherries. I use dried cherries, apricots, and golden raisins, and plenty of rum. Also, if you cover the top with a layer of almond paste [sealed under a plain confectioner's sugar-and-rum glaze], it's a nice touch.)

Coffee brownies. (Brownie mix mixed with finely ground walnuts and coffee, mixed with butter, melted chocolate, eggs and extremely strong instant coffee, with those little chocolate candies that look like coffee beans sprinkled on top.)

Fudge. (That recipe with the melted marshmallows.)

Orange-almond shortbread. (An orange liquefied in a blender with some sugar, then mixed with butter, then some coarsely ground unskinned almonds, and flour, rolled out and baked in a slow oven.)

Chocolate chip cookies, not too small. (There's a reason this is a classic.)

great ideas! I've made Cocoa Molasses Toffee and Ginger Cinnamon Caramels (both recipes I found on this site) and I think I'm also going to try the Espresso Caramels Recipe from 101 cookbooks.

This fall I made tons of Jalapeno Pepper Jelly w/ peppers from our garden and chow-chow from our squash, so those can goods will also be gifts.

Molly, your fruitcake sounds divine. I was just remarking last night how wonderful good fruitcake can be.

I'm making:
- almond biscotti
- cranberry-orange biscotti
- caramel corn with peanuts
- chili-spiced caramel corn with spicy candied cashews (this is an experiment --- I hope it works out!)
- onion marmalade, which I'll pack up with parmesan biscuits or flaxseed crackers, and a roll of herb butter
- butterscotch sauce
- and another experiment: homemade bay rum!

I'm making brown sugar shortbread, biscotti, chocolate-orange macarons, and rumballs-- all dipped in chocolate.

granola, spiced nuts, caramel corn, cookies (chocolate chip, chocolate peppermint, and jam thumbprints) and chocolate covered pretzels... i also made body scrub and lip balm for all my girlfriends... now that i'm starting to bake, i'm not quite sure when i'm going to find time to actually make it all! :)

I was hoping to make fudge, but with the snow dump this evening (and I'm still stuck at work waiting for my husband to pick me up...his normally 40 min drive is now over two hours and counting) I don't think I'll be able to go out and get the last two ingredients I need. If tomorrow clears up, maybe (I'm giving them out to co-workers on Thursday).

So I'll probably make banana bread mini loaves since I have some bananas that need to be used up. Hopefully that'll make enough.

(Oops, make that three hours and counting... Apparently I can't read the clock.)