Homemade Gifts: Our 10 Best Sweet & Savory Treats
The best gifts come from the kitchen, don’t you think? I don’t just mean just gifts wrapped up under the tree — I mean all the little gifts sprinkled through the holiday season. The gift you give a favorite teacher, or hand out to a group of coworkers over lunch. The gift you bring your aunt hosting Christmas Eve dinner, and the gift you leave on your neighbor’s front porch. These treats and snacks are like little bundles of affection and love scattered through the holidays — and these are gifts that come from the kitchen.
Here are 10 of our all-time favorite treats for gifting, sweet and savory.
We’ve rounded up our favorite gifts and homemade treats in the past, but today we wanted to narrow it down and give you 10 of our all-time favorites. From the most amazingly addictive roasted nut mix, to homemade marshmallows and crowd-pleasing pistachio brittle, these are the all-stars. Sweet and savory, good for giving, and for nibbling!
SAVORY
• 1 Ina Garten’s Chipotle and Rosemary Spiced Nuts – As far as spiced nuts go, these are just the best. They’re a little smoky, salty, spicy, and sweet. I package them up as seen here, in corrugated cardboard takeout boxes, lined with striped wax paper and garnished with a sprig of fresh rosemary. People go wild for these nuts, let me tell you.
• 2 Gruyere and Hazelnut Crackers – Very grownup crackers. Put a couple dozen in a little box and tie with ribbon — present with a wedge of good cheese.
• 3 Savory Cheese-Herb Granola – A jar of this would make such an unusual and delicious snack, good for topping soup or snacking on all by itself.
• 4 Homemade Cheese Crackers – Another cheeseified snack — a jar of these wouldn’t go amiss either.
• 5 Wasabi-Toasted Nori Crisps – Seaweed snack? These may sound a little dull at first, a little too hippie, but listen when we tell you that these are some of the most addictive little snacks you can make. And they’re light, so you can eat a lot!
SWEET
• 6 Skillet Toffee – The holiday treat of Sara Kate’s childhood. Make this in big stacks and give it away to everyone you know.
• 7 Salted Pistachio Brittle – If you’re looking for a brittle recipe, you won’t do better than this one.
• 8 Coconut Ganache Bourbon Balls – Bourbon and chocolate in a shiny tin? Who could say no?
• 9 Fluffy Vanilla Marshmallows – Sweet, old-fashioned, and when homemade, very special. (Don’t forget about the beer and pretzel varation too.)
• 10 Ginger Cinnamon Caramels – Chewy and spicy, a perennial favorite amongst our readers.
(Images: See linked recipes for full image credits)