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We here at Kitchn believe that the very best gifts are of the edible sort, so today we’re sharing all our favorites — and we mean all! There are soft gingerbread cookies to send in the mail and rosé gummies to share with your BFF. New moms will be thankful for a big jar of DIY instant mac and cheese, and anyone would be happy to find some vanilla-scented nut clusters under the tree.
Cookies & Bars
If you’re planning on mailing sweet treats this holiday season, bar cookies and sturdy biscotti travel well and hold up beautifully.
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Peppermint Cream SquaresMake double-sure that you buy soft mint candies — not the hard ones that are available year round, which can damage your food processor. The most common brand I’ve found is Bob’s Sweet Stripes (see link below).
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Irish Shortbread Toffee BarsThe toffee bars, also referred to as “millionaire bars” (which I found out after the fact), is exactly what you’d expect from an old Southern recipe collection; they were sweet, rich, and oh-so-delicious. Definitely a new classic in my opinion, just like the cookbook they came from.
Go to Recipe Candies
The gift of something sweet has a special way of bringing a smile to anyone’s face.
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Rosé GummiesWith just a few steps and some chill time (which you could very easily pass with a glass of rosé) you can make these charming, lightly fruity, just a bit tangy rosé-flavored gummy bears.
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Classic Southern PralinesYou can call the praline a cookie, because it’s shaped like one, but it’s rightfully a type of candy. You make them entirely on the stove top by boiling a mixture of chopped pecans, sugars (two kinds!), butter, milk, and vanilla until it becomes creamy and caramelized.
Go to Recipe Brittle and Chocolate Bark
Whether it’s topped with chopped peppermint candies, pretty rose petals, or cookie pieces, chocolate bark is easy to make and the most excellent gift for any chocolate-lover in your life.
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Salted Pistachio BrittleAs luck would have it, the brittle is just as fun to make as the cookies (and a nice break from the oven-to-cooling-rack merry-go-round). You start by coaxing a potful of butter, sugar, water and corn syrup into a dark bubbling caramel.
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Peppermint BarkThe ingredient list is short — just dark and white chocolate, peppermint candies, and peppermint oil — and you don’t need any special equipment to make peppermint bark for yourself or to give as gifts. It helps to know a little bit about each ingredient and to have an hour to dedicate to the process. Here’s how to make your own peppermint bark at home for gift-giving this season.
Go to Recipe Other Sweet Treats
Packaged up in a nice jar with pretty ribbon, flavored sugars and sauces make a wonderful hostess gift. They’re also easy to make in big batches.
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Citrus SugarCitrus zest brightens so many recipes, but if you have citrus sugar in your pantry, you’ve got a wonderfully fragrant gift.
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Dairy-Free NutellaA combination of coconut milk and dairy-free chocolate chips make a really great substitute for the creamy chocolate component of this spread. It has past the test of many a Nutella-lover, so much so that I started making batches around the holidays and packaging them up as gifts!
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Rhoda's Peppermint Hot Fudge SauceIn addition to ice-cream, this sauce is excellent drizzled over slices of pound cake, cheesecake or a meringue. The version made with vanilla extract is also delicious served with poached fruit.
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Maple Bourbon Caramel SauceMaple bourbon is the most popular flavor of bourbon on the market now with big guys like Jim Beam and Knob Creek topping the list of producers. It’s a sweeter style and works well in lots of hot cocktails, after dinner drinks and desserts.
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Toasted Coconut SugarThe coconut flavor is subtle, so the sugar pairs best with ingredients that are not strongly flavored. Use it as you might use cinnamon-sugar: dip sugar cookies in it before baking, sprinkle it onto buttered toast, or mix it into oatmeal.
Go to Recipe Nuts and Popcorn
You can’t go wrong with the gift of snacks, whether you go savory, sweet, or a combo of both. Nuts and popcorn are also a great choice when your list of gift recipients runs long.
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Chicago-Style PopcornIf you love the mixed tins of caramel and cheddar popcorn, known as the classic Windy City blend, give this mix a try at home — and even give it as a homemade edible gift.
Go to Recipe Granola
Granola is one of my favorite foods to gift. There are so many different variations out there that I know I can find one that’s just right for everyone on my list.
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Savory Bacon-Rosemary GranolaThere’s just something so right about how the sweetness of the syrup mixes with the salty-smoky bacon. So it’s about time bacon got a starring role in another breakfast staple: granola.
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Almond & Coconut GranolaThis recipe is super versatile: use any kind of nut (larger nuts like whole walnuts or pecans should be chopped), any other kind of dried fruit (currants, blueberries, cranberries, even little snipped pieces of dried mango or papaya), or go without either for the nut-allergic and fruit-adverse. Tip: add a tablespoon egg whites per cup of rolled oats to help make the granola more clumpy.
Go to Recipe Other Savory Treats
For anyone who’s not really into sweets, these thoughtful items are simple yet fun and creative.
Infusions, Cocktail Mixers, and Other Drinks
Surprise your cocktail-enthusiast friend with a fun homemade twist for her bar cart.
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Fruit-Infused VodkasThis is also perfect for when you’re not in the mood for a big preserving project, but want a quick way to make sure that handful of juicy berries, plump purple figs, or last peaches doesn’t go to waste. Because a bottle of jewel-colored, summer fruit-infused vodka will never go to waste. Trust me on this.
Go to Recipe Nuts and Popcorn
You can’t go wrong with the gift of snacks, whether you go savory, sweet, or a combo of both. Nuts and popcorn are also a great choice when your list of gift recipients runs long.
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Chicago-Style PopcornIf you love the mixed tins of caramel and cheddar popcorn, known as the classic Windy City blend, give this mix a try at home — and even give it as a homemade edible gift.
Go to Recipe