35 Heavenly Homemade Food Gifts
Snowflake Mix [1]
Salty meets sweet as cereal, pretzels and peanuts get a coating of melted white baking pieces. Package this gift from the kitchen in boxes that resemble takeout containers.
Snowflake Mix [2]
Toffee Blondies in a Jar [5]
This easy-to-assemble holiday gift tastes so good that you'll want to keep some extra for yourself. Layer dry ingredients in a glass or clear plastic container, tie on a holiday ribbon, and give along with a pretty kitchen towel.
Sweet greeting [9]
When you want to give more than a card, but less than a gift, slip a cookie or two in a plastic treat bag (available at crafts stores) with a solid-color piece of scrapbooking paper. Fold contrasting paper over the opening, punch two holes, then tie with ribbon.
Winter Orange Pomegranate Iced Tea [12]
Make a gift-giving splash with this quick and easy tea, which takes just 10 minutes to prepare. Tie a ribbon around a keepsake bottle with the recipe attached.
Cinnamon pretzels [16]
Sugary cinnamon meets salty pretzels in this super-easy, gift-worthy snack mix. Package them in a pretty, airtight container.
Cinnamon pretzels [17]
Christmas Mice [20]
These adorable treats will be an especially popular gift for families with kids. Give in a small box nestled in holiday-colored chocolate candies.
Christmas Mice [21]
Chili Pecans [25]
A coating of spicy and sweet turns toasted pecans into a holiday food that makes a great food gift or party snack. Make these ahead of time to give out at the holidays--just store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 1 month.
Chili Pecans [26]
White Christmas Cherry-Almond Fudge [29]
Fudge in any flavor makes a classic holiday gift, but our white fudge dotted with dried cherries and toasted almonds looks especially festive. The recipe comes from the Inn at Cedar Falls near Logan, Ohio. Also in our red foil box: Best-Ever Peanut Brittle, another holiday favorite.
Packaging tip: Any plain gift box with a lid will feel decadently special when you wrap the lid and bottom separately, like this pair covered in shiny red paper.
Gift in a Jar: Spicy Three-Bean Soup [34]
Our Spicy Three-Bean Soup makes dinner in a jar, the perfect present for busy people. Give along with a bag of corn chips or tortilla chips.
For more ideas on jar gifts, click in the Related Links box below to "6 Tasty Homemade Food Gifts in a Jar."
Holiday Cranberry Syrup [38]
Cranberries give this syrup its rich color and characteristic tang. Use the sugar mixture as a base for drinks or as a topper for ice cream, cake or pancakes. Give in decorative bottles for food gifts, along with the recipe.
Little Traveler's Lemon Curd Bars [42]
Little Traveler in Geneva, Illinois (40 miles west of Chicago) uses creamy, tangy lemon curd to make these bars for its "girlfriend tea" events. Box them in striped paper and a simple wooden box (available at crafts stores) and add a festive red ribbon for a girlfriend-worthy holiday gift.
Orange Popcorn Gorp [46]
The sweetness of dried fruit and chocolate meets salty pretzels and popcorn in our easy food gift. Pour the snack mix in a jar, and cover the lid with a circle of colorful scrapbooking paper. Grosgrain ribbon around the edge of the lid pairs with yarn and a tag to make the package complete.
Orange Popcorn Gorp [47]
Roasted Nut Snack [50]
Give party nuts a holiday twist by roasting them with one of four flavors: Cocoa-Sugared Mix, Curry-Spiced Mix, Barbecue-Seasoned Mix and Asian Five-Spiced Mix. Find frosted-plastic boxes at crafts or scrapbooking stores to make the nuts easy to give away in single servings.
Roasted Nut Snack [51]
Bark candy [54]
Easy bark candy makes a popular gift that even the kids can help prepare. Just melt vanilla-flavored coating and then add crushed candies, such as candy canes for Santa's Delight Peppermint Bark or lemon drops for Lemon Drop Bark. Package bark pieces in inexpensive white ceramic bowls from the discount store to make your candy gift-ready.
Santa's Delight Peppermint Bark [55]
Lemon Drop Bark [56]
Pretty packages [59]
Gifts of homemade holiday treats, including fresh-baked breads or iced cookies, look striking in pretty packaging. Fold colorful cardstock to create easy containers. Accent with ribbons and tie on a meaningful message.
To make mini-loaf bread packaging as shown, click on the link below for a free template and instructions. For recipe ideas, click here [60] for quickbreads and here [61] for Christmas cookies.
Nut candies [65]
Pair Chocolate-Caramel Pecan Clusters with quick and easy Salted Peanut Squares for the nut lovers on your holiday list.
Coffeehouse Chocolate Spoons [70]
Dip plastic spoons into chocolate, and refrigerate them for 30 minutes to allow chocolate to set up. Drizzle designs in melted white chocolate. Give them in a pretty coffee mug.
White-Chocolate Candy and Prancher's Penuche [74]
White-Chocolate Candy combines red and green marshmallows, cereal and nuts for a quick-fix holiday treat. Prancer's Penuche will take longer, but family or friends can help you stir this luscious brown-sugar candy. Wrap a few in colored cellophane as gifts for neighbors or co-workers.
Prancher's Penuche [76]
Cheddar-Herb Bread Mix [79]
Bags of this herbed dry mix make an ideal hostess gift for Christmas open houses.
Cookie and nut sampler [83]
An assortment of baked goodies fills holiday-printed boxes trimmed with ribbon. Add treats of different sizes and colors such as our Lemony Spritz Cookies, Chocolatey Shortbread Bites and Sugared Almonds. Then gather the boxes on a festive cake stand, ready to give away as party favors.
Chocolatey Shortbread Bites [85]
Sugared Almonds [86]
Candy treats [89]
A box of homemade candies makes an elegant gift from the kitchen. (Tiny boxes of candies make good stocking stuffers, too!) The recipes for chewy, chocolate-coated Coconut-Caramel Treats and decadent Almond Truffle Temptations come from the Golden Turtle Chocolate Factory in Lebanon, Ohio.
Candy Cane Cookies [94]
Twist three different-colored ropes of dough to form these cane-shape cookies. Flavor with a touch of peppermint or cinnamon. The tri-color treats are perfect for a cookie exchange or a gift from the kitchen.
Candy Cane Cookies [95]
Cozy wrappers [98]
For super-quick food gifts, start with cozy mittens and tuck in bottles of specialty beer, champagne or pop, a pretzel and a candy cane or two.
Coconut-Tangerine Snowball Cupcakes [101]
Add holiday color to the coconut topper by tossing coconut with liquid food coloring. For a striking gift presentation, alternate cupcakes with candy-filled paper bake cups.
Crimson Cranberry Chutney [105]
This pretty gift-in-a-jar will be a welcome accompaniment to holiday meats.