Making food gifts for Christmas

Who could think about Christmas without sugar cookies? I certainly can't! Here is a link to my favorite recipe:

Land O'Lakes Sugar Cookies

The best thing about sugar cookies is that they are very versatile. You can decorate them in many ways.

• You can frost them, like how the recipe suggests.
• You can sprinkle colored sugar on the cookies before baking for the classic cookie.
• You can crush hard candies in the center to get a stained glass effect. See All Recipes for more on this technique.

Most of the baking gifts that I make have chocolate in them. But I always like to make a couple of things without chocolate, for the few friends who (believe it or not) are not that fond of chocolate.

Lemon Bars are a great choice. They tend to be easy to make and to split into different gifts. I tend not to decorate these desserts, it can ruin the flavor.

Also, I find that it is better to wait until the bars are completely cool before cutting. Give the filling time to hold its shape a little bit.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes:

Lemon Butter Bars - This recipe isn't super lemony. It is good for those who like a slight taste of lemon.

Joy of Baking's Lemon Bars

Smitten Kitchen's Lemon Bars - this recipe has a full sized layer and a thin layer option.

Fudge is one of my favorite foods. So, of course it would be one of the items I like to give as a gift. Here is one of my favorite recipes for cinnamon fudge:


McCormick's Cinnamon Fudge.

One the easiest part of the recipe -- very little baking. All you need to do is heat the butter and milk until it melts.

Did I mention that I love chocolate? Add the holiday flavor of mint and you have one of my favorite cookies. I usually use Andes candies for these cookies, but any generic mint chocolate would work.


All Recipes Chocolate Mint Candies


Derby Day Chocolate Mint Thins - This recipe is a little more minty because it uses peppermint extract in the cookie. I have put crushed candy canes on the cookie instead of the Andes Candies for a more Christmas look.

Here is my easy brownie recipe. This makes a fudgey(not cakey) brownie. I have been making it for years...I don't remember where I got it from originally.

Ingredients:
2 Eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp old coffee (optional)
3/4 stick butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Melt the butter and chocolate chips in the microwave for around 1 minute (stir to blend). In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Stir in sugar, salt, vanilla and coffee. Add melted butter/chocolate to the mixture. Stir in flour until well blended. Do not over mix. Spread the mixture into a greased 8 inch square pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes. (Center should be set). Brownies should be soft, and not overdone. Let cool in pan.

Decorations
There are lots of things that you can do with brownies to make them seem more like christmas. Here are some ideas:

• I've put holiday sprinkles on top of the brownies (before they were cool) to get green and red coloring.
• I've added 1/4 to 1/2 cup of holiday colored M&M's to my mix. (A 9x13 sized batch usually needs 1/2 to 1 cup of M&M's.) It works well if you add it just before pouring into the pan. You can also sprinkle the M&M's on top of the uncooked brownies, in the pan.
• Candy Cane Cream Cheese Frosting - After your brownies are cool, frost the top with candy cane cream cheese frosting.

I found the original recipe from FlyLady's cookie recipe list.

Pecan Sandies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1/3-1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp water
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup pecans
powdered sugar for rolling in after cookies are cooked

Directions:
Cream butter, sugar; add water and vanilla. Add flour and pecans. If the dough is not firm, chill for an hour. Roll into balls. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 20 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar. Makes 3 dozen.

These are very tasty and seem to store well.

Image from katkreig

If you are giving coffee or perhaps giving hot chocolate for a gift, there is something you can add to make the gift even more special -- Chocolate Covered Spoons. These spoons are usually plastic, with the bowl area covered with your favorite type of chocolate. For a more festive look, drip with white chocolate, candy cane pieces or colored sugar before the chocolate cools.

All Free Craft's Chocolate Covered Spoons
TipNut's Chocolate Covered Spoons
Martha Stewart's Chocolate Covered Spoon recipe - There is a video with a more detailed description.

Gifts in a jar are a cool gift, but not many people have seen them before. A mason jar usually hold all the dry ingredients of a particular recipe, all arrange in a pretty way -- usually layered.

The jars look pretty great on their own, but I like to decorate them with cloth, ribbon and a nice recipe tag. I cut a circle out of a Christmas fabric that is 6 - 8 inches across. (Look at your jar and decide what looks best. If you have a lot of layers you may want the smaller circle of fabric. You don't always want the top of the jar hidden.) If you have a 1 piece jar top, use a rubber band to hold the fabric. Otherwise center the fabric on the center of the top and screw the other part of the lid over it. Make sure to fluff out the fabric where it comes out from under the lid so it looks good.

I like to use a pretty ribbon to cover the rubber band, and to hold the recipe card in place.

Here are a few of my favorite jar recipes:


Hershey's Brownies in a jar

Sand Art Brownies
M&M cookies in a jar
Oatmeal Cookies in a jar
Hot chocolate in a jar - This one is really cute. It uses baby food jars for single serving hot chocolate gifts. Great for those parents who have way too many baby food jars lying around.
Cookies in a Jar recipe Squidoo lens - Lots of various cookies in a jar recipes.