Before I talk about my favorite type of gifts to receive, give – food – I have to tell you about an interesting phenomenon that’s been happening on my blog for about ten days…..no, it’s not the “24 Days of Green Christmas Crafts”…although it is a phenomenal series!
Beginning of December, Fox News published an article titled, “7 foods you should never eat” from Prevention magazine – an article I posted about, in February 2010 titled, “7 Foods Even Food Safety Experts Wont Eat.” And somehow, since Fox News’ post, my own post went viral as result of the renewed interest in the topic.
The post received more than 250,000 hits and is still climbing! I am passionate about eating good foods safely and I try to talk about it often here. And by the thousands of ‘shares’ on facebook and tweets on Twitter on this particular article, I am thrilled to see that people are feeling the same way. If you haven’t read it yet, go check it out. Maybe you’ll discover something new about foods.
Emily's "Secret" Chocolate Cookies
Edible Gifts
Having said, edible gifts for Christmas is one of the BEST gifts to receive and give. Besides the fact that everyone loves to eat, giving delectable treats will make them remember your gifts long after they’ve finished your gift. I have received compliments about my baked goods more than some of the more expensive gifts I’ve given, and believe me, I am no Bakerella.
Use Mod Podge to decoupage or wrap decorative fabric with baker's twine or ribbon
Obviously, home made foods are the best but if you are too busy to bake, there are a ton of ways to give great edible gifts without baking them. The latest trend I love in giving edible gifts involves putting all the ingredients from a recipe in jars with instructions on how to make the goodies. It’s like a cake in a box, except, it’s from your kitchen!
Sunset Magazine
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Quick Bread from Sunset
1. In a large bowl, mix the contents of this bottle: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, and 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips.
2. In a small bowl, beat 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, 2 large eggs, and 1/4 cup melted butter.
3. Stir wet mixture into dry ingredients just until evenly moistened (batter will be lumpy).
4. Scrape into a buttered and floured 9- by 5-inch loaf pan (with a 9-cup capacity), and bake in a 350° oven until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
- Bakerella
Cowgirl Cookies from Bakerella
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup m&ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Stir all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Add
1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Use the back of a large spoon to work it all together. You may even need to use your hands to get everything incorporated.Then roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.
More Edible Gift Ideas
These are just two great edible gifts that fit nicely into mason jars 
If you don’t want to give baked goods, you can give home made granola that only requires roasting the ingredients. I read somewhere that you can even ‘cheat’ a little and buy store bought granola, embellish it by adding some of your favorite ingredients, and package it as yours. Although it sounds like cheating, but hey, it’s better than a fruit cake, in my opinion.
Here are some more edible gift ideas from Green Living Ideas and Insteading.
Just to let you know, I love receicing edible gifts. Just sayin’….
[...] can definitely use these as edible gifts. Put these in mason jars to give as gifts. They are [...]
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