Howdy and Welcome to Monday Coffee Break! Since the day after Thanksgiving I’ve been thinking about my Christmas gift list this year. I wanted to do something a little different than usual, so I came up with the idea of making gift baskets for everyone on my list. Now, I know what you’re thinking, baskets are for Easter. Ok, maybe you’re not thinking that, but I was initially until I got this image out of my head.
This Feels Wrong…
For the baskets I purchased one personal gift, then I added two handmade gifts. The first is a handmade snow globe, the other was a baked treat. I’ll throw up some pics as my baskets take shape. (ummm, yeah…sorry to anyone on my list who reads this, the gig may be up as to what you’ll be receiving this year.) But I digress! Let’s take a look at some treats that would make anyone on your Holiday gift list smile…There are so many good ones here I may have to include two baked treats in the baskets. I’m pretty sure no one will complain.
First up is this aptly named, Christmas Crack, from Mommy’s Kitchen. This is going in all of my baskets…If I don’t eat all of it first. This toffee bark just seems like pure heaven- Sweet, chocolatey, salty, and caramel-y.
This next feature is not a treat in itself, unless you’re into drinking vanilla extract-no judgement- but it does make a beautiful and extremely useful gift. Vanilla extract is in almost every baked treat and here’s a great how-to for making your own vanilla extract from Piece of Cake. You can also find a link to where to buy the vanilla beans you need to make the extract. There is also a recipe for vanilla sugar. What more could you need?! Yum!
Image from Piece of Cake
Up next is this Lemon Meringue Toffee from Wholesome Ireland. I’ll admit, this looks a little advanced (maybe just for me, a very novice baker), but boy oh boy does it look worth it. And how refreshing is it to see a little bit of lemon in the sea of super rich deserts we usually find this time of year? Also, it looks really beautiful and would make a great holiday gift!
Image from Wholesome Ireland
Alcohol, how did you sneak in here?! Here we have a cool recipe for Homemade Limoncello from Diane Abroad. A classic Italian liquor, this would make a great gift for any one on your list who is into cocktails. Great alone as a desert digestif, or mixed into a cocktail, this is sure to please and impress.
Image by Diane Abroad
The next awesome Holiday treat gift comes to us from Christina over at Small Kitchen Chronicles. This Super Duper Chocolate Toffee Crunch is absolutely perfect for a holiday gift. It seems like it would really lend itself to a variety of festive packaging and hold well…and of course it looks mouthwateringly delicious. Another awesome one Christina!
Image from Small Kitchen Chronicles
If someone gave me this next gift I would be in heaven. This Citrus Salt from Laura Friendly looks amazing and is sooo useful for the foodie in your life. I think I just dropped a hint…at myself. I hope you’re listening self, because you need to make this.
Image from Laura Friendly
And last but not least we have these salted caramels from Penguin in the Kitchen. These look adorable all wrapped up, and they feel very gourmet. Anyone would be lucky to get these as a treat!
Image from Penguin in the Kitchen
And that sums up my favorite finds for Holiday gift treats. I hope you found a few things that inspired you and helped make deciding what to give for the holidays a little bit easier. Even though handmade gifts may seem simple, there really is nothing that says, “you’re special” like giving something you made with your own two hands, a little ingenuity, and a dash of love.
Do you have any favorite handmade holiday gift ideas? I’d love to hear from you!
See you Thursday with this week’s recipe!
xoxo,
