To give someone a homemade gift is a direct offering of love, or care, or friendship. It’s solidifies the idea that how much you spend on a gesture is less important. Taking time to make something for someone, from your hands to theirs, is incredibly special. Homemade food gifts are my favorite.
1. Citrus Salts – Citrus salts are wonderful to have on hand. They are charming housewarming and holiday gifts, and are not hard to make. With a bit of advance planning, you can source beautiful vintage salt shakers and tiny jars from flea markets, Etsy, and second-hand shops like Goodwill.
2. Homemade Spice Blends – If you have favorite family spice blends, they’re great to give in festive containers along with a couple recipes to compliment. If you’re looking for more inspiration, here’s a collection of eight bold, flavor-packed spice blends.
3. Shortbread Cookies – A vintage tin of homemade shortbread cookies is a great gift or housewarming present, particularly around the holidays. Although, as a huge shortbread aficionado, making seasonal adaptations throughout the year is never a bad idea. Citrus zested as winter turns to spring, or herb variations through summer. Source cute tins, find fun ribbons, include handwritten notes. This shortbread recipe is buttery, golden, and classic.
4. Chocolate Energy Bites – For the chocolate lovers in your life. These are homemade squares of good-quality dark chocolate crammed with good stuff. I love to pack the little bars with all manner of chopped nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. Sprinkle them with things like bee or fennel pollen, crushed rose petals, sea salt, and more nuts and seeds to give them a bit of nutritional boost, and to bump up the pretty.
5. Homemade Bouillon Powder – Homemade bouillon powder is a great gift idea for all sorts of reasons. Utilitarian? Sure. But add a pretty glass jar, and couple the bouillon with a couple favorite family soup recipes – perfect useful homemade culinary gift. A lot of people agree homemade bouillon is often better than store-bought because you make it without artificial flavors or ingredients.
6. Candied Walnuts – Once you nail down a great base recipe and technique for candied walnuts you can tweak them a thousand different ways with different spices, herbs and flavors. They are simple to make and make a lovely little gift. Perfect for snacking on tossing on salads or as a holiday cheese plate component. You can also do other nuts, pecans or peanuts instead of walnuts. Or do a mixed nut blend!
7. Lovely Honey – I gift special honey like this one regularly. The key is sourcing good, raw honey, and then giving it a little twist or boost. My favorite thing to do is infuse a tiny pinch of saffron threads in a splash of almond extract. Allow it to sit for a few minutes and then stir it into a small jar of honey. The above vitamin C honey is another show-stopper favorite.
8. Peanut Butter Granola – Good granola is always appreciated. This is a favorite to gift. Using a short ingredient list of pantry basics this granola features a peanut butter and maple syrup coating that bakes beautifully into crunchy oat clusters.
9. Homemade Celery Salt – And here’s one more special salt to gift. It’s good on a wide range of things throughout the day – eggs, yogurt, soups, pastas.
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