"ediblegifts" news and stories

I have a good friend who used to bring a bowl of homemade glazed and roasted nuts to every party she attended. I would make sure to station myself near her vessel of nuts as soon as she placed them on the buffet, so to make sure I was able to gorge myself on those sweet, spicy, rosemary-flecked cashews, peanuts and pecans. Sadly, she moved out of state about a year ago, and so these days, if I want a taste of that flavor, I have to make it myself.

I think I've hit on something close to her recipe, melting together four tablespoons of butter with the same amount of maple syrup and then adding two tablespoons of recently dried, crushed rosemary (fresh is probably best, but I have a bunch from a friend's garden that I dried this summer so I've been trying to use it) and a scant 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

These gorgeous, deeply roasted nuts are sweet, crunchy, fragrant and have just a bit of a peppery kick. Once they cool, I'm planning on filling up a collection of canning jars and giving them to some of my co-workers (only the deserving ones!).

My dad's cousin used to keep chickens in her backyard and each year, she'd use some of her egg-y bounty to whip up jars of lemon curd to send out to family for the holidays. I looked forward to this jar arriving in the mail because it was essentially a little jar of lemon pie filling and I would sneak it away and eat tiny bites of it with a spoon until one of my parents caught me and took it away.

This year, I found myself with an abundance of Meyer lemons and so decided to combine their juice and zest with some good farmers market eggs and butter to make a batch of lemon curd to add to my edible gift stash. I adapted a recipe from The Martha Stewart Cookbook and got to work. It's sort of a fussy recipe, because all the lemons need to be zested and juiced and a dozen eggs needed to be divided into whites and yolks. However, once that's done, the rest is a breeze and it worth it for the giddy reaction you'll get from people when you tell them that you've got homemade lemon curd for them to spread on their morning toast. The recipe is after the jump.

When you think of good edibles for holiday giving, pancake mix doesn't naturally spring to mind. However, it's what my parents give out to their friends and family just about every year. My dad spent some time working at IHOP during the seventies and that experience with their mediocre pancake recipe led him to develop his own special blend. It's a mix of flours and whole grains, that when mixed with milk, beaten and egg and oil, turns out some truly awesome pancakes (it also makes a darn fine waffle). The recipe for Mo's Famous Pancakes (my dad's name is Morris) is after the jump.

We always gave it away packed in gallon-sized zip-top bags, with an instruction sheet tucked inside the bag. However, if you wanted to get fancy, you could also package it in wide-mouth quart size jars. If you're feeling flush, you can also give a bottle of real maple syrup along with your jar/bag of mix, but these days, that stuff is darn pricey.

Must like the Rosemary Scented Salt I mentioned earlier in the month, Vanilla Sugar is one those things that requires very little effort for a whole lot of payout. All it takes is a jar, sugar and a vanilla bean. When making vanilla sugar at home for your own use, you can use beans that you've already split and scraped for other baking projects. However, when you're giving it as a gift, it's nice to use fresh beans. They can be a little spendy, but it's possible to get some really terrific deals on vanilla beans if you shop around.

To make the sugar, lay a vanilla bean down on a cutting board. Using the tip of a paring knife, score the bean, leaving the ends intact so that it holds together but releases its fragrance and flavor. Fill a jar with sugar (I like to use the less-processed cane sugar) and nestle the vanilla bean down into the sugar. Let it sit for at least a couple days before using or gifting.

When I was growing up, Christmas time was just about the only time of year when my sister and I would be allowed to have hot chocolate. It was a super special treat and we looked forward to it with great anticipation, reminding our mom repeatedly in the weeks before the holiday to pick up the box of mix at Safeway or Fred Meyers.

Homemade hot chocolate mix makes a wonderful holiday gift, especially for families with young kids who look forward to a mug of cocoa before Santa comes to make his yearly visit. Alison Lewis has posted a terrific recipe for homemade mix on her site, Ingredients, Inc. that makes an excellent holiday gift. Packaged in pint-sized canning jars, deliciousness will ensue if you make this for your friends and family.

For more of our edible gift suggestions, click on the image below.

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