"holidaygifts" news and stories

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.

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret. Fudge is one of the easiest things in the world to make and it never fails to delight a chocolate lover. My favorite recipe requires just three ingredients - 1 pound of chocolate, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk and half a stick of butter (you can also add a couple of glugs of booze for a more adult treat). Sure, there are more complex recipes that require you to work harder, but everyone I've ever served this quick fudge to happily laps it up and then comes back for more.

Simply melt the ingredients together in double boiler until smooth and combined. While it's melting, line a 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper. When the chocolate mixture is melted, pour into the lined pan and smooth with spatula. Let sit until cool (I put it into a pan of cold water to speed the process) and then refrigerate for at least two hours to let it set. Cutting while cold will ease the process and keep the cuts smooth. Give to chocolate loving friends and family in small boxes or tins.

By this time of the year, most jammable fruit has long since left the produce and farmers markets. However, the humble pear makes a mighty good butter that's simple to prepare, delicious on toast and makes a great gift. This year, I was lucky enough to receive a gift of pears from a friend's neighbor's tree. They were a little bruised up (they were all windfall pears), but a little careful knife work left them free of spots and they cooked up some of the sweetest, evenly textured pear butter I've ever tasted.

I don't have a specific recipe for pear butter, I just chop the fruit and let it cook down in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours (I often do it overnight) until it is reduced by half. Then I run the fruit through a food mill or strainer to get rid of the skins into a smaller pot. Puree it with a hand mixer, stir in some cinnamon, nutmeg and a little lemon juice and taste for sweetness.

Sometimes pear butter is sweet enough all on its own that no sugar is required, but sometimes it needs a little perking up. Brown sugar or maple syrup plays best with the pear flavor. You can can and process if you feel comfortable doing that, or you can simply spoon the pear butter into jars and refrigerate until it's time to distribute them to friends and family. In the fridge, it will last up to a month. The more sugar you put into the butter, the longer its shelf life will be.

The picture above is from my mom's recipe book, a half-size three-ring binder that she's been filling with delicious favorites since 1970. Her granola recipe originally came from her dear friend Melinda and makes some of the best granola I've ever tasted. It is endlessly customizable and makes a wonderful holiday gift, especially because it's easy to make it in fairly large quantities.

To dress up this granola for holiday giving, I would stir in mini-chocolate chips and some dried cranberries. Seasoning the whole mix with cinnamon prior to baking is also a wonderful, seasonal way to go. I would package it canning jars or lined paper bags. Decorate with ribbon or handmade labels.

It has been my experience that you can never really have too many measuring cups. I have several sets of graduated, stacking measures, as well as some sturdy, old glass Pyrex ones that belonged to my great-grandmother. I love having multiples, because it means that I can pop them into the dishwasher after a baking project, instead of having to handwash after each round of baking (because you know that when you have just one set, you're going to need them before you get a chance to run the dishwasher).

I've always had a policy of keeping my measuring cups fairly simple, feeling like it was important to favor utility over aesthetics. However, wandering around the Home section of Anthropologie yesterday after work, I totally abandoned that position when I spotted these Matryoshka Measuring Cups*. As opposed to standard wooden stacking dolls, these are made of china and each top and bottom is sized to hold a different standard measure. They are charming, combining usefulness with whimsical design. It took everything I had not to buy them right then and there.

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