Looking for simple suggestions to bake for "christmas presents" to deliver next week

[Lisa loves Pooh]

DH's family finally cancelled gift exchanges and we hit an economic pinch anyway.

I had planned on baking something to give.

Was wondering if anyone had any simple ideas that were hits with whomever you gave them to.

I will mention that we do own cookie cutters and we do own a spritz gadget from pampered chef that I have never been able to figure out. (made their recipe one year and coudln't get the stupid thing to squeeze out the dough).

Other than that snafu, we are pretty good baking in the kitchen.

[monkeybug]

I have two extremly affordable gifts that went over well last year. We gave them as neighbor gifts and little extras for family, so I don't know if they are good enough "stand alone" gifts.

Christmas potpourri- an orange, lemon, apple, and cinnamon sticks in a clear cellophane bag with a few packets of mulling spices (I found some with Christmas scenes on them) Tie the bag off with a pretty Christmas bow and some greenery (I got pine and holly from trees in the yard) and a pretty tag (used Christmas scrap paper) with instructions to slice and put it and the cinnamon and mulling spices into a pot or crock pot and simmer on low. Makes the house smell oh so yummy!!

Good luck nest- Buy Spanish moss from a craft store (cheap!) shape into a small nest (you could probably get 5 or 6 nests from one bag of moss) spray with glitter (the kind in a spray paint can, but with out paint in it) and clip or glue on a Christmas bird (Micheal's has them for a dollar in the floral area) Put in a clear bag and tie with pretty bow. Attach this-
Christmas legend say's a nest in your tree means good luck the whole year through! We hope this one brings a Merry little Christmas and a lucky New year too!

[monkeybug]

I'm such a dork! I totally didn't even remember when I was typing my reply that you wanted baking ideas! I need more coffee!!!

We made my dad caramels once that he loved!
People love the pies we bake in jars! They are always a hit because I think most people have never seen them before.
Homemade hot fudge sauce and peppermint sauce with some little bags of toppings and a $5 gift card for ice cream are good family gifts.
We made our own popcorn buckets one year. Caramel with chocolate covered nuts, Parmesan, and cinnamon (this is a coated popcorn like caramel, but you use red hots instead of brown sugar. It's a nice bright red color) were the flavors we made.
Cookie mixes in jars are cute and easy.
Cake in a coffee cup is cute and cheap! You can buy the cheap Christmas mugs (usually a dollar) and the recipient of the gift microwaves the cake to bake it in the mug!

I have lot's more if want any more. We always do homemade gifts and 9 times out of 10 it's something from the kitchen!

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I think anything you bake by hand will be a hit. But if you are looking for specific recipes, here are a few of my favorites:

Turtle Bars
Preheat oven @ 350degrees

In an ungreased 9x13 pan combine 2 cups flour, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup margarine. Pat firmly on the bottom to make a crust. Sprinkle once cup chopped nuts (I use pecans) on top of crust. Put aside.

In a pot melt and boil for one minute 2/3 cup butter/margarine and 1/2 cup brown sugar.

Pour over crust and bake 18-22 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips on top. Once melted, use a spatula to swirl. Wait until totally cooled before cutting.


Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Top layer
8 ounces sour cream
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar. Stir in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla. Spoon into cupcake pans to fill about 2/3 to 3/4 full.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

To make the sour cream topping, whisk together the sour cream, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Spoon into the well on the top of each cupcake.

Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes, until set.

Set cupcake pans on racks to cool, do not remove cupcakes from the pan until they are completely cool. For a finishing touch, you can add a dollop of your favorite pie filling on top or Christmas style decorations.

[3prettyprincesses]

Originally Posted by Lisa loves Pooh

DH's family finally cancelled gift exchanges and we hit an economic pinch anyway.

I had planned on baking something to give.

Was wondering if anyone had any simple ideas that were hits with whomever you gave them to.

I will mention that we do own cookie cutters and we do own a spritz gadget from pampered chef that I have never been able to figure out. (made their recipe one year and coudln't get the stupid thing to squeeze out the dough).

Other than that snafu, we are pretty good baking in the kitchen.

I have the same Pampered Chef cookie spritz and can't make mine work properly either!

For Christmas, we always bake chocolate crinkle cookies, snickerdoodles, blondies and soft ginger cookies. I bake them with my 3DD's and we give them out as gifts to neighbors, teachers and friends.

Let me see if I can find the links...

chocolate crinkles
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocola...II/Detail.aspx

soft ginger cookies
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Big-Sof...es/Detail.aspx

snickerdoodles
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/desserts/snickerdoodles/

[live4christp1]

Lots of ideas here:

http://www.northpole.com/kitchen/Cookbook/

[Kae]

White Trash, chex Mix or Puppy Chow. Muffins or breads.

Kae

[lynxstch]

Originally Posted by monkeybug

I'm such a dork! I totally didn't even remember when I was typing my reply that you wanted baking ideas! I need more coffee!!!

We made my dad caramels once that he loved!
People love the pies we bake in jars! They are always a hit because I think most people have never seen them before.
Homemade hot fudge sauce and peppermint sauce with some little bags of toppings and a $5 gift card for ice cream are good family gifts.
We made our own popcorn buckets one year. Caramel with chocolate covered nuts, Parmesan, and cinnamon (this is a coated popcorn like caramel, but you use red hots instead of brown sugar. It's a nice bright red color) were the flavors we made.
Cookie mixes in jars are cute and easy.
Cake in a coffee cup is cute and cheap! You can buy the cheap Christmas mugs (usually a dollar) and the recipient of the gift microwaves the cake to bake it in the mug!

I have lot's more if want any more. We always do homemade gifts and 9 times out of 10 it's something from the kitchen!

I have never heard of 'pies baked in a jar'..sounds very intriguing..would you share?
also..homemade hot fudge and peppermint sauce?..please share?..
these all sound like great ideas I could use this year..also on a very limited budget here..my husband has to come up with simple gift ideas for the 10 people on his staff!
Thanks in advance..Happy Holidays!
Lynn

[golfgal]

What about home made hot chocolate mix or Russian Tea mix? I don't have recipies for either, sorry, but our neighbor makes those for everyone at Christmas.

[live4christp1]

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food...ist=gdf&kw=ist

Here's some more ideas.

[HM]

My first year of marriage we had no money. I made bread wreaths for everyone. Looked special and festive and wasn't too hard.

[princess momma]

Here's a link to pie in a jar. I've always wanted to try it.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/09/...ie-in-jar.html

[etoiles]

I have made this banana nut bread in a jar before and it turned out really nice! I wrapped a ribbon around it and gave it with a little decorative spreader and a jar of jam. The recipe was easy. Just make sure the jars will fit in the oven before you heat it up so you don't have to try and move the racks while everything is hot!

[scrapquitler]

My Mom always makes and gifts her special recipe Strawberry Bread. The recipe makes 2 loafs, so its easy to make lots. You can get a nice holiday plate at Target/Walmart, etc (or even Goodwill), put it on the plate, wrap it up nice and stick a bow on it. Add a tub of cream cheese, plain or strawberry flavored if you want. Everyone always raves about this bread everywhere Mom takes it and I've had the same reactions as well.

Strawberry Nut Bread

3 c flour
2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 stp baking soda
4 eggs
1 1/4 c oil
1/2 c chopped nuts (usually Mom uses walnuts, you can leave them out if you want)
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 container of frozen strawberries in syrup (usually comes in a tub or a box with metal ends), thawed

Mix the eggs, oil and strawberries. Add dry ingredients slowly. mix well after each addition. Grease 2 loaf pans and flour, pour half of batter into each pan. Bake for 75 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.

This recipe freezes well (so you can make them ahead of time!)

[FayeW]

Originally Posted by scrapquitler

My Mom always makes and gifts her special recipe Strawberry Bread. The recipe makes 2 loafs, so its easy to make lots. You can get a nice holiday plate at Target/Walmart, etc (or even Goodwill), put it on the plate, wrap it up nice and stick a bow on it. Add a tub of cream cheese, plain or strawberry flavored if you want. Everyone always raves about this bread everywhere Mom takes it and I've had the same reactions as well.

Strawberry Nut Bread

3 c flour
2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 stp baking soda
4 eggs
1 1/4 c oil
1/2 c chopped nuts (usually Mom uses walnuts, you can leave them out if you want)
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 container of frozen strawberries in syrup (usually comes in a tub or a box with metal ends), thawed

Mix the eggs, oil and strawberries. Add dry ingredients slowly. mix well after each addition. Grease 2 loaf pans and flour, pour half of batter into each pan. Bake for 75 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.

This recipe freezes well (so you can make them ahead of time!)

I am guessing that since this recipe also contains 2 c of sugar, I should buy unsweetened frozen strawberries?

I am very excited about trying this! The only other recipes I know of using strawberries are shortcake and strawberry pie.