Home Made Christmas Hampers and Homemade Food Gifts

As regular readers will no doubt have gathered I am passionate about preserving and making home made food.  I had a recipe for a smashing Christmas Chutney which I have used over the years but at the time of writing this post I cannot locate it.  It has grewy legs and walked!  It will turn up but whether that will be this year or next is another matter so I needed a substitute and fast.

I came up with a Christmas Chutney on the Olive website - the link is below, however that same link outlines quite a lot of other goodies that could be rustled up to eat over Christmas or to give as part of a homemade hamper to relatives and friends.  Bring a bit of the Christmas tradition back and also the love and joy, and less commercialism.  As I have said before each year I aim for that little bit less commercialism and more back to a Victorian style Christmas (although less austere).  My weakness is good quality Christmas decorations as you have perhaps surmised!

Anyway, I have wandered off my theme again.  The link to the Olive website and the recipes is here. 

Olive Homemade Food Gifts

Throughout the main preserving season or when it is most manic I decide whether I am making an extra batch of something to include in my Christmas hampers so the contents build up gradually and I can give more choice on the contents.  I search around for small crates, baskets or boxes - wrap the boxes in pretty Christmas paper and once the contents are in add cellophane and ribbons and a label.  I search for these throughout the year.  You can also customise a hamper for an individual to form a pamper pack, a DVD pack, a Treats pack etc.

Personally since I was knee high to a gnat there was always a tin of Quality Street and Roses to eat over the Christmas period.  There was always a rule no sweeties until the afternoon after Christmas lunch.  Mum was not going to go to all the trouble of cooking a fantastic lunch for us not to eat it.  So that rule was firmly in place. Dad always (as well as mum) enforced that rule.  It was a good discipline. 

However in recent years since Cadburys were sold off the chocolate used in them seems far too sweet and the flavourings have changed.  I am a great fan of why meddle with it if it is not brock (broken).  So I am thinking if I am at home and I have more time this year I want to get back to making some of the sweeties like home made Coconut ice, Rum Truffles, Turkish Delight, homemade Florentines, Cantucci, Amaretti, Chocolate Fruit and Nut Salami  myself.  You get far  more for your money this way on and with the aid of some pretty bags these can be home made and decorated yourself or bought they can be made to look really nice.

Some of the recipes that are on the website include the following:

Blackberry Whisky

Muscovado Fudge

Gin and Tonic Dib Dabs

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza

Baileys Chocolate Tiffin

Homemade Christmas Chutney

Pistachio and Cranberry Cantucci

Homemade Sriracha

Sweet  Miso Caramels

Homemade Aperol and Red Grapefruit marmalade

Sour Cherry Stollen bars

Cherry and Pistachio Block

Spiced Christmas Biscuits

Salted Cashew Nut Brittle

Homemade Chocolate Truffles

Chocolate dipped Honeycomb

Dan Doherty's Chestnut Truffles

Clementine, Ginger and Bay Gin

Cranberry and Ginger Tiffin

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

Dark Chocolate Florentines

Little Candy Canes

Spiced Maple Cashew Bark

Baileys and White Chocolate Fudge

Ginger Shortbreads

There are of course other recipes out there and it is down to personal taste and choice.  Some people do not like homemade items.  However I am of the view that people who make pressies for other people give so much more of themselves than a bought item - that item is made with love (and sometimes down to costs) to be able to give a decent present.  Myself, I am quite happy for this type of present, and for beautiful second hand home things like glassware Cake Stands, glasses, baking moulds etc, but not everyone is.  I think when it comes to making presents for certain people you will have to weigh up their character and then just buy a little something if they do not fit the criteria.

I hope that this has given you a few ideas and the opportunity to gather your planned recipes for Christmas so once you start preserving, sweet making, baking etc. that all your recipes are in the one place and that you can plough through them one after another.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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