16 unique ideas for homemade holiday and hostess gifts, from spiced nuts to pickles to flavored liqueurs.
Triple-Tart Cranberry Butter
Great on anything from breakfast biscuits to turkey sandwiches, this fruity, tart spread makes the most of the season’s fresh cranberries.
Kira’s Coffee Liqueur
This recipe for homemade coffee liqueur was developed by longtime Cafe Grumpy employee Kira Birney, who makes the drink each year around the holidays to share with friends and family. The liqueur infusion is ready after one month, but age tempers the sweetness and improves flavor. Use freshly roasted espresso for best results. See the recipe for Kira’s Coffee Liqueur »
Sour Cherry Compote
This syrupy compote is perfect as a topping for ice cream, yogurt, and pound cake, or you can use the cherries as a garnish for a fancy whiskey sour. The recipe is written for a small batch, but quadrupled will yield enough compote to fill 6 half-pint jars. Unprocessed, the compote will keep refrigerated for two weeks, or you can opt to process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. See the recipe for Sour Cherry Compote »
Sour Mix
For a cocktail lover, nothing beats fresh, homemade sour mix. A refrigerated bottle will keep for about two weeks—but we doubt it will last that long.
Even More Handmade Food Gifts
See 8 more recipes for edible gifts, developed by Marisa McClellan of [Food in Jars, including hand-chopped garlic salt, homemade vanilla extract, pickled cranberries, and boiled cider syrup. Get the recipes »
Candied Orange Peels
Candied orange peels add an element of surprise to a nicely-wrapped tin filled with the more typically-gifted homemade truffles, toffee, or fudge. See the recipe for Candied Orange Peels »
Spiced Red Wine Vinegar
If you plan to make this red wine vinegar from scratch, you’ll need to start this recipe at least a month in advance. For the short-cut version, decant your favorite vinegar into decorative bottles filled with the star anise, cinnamon sticks, orange zest, cloves, and allspice, and allow to sit for at least one week. See the recipe for Spiced Red Wine Vinegar
Brandied Cherries
This gem of a recipe comes for Patty LaNoue Stern’s Cherry Home Companian, and couldn’t be easierall you need is time. Stern recommends letting the cherries macerate in brandy and sugar in your refrigerator for six weeks, but we’ve found they still taste delicious after only a few weeks or a month (just let your giftees know that flavor improves with age). The brandy-syrup can be enjoyed in tiny cordial glasses, as a garnish or layered in other cocktails, or as a topping for desserts. See the recipe for Brandied Cherries »
Lemon Confit
Lemon confit brightens a variety of dishes, from broiled fish to chicken with olives to any simple salad. This recipe makes enough to fill a pint-sized jar so multiply by as many jars as you wish to gift. Refrigerated, will keep for three weeks. See the recipe for Lemon Confit »
Berbere Spice Blend
Berbere is a complex, tangy-hot chile blend central to Ethiopian cooking, used on everything from Kifto (Beef Tartare) to Misr Wot (Lentil Stew). If the recipients of your gift are familiar with Ethiopian food they will surely appreciate the trouble you went to to make it by hand, and if berbere is new to them they’ll appreciate being introduced to the delicious spice blend. Kept in airtight tins, will keep for six months. See the recipe for Berbere »
Cranberry-Ginger Chutney
This jammy chutney gets a boost from chopped celery and tart apples. Double the recipe to yield six 8-oz jars, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Delicious with roasted meats or vegetables. See the recipe for Cranberry-Ginger Chutney »
Libby’s Bread and Butter Pickles
Former SAVEUR kitchen intern Libby Redmond makes these pickles with her mother, Celia, at their home in Napier, New Zealand. Divide the pickles and brine among 8 oz jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. See the recipe for Libby’s Bread and Butter Pickles »
