cherish405 asked:
What edible Christmas gifts do you make? Do you have recipes that you are willing to share? What recipes can be made and used for edible Christmas gifts to give to friends and family?
What edible Christmas gifts do you make? Do you have recipes that you are willing to share? What recipes can be made and used for edible Christmas gifts to give to friends and family?
Please include recipes if possible. Thanks.
One year for Christmas I made flavored oils for my family.
Save wine bottles! Prefer clear. Get some Goo Gone from a store to take the lables off. Get them as clean as possible.
You can also use whatever bottles you have that cork.
Fill the bottles half way with olive oil. Stick in it whole sprigs of thyme, whole garlic cloves, sun dried tomatoes, and some dried herbs. Get it a shake and cork it tightly. Push the cork in as far as possible.
The new rubber-like corks work best —usually found in white wine bottles. Start drinkin’ the white wine!!!
They look so pretty and everyone loves cooking with it.
we dont celebrate christmas but a friend of mine last year gave me a pair of earings in a biscuit jewellery box.
she made 6 squares of the same size and stuck them like a box using 5 and made a lid out of the one. she decorated it with icing and it looked so pretty i just couldnt bring myself to eat it so i painted it all over with clear varnich and have it on my dresser.
These cookie mixes in a jar are popular – it’s all the dry ingredients in a Mason jar and the recipient provides, egg, vanilla and butter.
Almond brittle
1 tsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp water
175g granulated sugar
110g sliced blanched almonds
Oil a 23 x 5cm baking tray and set aside. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, pour in the water and sugar. Cook over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Cover the pan and bring to the boil. Leave covered until condensation washes down the sides of the pan. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the sugar turns amber in colour. Quickly stir in the almonds and pour onto greased baking sheet.
Spread out evenly and leave to cool. When cool, break the brittle into small pieces and wrap in greaseproof paper, then gift-wrap in a pretty box ready for giving. The brittle should be stored in a cool dry place and will last for about a week.
Jams, preserves and marmalade usually goes well as gifts;
Green pepper marmalade/jam
This is a lovely jam for having on toast. Be sure to chop the green peppers finely
4 cups of finely chopped green peppers500 ml sugar
2 ml salt2 ml fine ginger
2 ml mixed spice
Mix all ingredience in a stainless steel pot and stand for 21/2 hours. Bring to boil for about 40 minutes over a moderate heat until syrup thickens. Remove from heat and bottle while warm in sterilized bottles.
NOW THESE LOOK LIKE PLAITS WHEN DONE AND ARE EXTREMELY addictive. Once you start you find it difficult to stop eating them, but they are so popular here that folks do give them as Christmas gifts….
Koeksisters
The secret of the crisp syrupy outside of koeksisters is that they are taken straight from hot oil and dipped into ice-cold syrup. This seals the syrup outside and leaves the inside dryish in contrast.
To make the syrup, mix a liter of sugar, 5 ml cream of tartar, 2.5 ml tartaric acid and 5 ml vanilla essence or grated orange rind or cinnamon, or 1.5 ml ginger with 500 ml of water. Bring mixture to the boil and allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes or until syrupy. Set syrup aside to cool. It is advisable to make the syrup first and leave it overnight in the fridge.
To make the batter, sift 500 ml flour, 10 ml baking powder and 5 ml salt into a mixing bowl. Cut or rub 70 ml of margarine or butter into the dry ingredients. Beat an egg thoroughly and add it to 80 ml of milk. Add the egg and milk to the flour mixture, handling as little as possible. Put the dough in the fridge for at least one hour. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 4 mm. Cut into strips about 8 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. Cut each strip into three lengthwise, leaving one side uncut. Now plait the three pieces and press ends together firmly.
Pre-heat a deep pan and remove syrup from the fridge. The hot fried koeksisters must be dropped into the cold syrup. The syrup will warm up about halfway through, so divide the syrup into two bowls. Deep-fry koeksisters until golden brown, drain for a few seconds on absorbent paper and dip into cold syrup.
OR
Turkish Delight
You need:
4 cups caster sugar
1 liter water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup corn-flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
11/2 tablespoons rosewater*
red food-coloring
½ cup chopped, toasted almond kernels, skin on
1 cup icing sugar mixture
Method:
Mix caster sugar, 1 ½ cups of water and juice in medium pan. Stir over low heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Brush sugar crystals from side of pan with brush dipped in water. Simmer, uncovered, without stirring, until temperature reaches 116C on candy thermometer (softball) remover from heat.
Meanwhile, in separate medium pan, blend corn-flour and cream of tartar with enough of the remaining water to make a smooth paste. Stir in remaining water, whisk constantly over heat until mixture boils and thickens.
Gradually pour hot syrup, in a thin stream, into corn-flour mixture, whisking constantly. Simmer gently, uncovered, about 1 hour or until mixture is translucent and pale straw color. Stir occasionally during cooking.
Stir in rosewater and tint with food coloring. Mix in toasted almonds, if using. Pour and spread into greased deep 19 cm square cake pan, stand, uncovered, 3 hours or overnight.
Cut jelly into squares with an oiled knife. Coat squares in sifted icing sugar mixture.
*You can get rosewater in your local supermarket!! you should ask at the counter!!
OR
Home Made
MARSHMALLOWS
30 ml gelatine125 ml cold water
500 ml castor sugar125 ml boiling water
Pink food coloring10 ml vanilla flavoring/essence
Icing sugar to roll the marshmallows in
Spray a 2.5 L container with non stick spray. Soak the gelatine in cold water until spongy. Heat slowly until all the gelatine is dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredience except for the vanilla flavouring and icing sugar. Beat for 7 to 10 minutes with an electric beater until mixture starts to thicken. Colour with about 12 drops of food colouring and also add the vanilla essence. Mix well and place in to your prepared container that was mentioned at the start of this recipe so that the mixture lies about 1.5 cm deep in the container. Store in fridge until set completely. Cut in to squares and roll in icing sugar. This recipe delivers about 65 marshmallow blocks.