Last Minute--Gifts From the Kitchen

It wouldn't be December without me doing a quick recap of some of my favorite goodies to "gift" for the holidays. 

There are lots of delicious goodies out there, but not all of them are suitable for "gifting".  You need to have something that's not too gooey or sticky, is easily packaged, and has a decent "shelf-life" without refrigeration or specialty care.  The items I'm linking to below fit all of these criteria, with the added benefit of being quick and easy (my middle name in the kitchen) to make and take. 



First up are these cute jar mixes.  These are easy to make, easy to take, and easy to dress up with a little Christmas fabric or even wrapping paper, and ribbon.  You can give these individually, or add them to a cute gift basket of kitchen-y items, from dishtowels to gadgets.   



Next up on my list are one of my favorites--coconut macaroons. These are easy to make, smell divine both raw and while baking, and fit that "gift-y" criteria of being easy to package and to keep.  You can leave these plain, or dress them up by adding mini-chocolate chips, or dunk them in what I call "dipping chocolate" and rolling in holiday sprinkles. 

A quintessential goodie for Christmas is luscious, creamy fudge, and this microwave version is super easy to make. The main ingredient is this one is semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you could make variations by changing the flavor of chips--try milk chocolate, white chocolate, or even peanut butter chips for a variety of tastes. 

And last but certainly not least in this installment of gifts from the kitchen, is my absolute very favorite fudge--made in the microwave, it's less creamy, with a firmer, slightly grainy texture that reminds me of the old-fashioned stove-top cooked fudge of my childhood.  You know the kind--sometimes it seemed like it was never going to set up.  As a matter of fact, I remember my sister getting tired of stirring and pouring some into a buttered pan, and I remember my mom and I finally scraping it back into the pot and cooking it a little more when it never got beyond the "chocolate soup" stage.  This one is fairly fool-proof, I think, at least I've never had it not set up for me!

What goodies are you making and taking this holiday season? 

This post is linked to:

Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family
Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace

Until next time, good cooking, good eating--and good gifting!

Gifts from the Kitchen--Quick and Easy Coconut Macaroons

For my second installment in the Gifts from the Kitchen series, I'm including a cookie that's an easy, delicious addition to any gift box or goodie bag. These are not those horrible hard ridge squares that passed for coconut macaroons in my childhood. Chewy in the middle, crunchy around the edges, they're like a taste of sweet lightness with every bite.

Ya'll know that "quick and easy" is my middle name when it comes to recipes--I had no idea that coconut macaroons were so easy to make, but for some reason I felt so impressed myself when I first made them a couple of years ago.

Ingredients:

• 1 14 oz pkg sweetened flake coconut




• 2/3 c sugar




• 6 T flour




• 1/4 t salt




• 4 egg whites




• 1 t almond extract (I used vanilla)

The recipe I used stated to mix everything together in a bowl--it works better to get all of the ingredients evenly distribued and incorporated if you mix the last five ingredients first, then add in the coconut.

Placing heaping spoonfuls on your prepared cookie sheets. The hardest part was trying the mounds all close to the same size. (This will be easier if you have a cookie scoop.)

Bake at 325 degrees for 17-20 minutes.

This is not really a batter, it has the texture of a wet pile of coconut--but it smells wonderful. And tastes pretty good, even uncooked. Warning--it's extremely sticky, even after you lick your fingers. Don't ask me how I know this.

At this point, they smell so very heavenly. Remove from the baking sheet to a rack to cool.

The first time I made these, I followed the original recipe recommendation to grease and flour the cookie sheets. Can you see how the flour on the baking sheet starts to brown? When you take the cookies off, the spatula leaves big strokes of messed up flour. So you have to wash the cookie sheet before you can re-use it, but instead of greasing and flouring it again...


...come to your senses and use parchment paper instead.

This recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies.

They're just enough different from the usual cookies and candy that we all make at this time of the year to be a welcome change!

What goodies are you baking this holiday season?

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

This post linked to:

Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum

Recipe Swap at the Gocery Cart Challenge

Sweet Tooth Friday at Alli'n Son

Home for the Holidays Cookie Swap at It's a Blog Party

Gifts from the Kitchen--Quick and Easy Coconut Macaroons

For my second installment in the Gifts from the Kitchen series, I chose a cookie that's unusual for me, especially in a homemade version.

Ya'll know that "quick and easy" is my middle name when it comes to recipes--this recipe is no exception, but I am so impressed with myself for making these--I had no idea that coconut macaroons were so easy to make, and oh, my, are they wonderful. These are not those horrible hard ridged squares that passed for coconut macaroons in my childhood. Chewy in the middle, crunchy around the edges, they're like taking a bite of sweet goodness that I can't even describe.

Ingredients:

• 1 14 oz pkg sweetened flake coconut
• 2/3 c sugar
• 6 T flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1 t almond extract (I used vanilla)

The recipe I used stated to mix everything together in a bowl--it works better to get all of the ingredients evenly distribued and incorporated if you mix the last five ingredients first, then add in the coconut.

Placing heaping spoonfuls on your prepared cookie sheets. The hardest part was trying the mounds all close to the same size. (This will be easier if you have a cookie scoop.)

Bake at 325 degrees for 17-20 minutes.

This is not really a batter, it has the texture of a wet pile of coconut--but it smells wonderful. And tastes pretty good, even uncooked. Warning--it's extremely sticky, even after you lick your fingers. Don't ask me how I know this.

At this point, they smell so very heavenly. Remove from the baking sheet to a rack to cool.

The first time I made these, I followed the original recipe recommendation to grease and flour the cookie sheets. Can you see how the flour on the baking sheet starts to brown? When you take the cookies off, the spatula leaves big strokes of messed up flour. So you have to wash the cookie sheet before you can re-use it, but instead of greasing and flouring it again...


...come to your senses and use parchment paper instead.

This recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies.

I think they make a good addition to any goodie bags or boxes you're making up this holiday season. They're just enough different from the usual cookies and candy that we all make to be a welcome change!

What goodies are you baking this holiday season?

This post is linked to:

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace

Recipe Swap at Prairie Story

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!

Gifts from the Kitchen--Quick and Easy Coconut Macaroons

For my second installment in the Gifts from the Kitchen series, I chose a cookie that's unusual for me, especially in a homemade version.

Ya'll know that "quick and easy" is my middle name when it comes to recipes--this recipe is no exception, but I am so impressed with myself for making these--almost as much as when I made my first pie crust from scratch. I had no idea that coconut macaroons were so easy to make, and oh, my, are they wonderful. These are not those horrible hard ridged squares that passed for coconut macaroons in my childhood. Chewy in the middle, crunchy around the edges, they're like taking a bite of sweet goodness that I can't even describe.

The only thing about this recipe that I'll definitely do different is the baking sheets--the recipe stated greased, floured baking sheets. The only time I've ever read to grease and flour a pan is for some cakes, but I decided to oblige and do that here. Big mistake, but I learned my lesson, as you'll see.


Ingredients:

• 1 14 oz pkg sweetened flake coconut
• 2/3 c sugar
• 6 T flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1 t almond extract (I used vanilla)

The recipe I used stated to mix everything together in a bowl--I dumped in the coconut and just added everything else on top, then mixed it up with a big spoon--I was afraid at first that I wouldn't get the ingredients evenly distributed through the mixture, but I just kept on stirring till it all came together. The next time I make these (and there will definitely be a nest time) I'll mix the last five ingredients first, then add in the coconut.

Placing heaping spoonfuls on your prepared cookie sheets. The hardest part was trying the mounds all close to the same size.

Bake at 325 degrees for 17-20 minutes.

This is not really a batter, it has the texture of a wet pile of coconut--but it smells wonderful. And tastes pretty good, even uncooked. Warning--it's extremely sticky, even after you lick your fingers. Don't ask me how I know this.


At this point, they smell so very heavenly. Remove from the baking sheet to a rack to cool.

Can you see how the flour on the baking sheet starts to brown? When you take the cookies off, the spatula leaves big strokes of messed up flour. So you have to wash the cookie sheet before you can re-use it, but instead of greasing and flouring it again...


...come to your senses and use parchment paper instead.

This recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies.

I can't wait to get home next week and make another batch for my family--my Dad, especially, loves coconut. I can see making these anytime, but wouldn't they be pretty in the springtime with just a drop or two of pastel coloring added?

I think they make a good addition to any goodie bags or boxes you're making up this holiday season. They're just enough different from the usual cookies and candy that we all make to be a welcome change.

This post is linked to:

Cookie Exchange at Hoosier Homemade

Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Tuesday at the Table at All the Small Stuff

Holiday Treats Week at the Newlyweds

Christmas Post Link Up at Southern Domestic Goddess

Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum

Our Krazy Kitchen

Be sure to come back every day this week for more goodies from the kitchen, suitable for eating--and giving!

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating!