Guest Post by Sarah from The Cozy Homebird

Buying Christmas presents always seems so exciting to me… until I start thinking of what to buy everyone. It’s so difficult knowing what to get, especially when you’ve been buying for that same person for years. There’s only so many Boots gift sets or Primark fluffy pyjamas you can buy before the receiver starts realising that you are putting absolutely no thought into their presents, or at least that’s how it looks when you buy the same thing on repeat!

This got me thinking, putting in the effort is what makes your loved ones feel special, that and something that is personalised to their taste (literally in this case).

Over the years, the presents that I’ve given that have had the most feedback have always been the homemade, edible ones! That’s why I’ve put together 3 easy examples of homemade edible Christmas gifts, and how to make them.

These homemade edible Christmas gifts are also a great activity to get your kids involved in too, and each would be a great gift idea for teachers from your child, and all the other extra people who you forget to add to your Christmas list!

Here are my top 3 easiest homemade edible Christmas gifts!

1. Christmas Cupcake Boxes

I mean who doesn’t like cupcakes?

My advice when making these would be to firstly work out who you’re making them for. If you’re making them for a few different people, then it will be easier to make different flavours than if you were only baking for 1. For example, if you want to give a box of 12 cupcakes each to 4 people, you could make each batch of 12 different, such as chocolate, vanilla, orange and lemon, and then in each box put 3 of each. You’re making 4 batches anyway, so it makes no difference, whereas if you’re only making a box for 1 person, that’s an awful lot of faff for one box of cupcakes, so it’s best to stick to one flavour.

Also, I like to make a large amount of buttercream and decorate a piped swirl on each cupcake, as it speeds the job up tremendously, and then just put a different topper or sprinkles on each one for variation.

Finally, all you need to do is place them in a cupcake box and decorate any way you like in some Christmas ribbon, and you have a perfect gift!

Recipe for a batch of 12 cupcakes:

Cupcakes
5oz caster sugar
5oz butter/margarine
4oz Self raising flour
2 eggs
2tbsp cocoa powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tsp lemon extract etc depending on flavouring (optional)


Decoration
14 oz icing sugar
7 oz butter
2tbsp cocoa powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tsp lemon extract etc depending on flavouring (optional)
your choice of toppers/sprinkles
Method
Tip – cupcakes turn out best if the mixture goes in the oven as soon as it’s mixed, so it helps to have everything ready. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees and place 12 bun cases in a bun tin and leave on the side ready to be filled with the mixture.
Firstly, place the butter/margarine and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with electric whisk or in food processor until light and fluffy.
Secondly, add the eggs and continue to mix until combined.
Add flour and continue to mix until combined.
Add your choice of flavouring, if any, and mix until combined.
Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes.
Tip – avoid opening the oven door until they are ready to take out. Check through the glass window in the oven.
Tip – when you think they are ready, you can open the oven door and press on the middle of the top of the cupcakes with your finger. If it leaves a dent in the cake, you must shut the door again swiftly and bake for longer. If it springs back up then the cupcakes are ready to be taken out of the oven.

2. Truffles

These are amazing as homemade edible Christmas gifts, and can be made to look extremely luxurious. If you want them to look fancy, you can buy truffle boxes and truffle cases from eBay and Amazon, then you could wrap the box in ribbon. However, if you want to save money, a cheaper option would be to buy cellophane truffle bags, which you could also purchase from eBay and Amazon, and simply tie some curling ribbon around the top.

This is just a basic chocolate truffle recipe, to keep everyone happy. In my experience, having the combination of milk and dark chocolate means the dark chocolate haters still like it as the milk chocolate balances it out, and vice versa, and if you like both, well, happy days!

Again, you could add flavouring if you want to, or even add some liqueur if you know the receiver will like it!

Ingredients
100g milk chocolate
100g dark chocolate
200ml double cream
a pinch of salt
30g butter
your choice of coating

Method
Firstly, chop both chocolates into pieces and place in a bowl over a pan of water over a low heat on the hob with the butter. Melt slowly whilst stirring and avoid the chocolate over heating and sticking to the bowl.
Add a pinch of salt to bring out the flavour.
Once the chocolates are completely melted, pour in the double cream whilst carefully whisking by hand.
When everything is combined, place the bowl in the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours. You can leave over night with clingfilm on if that’s easier.
After 2+ hours, remove the bowl from the fridge and use a teaspoon or a very small ice cream scoop to scoop out small pieces of the size truffle you want and place them on a sheet of greaseproof paper.
Use your hands to roll the pieces into balls.
Next, take whatever your choice of topping is and roll the truffle balls in to coat them, such as cocoa powder, hazelnuts, coconut etc.
Place them back in the fridge until your ready to bag or box them up.

3. Candy Cane Bark

If you’re not much of a baker, then this is the one for you! There’s no fiddly decorating, or crucial oven timing involved, it’s simply melting some chocolate and throwing on some decoration (in this case, chopped candy cane)… yet it’s so effective!

Ingredients
600g chocolate of your choice
20 candy canes (or any other sprinkles/toppings you’d prefer)

Method
To prepare, line a standard baking tray with greaseproof paper, and chop your candy canes and prep any other sprinkles/toppings you’re using so that they’re ready to sprinkle over when the chocolate is melted.

Firstly, melt the chocolate slowly in a bowl over a pan of water, over a low heat on the hob.
Once the chocolate is completely melted, pour it into the baking tray, making sure all corners are filled.
Next, take your chopped Candy canes and sprinkle over the top of the melted chocolate.
Place in the fridge to set before breaking or cutting into shards and bagging up.

About the Author

I’m Sarah, a twenty-something year old Homebird in the North East, UK, with a love for food and family! The Cosy Homebird is my food and lifestyle blog where I love to share sweet recipes, family meals and activities, along with ideas for the home and seasonal holidays!

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