There are so many treats you can make in your kitchen to give as gifts this Christmas. Wondering where to start? Here we give you some ideas for homemade Christmas gifts from the kitchen. Friends and family are guaranteed to love them.
Make your own Santa's Trash cookies
Ingredients for 20 servings:
230g butter, softened
100 g granulated sugar
90g packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
250 g Allzweckmehl
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
30g crushed potato chips
30 g crushed pretzels
200g semi-sweet chocolate chips
30g red and green sprinkles
Flaked sea salt, for garnish
Instructions for preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line two baking trays with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with a hand mixer until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until well blended.
- In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Gently fold in most of the potato chips, pretzels, chocolate chips and sprinkles (reserve some for pressing on the cookies).
- Using a medium cookie scoop, place dough balls (about 2 tablespoons per ball) onto the prepared baking sheets.Every cookiepress lightly to flatten, then press remaining potato chips, pretzels, chocolate chips, and sprinkles onto top. Sprinkle with flaky salt.
- Bake until the edges just begin to turn golden, 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Store the cookies in a resealable container for up to 1 week.
Homemade Christmas presents from the kitchen: Christmas fondant
Ingredients for 12 servings:
Kochspray
380g chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons cream
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons Christmas sprinkles
Instructions for preparation:
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the chocolate, evaporated milk, butter, cream, vanilla and salt together. Stir until mixture is smooth, then pour into prepared pan.
- Sprinkle with sprinkles and leave for 2 hoursin the fridgeuntil it is firm. Cut into squares to serve. So simple homemade Christmas gifts from the kitchen can create real joy for your friends!
Simple and delicious thumbprint cookies
Ingredients for 35 servings:
150 g Allzweckmehl
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
180g butter, softened
100 g granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
100 g various jams, for filling the cookies
Instructions for preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line two baking trays with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
- In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. eggand vanillaStir in, then stir in the dry ingredients in two steps.
- Using a small cookie scoop, place balls on the prepared baking sheets. Press a thumbprint into the center of each ball, about 1cm deep. Fill with a small spoonful of jam.
- Bake until the edges of the cookies are golden, 13 to 14 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheets before serving.
Making Oreo truffles for Christmas
Ingredients for 12 servings:
1 pack of Oreos
240 g cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
320g white chocolate chips, melted
2 Tablespoons Coconut beer
80g semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions for preparation:
- Grind the cookies into fine crumbs in a food processor. Place all but 2 tablespoons of crushed cookies in a medium bowl. Add cream cheese and vanilla and mix until evenly combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small cookie scoop, form small balls out of the mixture. Place on the prepared baking sheet and freeze until slightly set, about 30 minutes.
- A few minutes before removing the frozen balls from the freezer, melt the white chocolate andthe coconut oil: Place the white chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir. If the chocolate is not yet melted, turn the microwave back on at 30-second intervals.
- Dip the frozen balls into the melted white chocolate/coconut oil until coated and place back on the baking sheet. Drizzle with semisweet chocolate. Freeze until chocolate hardens, about 15 minutes.
Homemade salted caramels for the holidays
Ingredients for 24 servings:
Cooking spray, for the pan
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
180g whipped cream
60g water
80g syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
200g sugar
Flaked sea salt, for garnish
Instructions for preparation:
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper and spray generously with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine butter and cream andin the microwaveheat until the butter is completely melted. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine water, vanilla, corn syrup, and sugar and stir gently. Bring to a boil and place a candy thermometer in the pot. Cook until the mixture reaches a deep golden color.
- Slowly add the cream mixture to the pot, stirring after each addition. This causes the temperature of the mixture to drop dramatically. Bring the mixture to 110°C and remove from heat. Pour into the prepared baking pan.
- Let the dough cool for 15 minutes before sprinkling with sea salt. Let cool for another 3 to 4 hours, then cut into caramels and wrap in wax paper.