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Hi EYBers, what is everyone making for Christmas gifts this year? One of my go tos is White chocolate, cherry and almond nougat from Holiday (page 220) by Bill Granger. 

I would love to hear what you usually make, or what you're making this year?

I start in the summer making as many kinds of jams, jellies, syrups and chutneys as strike my fancy. We have a large raspberry patch in the garden plus a row of boysenberries and Gravenstein and pear trees so I have a lot of fruit to work with even before I hit the farmers market. It is really fun to go down to the basement storeroom and start selecting an assortment of jars tailored to each recipient 's taste and dietary restrictions. So many people don't make these kinds of preserves anymore so my boxes and baskets are always a big hit. Plus they meet my main criteria for gifting the past few years - never give anything that someone will have to dust!

Originally Posted by: hillsboroks

Plus they meet my main criteria for gifting the past few years - never give anything that someone will have to dust!

I LOVE this!

Homemade candies have been the bulk of my Christmas gifts for many years now. I've branched out and made new recipes based on what I have on hand, but I almost always make fudge, chocolate covered pretzels, and chocolate truffles -- my go-to chocolate truffle recipe is this one from Lori Longbotham, minus the hazelnuts and dipped in chocolate instead of cocoa powder.

I've also made and enjoyed:

Chocolate peanut butter cup bark (and there are mint and fruit variations)

Peanut butter M&M's truffles

Peanut butter & pretzel truffles

Brownie batter truffles

Salted caramel cookie dough truffles

Nonpareils candies -- I usually make these in a silicone tray of heart molds (I have this one) -- and seasonally colored sprinikles look really nice!

Chocolate, fruit, and nut clusters -- can be made with any dried fruit or nuts. This is also a good one to use up the end of a bowl of melted chocolate from another dipped recipe! Since the clusters get scooped out with a spoon, you can make sure you don't waste any of that yummy chocolate :)

I haven't done it yet myself, but I think a jar of homemade salted caramel sauce or hot fudge sauce would also make a nice gift!

I'm not an expert at tempering chocolate, so I try to make anything dipped close to the date I am going to give them out. And I try to have a balance of last-minute/more complicated recipes and advance/easier recipes, so I'm not scrambling. I usually am working solo. so it has become a nice tradition to listen to a Christmas-themed audiobook while I bake and make candies -- I highly recommend trying it if you'd like a change from Christmas carols :)

I don't make many food gifts but for a few years now I've given frozen cookie dough to my brother-in-law.  I freeze scoops of cookie dough - generally molasses, snickerdoodles, chocolate chip.  I then put the scoops into freezer bags with baking directions written on them.  He enjoys having these in the freezer so he can bake a few anytime he wants.

My go to cooking gift would be a cooking class, in London or Paris through l'Atelier des Chefs, or else another one in Paris where you go to the market with the chef first to go and select the products first before the class. I also try to tailor it, like I would choose a Indian cooking class in London for an English-Indian guy at work who has kind of lost touch with his Indian roots.

For more "casual" gifts, I would go towards jams, chutneys just like you guys, truffles, caramel, cookies, candied fruits or that kind of things, though not this year as I will barely be home in between now and Christmas ! (business trips + family)