Christmas Gift Ideas - Easy Christmas Gifts From Your Kitchen

Some of the best Christmas gift ideas are heartfelt gifts from your own kitchen. There are many wonderful ideas for Christmas gifts to make that will delight friends and family alike and are not difficult at all.

Home made gifts from the kitchen appeal to young and old alike. After all, who wouldn't appreciate a tin of your trademark holiday cookies (or soon to be trademark if you start now!), or a box of sweet and crunchy nut brittle?

Here are several Christmas gift ideas that may be inexpensive but look impressive and come from the heart.

You can create a "bake a treat" gift basket with a favorite recipe (or bake a batch of the actual cookies or mini loaf the recipe is for), along with a colorful tea towel, the baking pan or muffin tin required to make the recipe, plus any other necessary utensils, such as measuring cup, stirring spoons, a citrus zester, or a whisk. Wrap it all up in cellophane with a beautiful ribbon and it will look like it came from the best kitchen shop.

Buy a pretty mug or teapot and fill it with your friends favorite homemade candies or special cookies. As with the gift basket, taking care to wrap it beautifully makes it look like it came from a specialty shop.

Homemade truffles are actually quite easy and relatively inexpensive to make. Placed individually in festive paper or foil cups and packed in a pretty gold box with a red bow, they make a very tasty and thoughtful gift, perfect to take to any gathering as a hostess thank you gift. Here is an easy recipe for chocolate truffles, perfect as a hand made gift from the heart.

Chocolate Truffles

6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon rum
cocoa

Place the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler and bring the water to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and cook until the chocolate melts.  Add the butter and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Remove from the heat.  Add the yolks, one at a time, beating with an electric mixer after each addition.  Stir in the rum.  Pour the mixture into a bowl.  Cover and let sit for 12-24 hours in a cool dry place. (Do not refrigerate).  Shape the mixture into 1 inch balls and roll them in the cocoa.  Freeze for 1 hour.   Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  

Makes about 2 dozen.

Many of us visit friends and family during the holiday season and it is always thoughtful to bring along a little something for the hostess. In addition to truffles, consider baking one or more mini loaves of your favorite sweet breads, and presenting them nicely wrapped in cellophane. It makes a much appreciated gift.

You can see that with a little creativity and just a bit of effort you can make your own unique Christmas gifts and show the special people in your life just how much you care.