The wait for Christmas has officially started, which in my case means, that I’ll be setting the mood with mulled wine, gingerbread cookies, candles, and classic Christmas tunes. Christmas and December is also code for fun evening get-togethers and Christmas parties, to which, it is part of good manners to bring a little something with ya. You can never go wrong with a bottle of wine, but I like to make it a bit more personal with a Christmas-themed snack.
Edible gifts won’t get left unused to take up closet space and you really can’t go wrong. Just make sure to check for any dietary restrictions and allergies! I gathered a list of some of my favorites, which has a little something for everyone.
Gift idea: Spicy Apple Mulled Wine
A bottle of wine or mulled wine is a classic gift for a dinner party. To take it to the next level, make the mulled wine yourself! Apple juice is boiled with Christmas spices – cinnamon sticks, cardamom, ginger, and carnation combine a wonderful flavor for mulled wine. You can also spike the drink a bit or, in addition to the homemade mulled wine, give the host of the party their favorite bottle of alcohol. Pour your mulled wine into a beautiful glass bottle and decorate it with some ribbons and a small card.
Spicy Apple Mulled Wine
About 1 liter
Active: 10 min
Passive: 40 min
2 cm piece of fresh ginger
1 liter of apple juice
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp of whole cardamom
2 carnations
1 star anis
1 tbsp of honey
Peel the ginger and cut it into pieces. Pour the apple juice into a pot, add the spices, and bring to a boil. Boil the mixture on medium heat for 40-60 minutes – the longer you let it boil, the more flavorful your mulled wine will be. To finish it off, sweeten with honey. Taste the mixture and add more honey if needed.
Gift idea: Crackers, piece of tasty cheese, and a jar of jam
This is the perfect gift for all the cheese lovers out there! Go to a well-equipped grocery store, pick out a piece of high-quality cheese and grab a jar of jam as well. Fig jam is a classic, but cherry jam works so well with white cheese, for example. Add a pack of store-bought or homemade crackers, or gingerbread cookies to go with the theme, to your gift bag, and you are done!
Gift idea: Cookie Batter Granola in a jar
Cookie batter granola is a sweet, sticky, and soft granola which goes perfectly in a bowl with cowberries and oat milk. Give a jar of this healthy treat to someone who loves a healthy breakfast option or to someone who’s always on the go – granola is easy to take with you to work or school! Pour the granola in a nice 1-liter glass jar and decorate with ribbons and a small card. Recipe is down below.
Cookie Batter Granola
About 1 liter
Active 10 min
12 fresh dates
4 tbsp of almond butter
4 dl of oats
4 tbsp of coconut flakes
4 tbsp of buckwheat grains
1 dl of hazelnuts, pecans, or walnuts
1 tsp of cinnamon
Dash of sea salt flakes
Remove the stones from the dates and mix the dates with the almond butter in a blender to make a paste. Add the oats, coconut flakes, nuts, buckwheat, and spices. Blend quickly, so that the ingredients mix, but you’ll still have some crunch left. Store in an airtight glass jar.
Gift idea: Italian Biscotti biscuits
Italian Biscotti biscuits are sophisticated, bitter almond and Amaretto-flavored hard biscuits, that go along well with a dessert wine or strong coffee. Almond might be the main flavor, but the subtle flavor of orange peel gives the biscuits a wonderful Christmassy taste. Wrap the biscuits in cellophane and decorate with ribbons and a handwritten card. Recipe is down below.
Biscotti biscuits
Active: 20 min
Passive: 90 min 100 g unpeeled almonds
¾ dl of oat milk
½ dl of rapeseed oil
3 tbsp of Amaretto
1 dl of sugar
1 dl of powdered sugar
Dash of salt
½ an orange 1 ½ tsp of baking powder
3 dl of wheat flour
1 dl of almond flour Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix the oat milk, rapeseed oil, whiskey, sugar, powdered sugar, and a dash of salt together in a bowl. Wash the orange and grate about half of the peel. Add the orange peel and almonds into the mix. Add the flours and baking powder and mix well.
Flip the dough onto a floured surface, knead it a few times, until you have a ball-shaped dough. Shape the dough into a log with a flat surface. Place the log on an oven tray with a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Take the oven tray out and let it cool down at room temp for 30 minutes. Use a sharp knife to cut 1 cm thick biscuits. If you want the biscuits to be longer, cut them diagonally! Place the biscuits on the oven tray with the cutting surface facing down. Bake the biscuits for 7 minutes at 180 degrees. Flip the biscuits and bake for another 7 minutes – this way they will be evenly baked. Take the biscuits out of the oven and let them cool down properly. The biscuits will stay preserved for a few weeks or so in a paper bag!
Gift idea: Sourdough bread, can of bruschetta and balsamic vinegar
Do you know a person who loves bread? Me too. They’re everywhere. This is the perfect gift for them. Go to your favorite bakery to pick out some sourdough bread or bake it yourself. Now all you need to do is pair it with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and/or bruschetta sauce. If you’re feeling extra special, write the text below on a card: Pour olive oil on a plate and splatter some balsamic vinegar and salt on top. Eat the first slices of the bread by dipping them into the olive oil mix. The following day, cut the bread into thick slices, spread olive oil on both sides, and bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 200 degrees. Spoon some bruschetta sauce on top of the golden-brown slices of bread, add some fresh basil, and enjoy!
Gift idea: Sweet pistachio paste
Pistachio paste is a nice surprise and a special gift for all the nut butter lovers. The fresh green color comes from quickly cooked, peeled pistachios. Making the paste is going to be a bit tedious – peeling pistachios isn’t the quickest thing to do in the world – but the recipient will surely love and appreciate the effort you’ve gone through! Pistachio paste can be enjoyed with yogurt, Finnish rice porridge, bread, or you can even bake some pistachio cinnamon buns. Put the paste in a nice glass jar and decorate with ribbons and a card. The recipe is down below.
Sweet pistachio paste
About 3 dl
Active: 30 min 3 dl (about 200 g) of peeled pistachios
1 ½ dl of oat whipping cream
2 dl powdered sugar
¼ tsp vanilla powder
Dash of fine sea salt Bring a pot of water to a boil and pour the pistachios into cook for 2 minutes. Strain the pistachios and rinse with cold water. Peel the pistachios one by one, boiling them makes this a whole lot easier, trust me. This is not a must, but the paste will get a gorgeous green color if you go through the trouble (rhyme unintended).
Place the pistachios in a blender and mix until you have a nice paste. Add the oat whipped cream, powdered sugar, vanilla powder, dash of salt, and mix properly. Pour the paste into a glass jar and store in the fridge. Have a wonderful rest of the year and enjoy the wait for the most wonderful time of the year!