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Anyone who knows me, knows cooking is not my specialty. That’s why I’m not one of those bloggers who takes a picture of whatever masterpiece she made for dinner and shares the recipe. I can, however, bake quite well. Maybe it’s because I’m good at following the directions in a recipe. Anyway, food of (almost) any kind makes great gifts. Here’s a sampling of ideas. Click here for Part 2. On Wednesday: Stationery/albums/calendars and jewelry/personal accessories.

Part 3: From the kitchen

myrecipes.com | Howard L. Puckett

39. Bake small loaves of quick breads. Wrap them in wax paper and tie on a recipe card with baker’s twine.
Five quick bread recipes

40. Fill a basket or gift box with homemade candies or cookies.
Homemade candy recipes
Book: Cookies

41. Whip up several batches of homemade fudge—some with nuts, some without. Cut it into squares. Wrap first in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil to maintain freshness. Place in holiday tins. Creamy chocolate fudge recipe

42. Go Tex-Mex with jars of homemade salsa and a large bag of nacho chips all bundled up in a fiesta serving dish. Feliz Navidad. Chipotle salsa recipe

marksdailyapple.com

43. Select a cookbook and choose a recipe from the book. Attach a card to the front that includes the recipe name and page number. Place the cookbook and ingredients for the recipe in a basket.
Suggested book: The Primal Blueprint Cookbook

44. Make homemade sugar cookies. Decorate them with colored frosting and sprinkles. Include the recipe and cookie cutter with the gift.
Seven sugar cookie recipes

45. Prepare homemade soups or dinners that can be frozen for future use.
Homemade soup recipes

myrecipes.com | Randy Mayor; Melanie J. Clarke

46. Bake your finest pound cake, bundt cake, etc. Wrap and place it in a decorative tin.
Orange-pecan-spice pound cake recipe
Sour-cream-hazelnut bundt cake recipe

47. Select a large tart dish, fill it with the number of apples called for in an apple tart recipe along with the other ingredients and a recipe card. Or make the tart yourself.
Tarte aux pommes (apple tart) recipe

48. Fill jars in various shapes and sizes with homemade pickled vegetables, fruits, jams, and jellies. Tie squares of holiday fabric with ribbon around the lids. Canning guide and recipes

myrecipes.com | Randy Mayor; Cindy Barr

49. Make your own fortune cookies. Write the fortunes yourself, tailor-made to the person receiving them. Package them in Chinese food take-out boxes. Wrap the cookies in plastic wrap first to maintain freshness. Fortune cookie recipe

50. Give a jar gift. Layer dry ingredients for brownies, cookies, cakes, soups, cornbread, etc. in a quart-size canning jar. Decorate and attach instructions.
Eight homemade gifts in a jar recipes
Soup mixes
More jar recipes
Even more jar recipes

51. Bake a carrot cake directly in a Christmas tin. It’s one of my aunt’s specialties. Carrot cake recipe

craftynest.com

52. Put together a book of favorite family recipes. Create your own binder or book or submit the recipes to a professional cookbook printing service.
Cookbook printers: Tastebook, Create My Cookbook, Morris Press Cookbooks

53. Make large gingerbread men and women cookies. Decorate them with frosting and candies. Package a gingerbread man and a woman together with a little note that says “‘We wish you a Merry Christmas.”
Large gingerbread man cookie cutter
Large gingerbread woman cookie cutter

sunset.com | David Prince

54. Give cocoa in a jar. Layer the ingredients for an attractive presentation. Or try my mother’s not-so-attractive-but-yummy hot chocolate recipe: In a large bowl, mix together 1 lb. Nestle Quick powder, 11 oz. instant creamer (dry), 1 lb. powdered sugar, and 25 oz. box of instant milk.
Four cocoa in a jar recipes

55. Make flavored vinegars, which add zest to salads, soups, sauces, and stews. Give a food lover different flavors with edible flowers, fruits, or vegetables floating in the bottles. Flavored vinegar tips and recipes

56. Create a menu of various culinary delights (e.g. Tantalizing Thai, Mexican Fiesta, etc.) and have the gift recipient choose one of the options for you to make for him or her.
Thai recipes
Mexican recipes

The list continues on Wednesday with numbers 57 through 76.