Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Edible gift ideas {Christmas ideas 2013}

I am yet to post a savoury Christmas-themed dish, but when it comes to sweet treats and snacks...I've got you covered. 

If you're looking for edible gifts suitable for family or friends, I've got them covered too. As a bonus? Most of these ideas are vegan, but your non-vegan friends won't suspect a thing.

First: Christmas cookies




Those of you who follow me on Facebook will have seen the above collage already. It shows biscuits made to my family's classic Christmas recipe, and jointly decorated by me and my Mum and sister last weekend. The recipe never fails, and whilst the decorating is fiddly, it is a great activity to do with others.

Christmas-appropriate cookie recipes on Bite-Sized Thoughts include: 

Second: Rocky road, chocolate tiffin, or chocolate hedgehog

These related chocolate treats (if you know what one of the three is - the other two are very similar) are easy to make and can be very attractive if made and sliced neatly. I recently made a batch of nut-free rocky road with ginger, biscuit pieces and marshmallows, that were not made and sliced neatly - see below! However, even they had no trouble finding takers for their consumption.

Messy nut-free rocky road with ginger

The recipe for that rocky road is at the end of this post. For other chocolate slice ideas, you might like:
Pebble road with dried apricots

Third: Truffle balls

I know I'm a bit biased, but I don't think you can go past truffle balls for an easy, customisable, never-fail treat. This week I tried a spiced orange, date and almond batch that would be perfect for Christmas, but there are nearly 20 other varieties to choose from on my recipes page (!). Favourites of mine that I think are Christmas appropriate include:

Chocolate almond and goji berry truffle balls

As for those orange, date and almond balls, the recipe follows below.


Nut-free rocky road with ginger
Makes 16 - 20 squares
Can be vegan
No bake


Ingredients
90g (6 large) plain wheat biscuits (Digestives, Graham crackers and Nice biscuits would all work, depending on your country and what you have to hand)
1 cup vegan or regular marshmallow pieces
1/2 cup crystallised ginger
150g dark chocolate (dairy-free if vegan)

Method
Line a square baking dish with grease proof paper.

Place your biscuits in a plastic bag and bash against a hard service to roughly crush. 

Roughly chop the marshmallows and ginger into quarters.

Melt the chocolate over the stove top or on low power in the microwave, stirring regularly.

When the chocolate is melted, add in the crushed biscuits, chopped marshmallows and chopped ginger. Mix to thoroughly combine. Transfer the mixture to your baking dish and press down evenly.

Set in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, and then slice into squares to serve.


Spiced orange, date and almond balls
Makes about 16 balls
Vegan and raw


Ingredients
3/4 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup pitted dates
2 tsp orange juice
1 tsp grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla (use vanilla bean if raw)
1 tsp mixed spice (pumpkin pie spice; omit or use a raw alternative if strictly raw)

Method
Process the almonds and dates in a food processor until finely ground. Add the orange juice and zest and mixed spice and continue processing until the mixture clumps together. Roll into balls and set in the fridge or freezer before serving.

Orange, date and almond balls

I know I'm not the only one to post these sorts of round-ups, and there are plenty of other ideas out there too. If you're keen for some non-edible suggestions, also check out this round up of eco friendly gift ideas on Cityhippyfarmgirl for some unique and meaningful possibilities.

Do you have favourite edible gifts for this time of year (or any time of year)?

24 comments:

  1. So many yummy ideas here Kari! I especially love tiffin but haven't made it for years.
    Those orange, date and almond balls are just calling out for a chocolate coating ;)

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  2. These all look absolutely wonderful! I'm so delighted to see that I'm not the only Vegan who likes real sugar in Christmas treats : )

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    1. Thanks Anna - and you are definitely in good company with me :-)

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  3. These are great, Kari and there are so many wonderful hostess gifts and thank you presents. I love to give and receive homemade touches. I love how you've decorated your biscuits - such great variety and they're so festive and pretty xx

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  4. Your biscuits are just gorgeous - I have icing envy - keep meaning to do some biscuits and still have it on my to do list. How long do your cookie last and how long does the icing take to set hard? You have a great range of recipes for gifts and I have enjoyed visiting a few of the your gifts of years past

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    1. I think your icing envy probably relates to the biscuits my Mum decorated :-) She did all the snowmen and is far more sophisticated than I am in decorating skills! As for the icing, it sets quite quickly - it usually takes us about an hour to decorate as many as pictured and by the end of that time the first ones are touch dry. It would probably be another hour or two before I'd stack them or put anything on top of the icing, but then once they're set, they are really set. They don't need refrigeration either (the icing is just water and icing sugar so it's sturdier than buttery ones).

      I've always thought a week is safe for how long these last, iced or un-iced, but they would probably stretch to twice that with a good air tight container. The biscuits also freeze well so you can make in advance and then defrost to ice close to Christmas. The icing doesn't freeze so well as it cracks!

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  5. Yum! Oh boy, so many deliciousness in one post. You're killing me here ;). I've got my eyes on those pebble road with dried apricots and will be making them soon! Your newest truffle ball creation sounds marvelous too! I love anything with candied nuts (especially pecans) this time of the year..oh and pumpkin of course!

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    1. Now you've set off a candied pecan craving in me!

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  6. gosh, i want all of that for my christmas...
    this post made me misssing home even more!
    my fave is anything with nuts....

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    1. There is a rally for nuts happening in this comments section!

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  7. yay! They all look wonderful Kari. I'd be super happy being the receiver of any of those gorgeous gifts.

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    1. If only I could pop some on your doorstep xo

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  8. There are some terrific ideas here. I love your cookies because they are sooooo cute.

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    1. Thank you! Fortunately they're not too cute to eat ;)

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  9. You made interesting combinations of ingredients! Looking good :D

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  10. Good ideas. I need to bake some christmas-gift-cookies. Do you have any in your recipe list that are particularly well suited to being posted? That is, sturdy?

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    1. I have to confess that I haven't posted any of them - but I think the iced spice biscuits we make each year (veganised as shown in http://www.bitesizedthoughts.com/2011/12/christmas-cookies-usborne-first.html ) would work well. They are sturdy, last at least a week without refrigeration, and the icing sets hard or you could leave them un-iced as they're great plain too :-)

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    2. Awesome. And the fact that you make them in hot Perth means I should be able to hack it here in hot Townsville. Off to make a batch now!

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    3. Great! I hope they went well, and reach their destination happily too :-)

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  11. Love your ideas! Your Xmas cookies look gorgeous! The chocolate thumbprint cookies and the choc fudge balls have caught my eye, must make those ... Love the idea of rocky road too if I can get my hands on some vegan marshmellows

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    1. Thanks Kate! I've only ever been able to get vegan marshmallow mix, from which you make up your own mallows. However, Vegan Online does have a ready made pack you can order for shipping anywhere in Australia (http://www.veganonline.com.au/chocolate-sweets/sweets#product), which makes me think that some actual store, somewhere, must stock them too!

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