There’s meaning, thought or love put into anything that involves making, baking or creating for others. To simply say thank you, celebrate, or visiting friends, turning up with something delicious always goes down a treat. So taking out some of the guessing work, I’ve put together 4 easy foodie gift ideas below for multiple occasions, all year round.
If you’re after an end of year gift for a teacher, party favours or a treat for a work colleague, I’d suggest the Brown Butter Fudge. They’re quick to make and can be easily gifted and shared around. If you’re wanting the perfect gift for a house warming, a young family who enjoy baking or Christmas, the Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Jar is not only delicious and easy to make, but also fun to put together and looks pretty impressive too. If you’re wanting to pop around to a friend’s place with a sweet tooth, pay Nana a visit or need to take a plate to a shared morning tea, the Lemon Cheesecake Moments are perfect. With the taste of home-baked nostalgia and twists of lemon, these make it hard to stop at just one with a cup of tea. If you’re staying with friends over summer, celebrating a birthday or perhaps a graduation gift, the Cherry & Pomegranate Sours DIY Cocktail Kit may go down a treat. Easy to put together and gift, you’ll want to make sure you get to try this one too!
If any of these occasions suit your needs, take a quick over the recipes and details below. Happy Gifting.
Brown Butter Fudge
- 220g Butter
- 130g Caster Sugar
- 130g Brown Sugar
- 250ml Cream
- 360g Icing Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Salt
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In a large saucepan, melt and brown butter on a medium to high heat until amber in colour.
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Add caster sugar, brown sugar, cream and bring to a boil.
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Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. To check when your fudge is ready, drip a small amount into ice cold water. If it forms into a firm yet soft ball, it’s ready.
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Remove from the heat and add vanilla and icing sugar. Mix with a hand-held beater for several minutes until crumb starts to come together.
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Press mixture into a lined loaf tin, cover and chill in the fridge.
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Once set, cut into squares and keep in an airtight container.
Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Jar
- 1L Volume Jar
- 225g Plain Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 35g Cocoa Powder
- 225g Caster Sugar
- 20g Freeze Dried Raspberries
- 170g Chocolate Chips
- 170g Butter
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
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Halve flour and fill the bottom of the jar with the first measure. Cover with cocoa, followed by the remaining measure of flour, baking powder and salt.
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Add freeze dried raspberries, making sure they are pressed firmly against the side of the jar.
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Add sugar, followed by chocolate chips.
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Attach a tag with required wet ingredients and method.
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Melt butter in a saucepan, and allow to cool slightly.
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Stir in jar ingredients, eggs and vanilla until just combined.
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Pour mixture into a lined 20cm square tin. Bake at 200°c for 20 minutes or until set.
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Chill in fridge to stop further baking.
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When cool, cut and serve. Makes 10-12 Slices
Lemon Cheesecake Moments
- 220g Butter
- 220g Plain Flour
- 85g Icing Sugar
- 85g Cornflour
- Zest of two Lemons
- 400g Icing Sugar
- 130g Cream Cheese
- Zest of two Lemons
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Cream butter with a hand-held beater for a few minutes before folding through the dry ingredients, along with the zest of two lemons.
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Roll into tablespoon sized balls and place on a lined baking tray (Roughly 20-24 balls).
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Flatten slightly with a fork and bake at 200°c for 15 minutes, or until lightly coloured.
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For the filling, beat together icing sugar, cream cheese and zest from two lemons until smooth yet firm enough to pipe a blob of filling onto the underside of half of the cooled biscuits. Sandwich together and enjoy.
Cherry & Pomegranate Sours
- 1 Bottle of Six Barrel Soda Co. Cherry & Pomegranate Syrup
- 50-60ml Bottle of Brandy
- Fresh Lemon
- Sprig of Rosemary
- 1 Tablespoon Brandy (20ml)
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice (20ml)
- 2 Tablespoon Cherry & Pomegranate Syrup (40ml)
- Ice
- Spring of Rosemary
- Pomegranate Arils (Optional)
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In a small glass, add ice, lemon juice, brandy and syrup. Stir to combine.
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Add a sprig of rosemary and pomegranate arils (optional) and enjoy.
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For added presentation, run a slice of cut lemon around the rim of the glass and dip into a saucer of sugar.
Seen these before?
You may have come across or heard of these gift ideas before. If you have, you may just be right because I originally created these recipes and gift ideas for Gather Magazine‘s (a luxe bi-annually lifestyle publication) Issue 6, Dec-Jan 2019.
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