kattitudes

Remember that it is possible to purchase both organic and low or no sodium beef bouillon granules. If you cannot find granules, simply purchase cube and crush into granules and then measure.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups instant nonfat milk powder
3/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons instant beef bouillon granules
1/8 ground thyme
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 ground sage

Combine ingredients and store in airtight container.

Attach a tag with the following instructions:

Beef Gravy Mix

Combine in saucepan:
1/2 cup mix
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoon butter

Whisk over medium heat. Heat until smooth and thick, whisking constantly.

So far, we have dipped pretzels and dipped peppermint sticks and finally dipped caramels. So now, we shall dip marshmallows as simple Christmas gifts this year. These are tasty treat delights.

If you doubt the drawing power of such a gift, let me tell you - I looked in Williams Sonoma today. A pound of marshmallows dipped in caramel was selling for twenty six dollars.

Twenty six dollars. For a pound of marshmallows. Dipped in caramel. Now that is insane. Yes, it sounds wonderful, but oh. my. gosh. Outrageous on the cost.

To make my dips, I simply melt chocolate chips in a double boiler (a bowl suspended over a pan of water). As the chocolate chips are melting, I add a splash of heavy cream and basically make a ganache.

One word of warning when it comes to dipping marshmallows: marshmallows melt oh so easily, so be very aware of the temperature of your melted chocolate mixture. I find it easiest to use a spoon and slowly spoon the melted chocolate mixture over the marshmallows, rather than dip the marshmallows directly into the warm melted chocolate.

So maybe consider putting some of these together as a sweet gift for friends or neighbors. A stick or two of marshmallows, along with a peppermint stick, next to a bag of homemade hot cocoa mix, and you have one heck of a wonderful homemade gift set all packaged and ready to hand out.

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups butter
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars at medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture gradually and beat well.

Shape dough into small log and place in cookie press. Press cookie onto cool ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from sheet and cool.

Store in airtight container at cool room temperature for several weeks.

For next year, know that you can freeze these for up to two months, which means you can get your baking done well in advance of the holiday season.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1 large egg
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Add almond extract.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to creamed mixture gradually.

Press cookies 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for about 7 to 8 minutes. Cool butter cookies on a wire rack.

These cookies, make with a cookie press, taste tangy and tart with a refreshing lemony flavor.

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 sticks butter, softened (12 tablespoons or 6 ounces)
* 1 tbsp lemon juice, at room temperature
* 1 tsp lemon peel, finely grated
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
* 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven at 350°. In a mixing bowl, combine butter or margarine, lemon juice, and lemon peel. In another mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients just until moistened.

Spoon dough into a cookie press with desired template in place. Press cookies about 2″ apart onto lightly greased or sprayed baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or lightly browned.

Spritz cookies or cookie press cookies are quintessential Christmas cookies. Rarely a Christmas passes that a package of these do not end up at the house and I know that I have actually worn out a cookie press in my time making them each year for others.

The variations on the basic spritz cookie recipe are endless, and adding a drop or two of food coloring in the different batters is also traditional (it is a great way to tell the different flavors apart). These cookies are a lot of fun to make and honestly, pretty hard to completely ruin. They are great for a beginner and if you do not have a cookie press yet, you might want to consider investing in one.

The cookie presses come with disks that fit in the end of the tube that you fill with cookie dough. Each disk makes a different cookie shape. I always forget which disk makes which shape cookie, so I always have to reference this photo to remember which disk to use. Now you can use the same picture to pick which shapes you want to include in your Christmas cookie packages.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1 large egg
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer, cream butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Add almond extract.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to creamed mixture gradually.

Press cookies 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for about 7 to 8 minutes. Cool butter cookies on a wire rack.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup dried cranberries or cherries
3/4 cup shelled green pistachios
2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup sugar

Layer ingredients and store in airtight container.

Attach a tag with the following instructions:

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti Mix

Combine the following until well blended:
1 package mix
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs

Divide into 2 loaves on cookie sheet, chilling if necessary to make dough easier to handle. Each loaf should be about 9 inches long and 2 inches wide.

Bake at 375°F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on sheet for 1 hour.

Cut each loaf diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices using a serrated (bread) knife. Place slices on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 325°F for 8 minutes, then turn over and bake for 8-10 minutes more or until dry and crisp. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons powdered vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Layer ingredients and store in airtight container.

Attach a tag with the following instructions:

Carrot Cake Mix

1 package mix
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
3 cups grated carrots
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple

Mix and pour into 13×9 baking dish. Bake 40-50 minutes. Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Oh nummy! What a wonderful idea from BHG and this is an oh so easy Christmas present to whip out at the last minute.

Take those wrapped caramels, unwrap, melt a variety of the different chips that you have in your pantry and dip your caramels just a little (or a lot, depending on how much you like the extra flavors).

After you dip your caramels into your melted chocolate or melted vanilla or melted cinnamon or so on, you can then dip them in chopped nuts or cake sprinkles or chopped candy or whatever strikes your fancy.

This would make such a fast gift, especially if you are short on time. As long as you have what you need in your pantry, you could put this together in no time at all.

And you know, you would not really need to keep this just for a gift. This is the season for holiday parties, and this would make a fantastic take along treat or cocktail party sweetie.

Pulling taffy used to be a family or party activity, but it is something that you absolutely can do by yourself. As an germ-o-phobe, I much prefer to do my own taffy pulling rather than having eleventy dozen people touching my candy, but still, I can see the fun in making candy in a group.

Even I, as a confirmed germophobe, can see the absolute fun in coordinating a taffy pull one night to have your children make a batch of homemade candy as a holiday gift for their friends or a special teacher.

The directions sound a little complex, but actually, if your kids play with their bubble gum, then they are ready to pull taffy. It is the exact same process.

Ingredients:

2 cups unsulfured molasses
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cider or white vinegar

Butter a platter or baking sheet. In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients.

Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and cook, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 250 degrees F (the hard-ball stage) on a candy thermometer, or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water forms a ball that is hard enough to hold its shape yet is pliable.

Pour onto the platter. Using a spatula, turn the edges toward the center to speed cooling. Pull taffy.

Before you begin, grease a pair of scissors and have on hand squares of wax paper for wrapping.

Let your cooked taffy sit just until it is barely cool enough to work with (if it gets too cool, you can warm it in a 350 F oven for 3 to 4 minutes).

Coat your hands well with cornstarch or butter. Form the candy into one or more balls and start pulling.

Working fast, pull a lump of candy between the fingertips of one hand and the other until it is about 15 inches long.

Double it up and pull again. Continue pulling, as above, until the candy is porous and hard to pull.

Stretch the candy into a rope about 3/4 inch in diameter.

Cut with the greased scissors into 1-inch pieces. To prevent sticking, wrap each piece of candy individually in a square of wax paper; twist the ends to seal. Keep the wrapped candies in a tightly closed tin.