When thinking up homemade food gift ideas, things like cookies, hot cocoa mix and fudge immediately come to mind. I recently discussed giving wine as a gift over on the Bitter/Sweet blog, but let’s look at some more food related gift ideas that go beyond cookies and candy:

From YumSugar, check out this slide show of 12 Handmade Edible Food Gifts, including Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti, Homemade Kahlua, Candied Citrus Peel, and Smoky Cashews. Slashfood recently posted easy recipes for Four Fast Tomato Sauces, which would be great packaged in old-fashioned mason jars and given to a pasta loving friend.

From BlogHer, try these Homemade Beauty Gifts with a foodie twist, like chocolate lip balm and chamomile bubble bath. Also check out 5 DIY Holiday Beauty Gifts which features bath salts in “flavors” like pink grapefruit, cucumber mint, and candy cane. Most of the ingredients for these “recipes” are everyday pantry items like sea salt and baking soda.

From MyRecipes.com, here’s a guide to creating Ultimate Gift Baskets like Herb Garden, Italian Feast, and Tea Time. Each basket contains quite a few items, for the sake of budget you could just select a couple to build a basket.

And finally, from Wired, here is a list of Gifts for the Nanogastronome. This list includes new gadgets, books, and food that a culinary buff might like to receive.

For the Gift of Food, try making something with a healthy twist. Who could say no to granola with cherries and dark chocolate? Try making a batch of this great granola recipe and packing it in a glass jar with a festive bow on top. The wheat germ adds a nutty flavor and gives the granola texture and a nutrition boost.

Any kind of dried fruit or nuts can be substituted for the dried cherries and chocolate chips, just keep the proportions the same. You can also coarsely chop any kind of chocolate baking bar instead of using mini-chips.

Jenn’s Chocolate-Cherry Granola
2 1/2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup mini-chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300F and coat a 13×9 baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, toss the oats and wheat germ.

Combine oil, maple syrup, and salt in a glass measuring cup and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Add the vanilla.

Pour the syrup over the dry ingredients and toss to coat everything evenly. Spread mixture over prepared baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Add the dried cherries. Add the chocolate chips while the mixture is still warm and stir to melt the chocolate into the granola, or add the chocolate chips after the mixture has cooled to keep in pieces.

Sprinkle granola on top of yogurt and fruit.

Last year, for the holidays, I started the small but substantial category called The Gift of Food, focusing on food-based gifts for the holidays. This year I am adding to that category with some more holiday gift-giving ideas.

For starters, here is a link from MyRecipes.com with suggestions for Giving the Gift of Wine. Then check out these tips on Wine Giving Etiquette from the San Fransisco Chronicle, along with some unique ideas on Gifts for the Wine Lover from Riverfront Times, including reading materials and wine gadgets.

From Food & Wine magazine, here is a Holiday Wine Problem Solver with links for great wines for roasting, hosting, and other holiday fun. Do you know someone who isn’t a wine lover, but enjoys a quality liquor? This article from the Burlington Free Press on Liquors for Holiday Gifts will help.

Not interested in giving wine but want some fun cocktails for holiday parties? This slideshow from myrecipes.com highlights 20 Terrific Holiday Cocktails. Looking for some non-alcoholic beverages? Try this Warm Winter Ciders and Brews slide show.

Here are some other helpful links:

5 Wine Rules Made to be Broken

Wine on a Budget

5 Tips for Giving Wine This Holiday Season

Jazz Up Your Gift-Giving with Offbeat Food Baskets

Spice Up Your Holiday Wine

*Please drink responsibly – drinking and driving is not Sweet at all*

In an attempt to practice what I post, I created a theme basket as a present for a Christmas party. The spending limit was $15 and needed to be a gift anyone could enjoy. At a trip to the grocery store, I was inspired by the “world cuisine” aisle and put together this gift:

Pasta Dinner:
1 box of spaghetti
1 box of fettuccine
1 jar of traditional tomato basil sauce
1 jar of Alfredo sauce
1 bottle of organic extra virgin olive oil
1 bottle of basil pesto

Combine these items with a plain brown paper bag and some festive tissue paper, and a gift was crafted!

Other ideas for theme baskets:

Cup of Comfort: oversized mug, hot cocoa mix, and marshmallows
Curry Delight: Jasmine rice, curry sauces, and fortune cookies
Tea Time: tea bags, honey, and shortbread cookies
Heart Healthy Romance: candles, red wine, and dark chocolate
Coffee Lovers: dark roast, flavored creamer, and cinnamon
Soup’s On: soup, gourmet crackers, and soup bowls
PB&J Snacks: natural peanut butter, fruit preserves, and artisan bread

Well, my new Special Project Soupified is off to a bit of a slow start, so in the meantime I have launched a new category “Gift of Food,” to piggyback on my Holiday Manifesto. Some of my recent posts have featured ideas on giving food as gifts from sites such as MyRecipes and Slashfood, as well as some of my own homemade mixes for DIY gifts.

If you are looking for more easy ideas for unique gift-giving, check out Mix in a Jar Recipes, which has ideas for soup, baking, bread, and other mixes that can be stored in jars and given as gifts. There are also tips on making recipe cards, jar decorations, gift tags, and other tips on creating jars for gifts.

As I see more great ideas online, I will continue to post throughout the holiday season. Come back soon!