Category Archives: Homemade Gift Ideas

Red Hot Popcorn

Valentine’s Day is around the corner. Here is a fun homemade treat to make your sweetie. Nothing says I love you like some fresh homemade cinnamon popcorn. This recipes reminds me of my grandma, she always had cinnamon candies on hand in a little glass dish growing up. The original recipe was adapted by a Taste of Home recipe, I modified the recipe since I did not have corn syrup.

Ingredients:

  • 8 quarts of freshly popped popcorn
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 package (9 ounces) red-hot candies

Directions:

Place the prepared popcorn in a large bowl; set aside. In a large saucepan, combine the butter, honey and candies; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Bring ingredients to a rolling boil for 5 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally. Pour the liquid over popcorn and toss to coat. Transfer to two parchment lined 1/2 sheet baking pans. Bake at 250° for 1 hour to hour & a half, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from pans and place on waxed paper to cool. Break apart; store in airtight containers or clear baggies. 

Yield: 8 quarts.

Buckeyes

Growing up, I didn’t like peanut butter. Which if you know me now you would not even believe that statement. I was talking with a colleague at work and we were discussing a Ohio tradition of buckeye candies.

Since we both live in PA now, we found it ironic not too many people are aware of the candy buckeye tradition. Our conversation inspired me to make buckeyes with my mom and sister during our holiday baking extravaganza.

My mom and I looked high and low for a recipe that did not contact graham cracker crumbs which many recipes do especially when you are looking through old church cookbooks. Graham cracker crumbs are just a unnecessary filler, and quite honestly we didn’t have any on hand. We came across one that didn’t and added a few secret ingredients to the dough for a special touch.

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup)

1 cup of creamy peanut butter (jif)

1 lb of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

1/4 of a bar paraffin wax

1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

5 oz of milk chocolate ( I used Daffins chocolate family local favorite)

Directions:

Combine the first 4 ingredients and roll into small balls using a size 60 scoop. Place the prepared dough balls in a sealable container. Be sure not to stack the candies. Place in the freezer overnight (or longer); however at least overnight. You want the ball firm and nice and cold for when you dip them i the melted chocolate.

When you go to prep the buckeyes. Start to melt the chocolate and wax in a double boiler. Use a toothpick to dip the prepared peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate***. Place the freshly dipped buckeyes on wax paper and allow to cool completely before placing in a sealable container.

***Friendly tip when dipping with the toothpick, make sure to remove excess chocolate and once you remove the toothpick lightly apply pressure where the toothpick whole is present with a spatula or knife to remove the secret of how you dipped the chocolate. 

This Recipe yields 96 delicious buckeyes that melt in your mouth !

Festive Holiday Trail Mix

I came across this recipe by having leftover holiday baking chips during food prep for Chirstimas. I enjoy making gifts during the holiday. I found this one very colorful and fun for the festive season. You can make it and place the blend in 1/2 pint mason jars or place it in a bowl at your next holiday party.

Perfect gifts for the holiday! Nothing says I love you like a homemade edible gift during the holiday season.

Yields: 11 cups and fits perfectly in 1/2 pint mason jars

Ingredients:

2 cups roasted sunflower seeds salted

2 cups craisins

1 1/3 cup dried blueberries

10 oz bag swirl morsels (red, green,white)**

1 cup roasted Petita pumpkin seeds salted

2 cups roasted salted Peanuts

Directions:

Place all the ingredients into a large bowl and toss until well incorporated. Portion out in individual mason jars. 

**I found the decorative holiday baking chips at ALDI. 

Maple Cinnamon Toasted Granola


March is National Nutrition Month & tomorrow is Registered Dietitian Day! I like to celebrate with a bold nutritious dense cinnamon delicious treat. I made this blend to honor my Clinical Team. RD day is a way to celebrate the wonderful profession of nutrition and dietetics and to honor hard working dietetic professionals. 

Granola is very versatile!  You can put just about anything in it. You can make it sweet or savory. You can eat granola dry, or add a splash of milk, or top off your yogurt with it. I like to incorporate it into Ina Garten’s Banana Muffins. They are my most requested muffin recipe. 

Yields: 4 cups 

Servings: 8 (1/4 cups)

Ingredients:

2 cups 100% rolled oats (not quick or instant)

1 cup puffed brown rice 

1/2 teaspoon Vietnamese ground cinnamon 

3 Tablespoons brown sugar (not packed)

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup 100 % pure maple syrup 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup dried cranberries, low sugar

1/4 cup lightly salted roasted sunflower seeds

1/8 cup pepita seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a 1/2 sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl mix together the first 4 ingredients. Set aside. 

3. In a small bowl mix together canola oil, maple syrup,& vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry oat mix. Give the mixture a good stir. Make sure all the dry ingredients are coated with liquid goodness.

4. Pour the oat mixture on the prepared baking sheet. Place the pan in the preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes. 

5. After 15 minutes elapsed use spatula to toss the granola on the pan. Allow to bake for another 5 minutes and continue to repeat until you reach desired golden brown hue. It took about 20 additional minutes. Add the seeds and craisins. All to cool on pan entirely. Enjoy! 

Creamed Cinnamon Honey Roasted Pecans

My team at work for Christmas gifted me a lovely bag of North Carolina Local Gems. 

I couldn’t wait to open the Creamed Cinnamon  Honey! I made some Carmellized Banana Pecan French Toast with it this morning to coincide. 

This is a tasty way to utilize local ingredients for a delicious snack or gift. The finished product reminded my husband ,and I of a fancier version of Cracker Jack’s since that is the texture they portrayed. 

Ingredients: 

1 pound of raw pecan halfs

1/4 cup creamed Honey with cinnamon 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place raw pecans on the baking pan. Place the pecans on the sheet in the preheated oven on the center rack. Bake for 6-8 minutes. 

2. In the meantime place a two quart sauce pan on low medium heat and melt the creamed honey. Once the timer has elsapsed on the pecans place the pecans in the sauce pan with the honey. Allow the pecans and honey to merry. Use mini spatula to incorporate the honey throughout. Allow the ingredients to heat for 6 minutes on low. 

3. Pour the pecans on wax paper and allow them to cool. The pecans will remain tacky. Allow for them to cool on the wax for about 1 hour then place in ziplock sealable container. That is if they make it past the cooling part! 😉

Homemade Vanilla Extract


My husband and I love making homemade gifts for every occasion. We really enjoy tasty treats for presents for our friends and family. 

This year we couldn’t wait to try making homemade vanilla extract after visiting the Hawaii. 

We heard from locals that Hawaii has it’s own vanilla company? What?? I was so excited!  I told our national volcano tour guide! I have a food blog and I practically put high quality vanilla in everything! I mean everything! 

When we looked up the Hawaiian Vanilla Company, we saw that they offer tours! So luckily there were a few spots left on a tour the day before we were heading home. We signed up for the general tour but not the lunch tour. The general tour does come with delicious vanilla tea, coffee and ice cream! 


Warning if you love vanilla like me or even just like using higher quality ingredients for cooking and baking this tour is a must! Don’t pass this family run business and tour up. 
I love d the gift shop; it was filled with everything vanilla from beans to salt to body spray! So many good gift ideas for souvenirs or for yourself. 

The owner is very easy going and extremely knowledgable of the vanilla harvesting process. He loves sharing his passion for vanilla which really engages the audience. Also the whole family is invested in the business; 5 kids. 
One of my favorite parts of the tour was seeing the vanilla orchids and learning how delicate they are and all the work behind them. I have a better understanding why I pay so much for high quality vanilla. 


My favorite part was I brought some vanilla beans home to make my own vanilla extract for gifts. 

Ingredients: 

3 vanilla beans split

12 ounces of vodka 

12 ounce glass sealable container 

patience (9-12 months worth)

Directions:

1. Split the vanilla beans lengthwise with a sharp knife down the center of the bean. 

2. Place the split beans in the glass jar, fill the jars with vodka. 

3. Close the jar, & date the jar with a sharpy on the bottom so you know when to open it for use. 

4. Keep the vanilla extract while it rests in a cool, dry, dark area for 9-12 months before using in your cookies or cakes. 

Enjoy !