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{This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill! I used their Organic All Purpose Flour, Organic Rolled Oats and other goodies to make these EASY and fun holiday gifts!! Everyone and anyone is guaranteed to love them. I know I do!}
Sooo, are we all still recovering from Thursday??
Cause I know I sure am. The last three days have been basically non-stop. All fun things, but non-stop. Obviously, Thursday was spent cooking…cooking all day long. It was so much fun though. I had tons of help from my mom (she made the pies), my cousin Abby and her roommate Sarah (they where on tater duty). My brother Kai…ahhh well, he made chocolate martinis, but just his presence made everything all that much better (I love when he is home!). There were also appearances by all the other brothers. Redmond rode around the kitchen on a skateboard and I yelled at him a good five times before he stopped…typical. Brendan brought his girlfriend, Lyndsie, whom I had never meet before. I can be pretty tough when it comes to liking the brother’s girlfriends, but I think she’s awesome. She’s really cool and fits right in with family. Let’s see, who else. Creighton, my oldest brother, did a lot of football watching and of course my dad did a whole lot of dish washing. It was a long day that ended with Kai getting a new laptop for his birthday (he was PUMPED and very surprised!) Mom also surprising me with the CUTEST Christmas duvet and shams, because apparently I am eight years old still. Love it!
And that was basically Thursday. Friday and Saturday were spent with Kai, working on new videos for you guys. We’ve put in some serious time together these last couple days. Get ready, videos are coming!
Not sure what today holds, but I’m sure it will be packed. It’s everyone’s last day here but they will be back for Christmas in about three weeks.
Geez, I am kind of tired just writing all that out.
OH, and I totally forgot to tell you that the whole family hiked up the trail (minus me because someone had to tend to the birds) and cut down the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving Day…yes, we are crazy.
OKAY. But enough about all the holiday stuff. Let’s talk about these gifts! As you can see, I’ve fully entered into Christmas mode and I am SO excited to start sharing with you all the cool things I have planned for this month. It’s going to be so much fun!
I know that edible gifts in jars aren’t really a new concept, but I wanted to share a few of my favorite versions. These gifts are so fun and so easy, AND everyone always appreciates a homemade gift that can simply be prepared and eaten. Like you really can’t go wrong with these. They’re perfect for everything from hostess gifts, to gifts for the in-laws, to gifts for your best girlfriends.
So here’s the break down for you. I have seven edible gifts for you guys.
…first – homemade fudge brownie mix with um, Reese’s. YES!
…second – Christmas oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Everything is better with holiday M&M’s.
…third – Christmas chocolate chip granola. Cause chocolate for breakfast is TOTALLY acceptable at Christmas time.
…fourth – homemade salted Nutella. Can I just have a spoon please? thanks!
…fifth – espresso glazed nuts. One word: addicting.
…sixth – salted pomegranate sugar. Festive, sweet and perfect for topping pretty much any cookie, brownie or truffle.
…seventh – gingerbread spice mix. Think pancakes, waffles, lattes and hot cocoa. <–DO IT ALL.
I was so excited to team up with Bob’s Red Mill for this post. Their flours, oats and nuts obviously are the PERFECT match for these Christmas gifts.
Also…I am so excited to share that Bob’s will be giving one of you a Holiday Gift Basket full of many of the ingredients needed to make these jars. I know, I know, yes!!
The gift basket will include:
*3 lbs Organic All Purpose Flour
*3 lbs Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
*Almond Meal
*Hazelnut Meal
*Sparkling Sugar
*Cane Sugar (or the turbinado sugar)
*Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (or quick oats if you prefer)
*Bob’s Red Mill Flour Sack Towel
To enter the giveaway: Tell me, tell me, what is your favorite Christmas gift to give, and what’s your favorite Christmas gift to receive???
Just leave you answer in the comments below and I will email the winner ONE week from today!!
Speaking of giving, one of my goals for December is to really try to give back to people who are less fortunate and struggling, so with each Sunday post through December, I want to talk about a charity I am giving to. Today I wanted to talk a bit about SmileTrain. Every day children in need of cleft palate surgery struggle with the basic abilities most of us take for granted. Think eating a meal, speaking, breathing or even something as simple as sharing a smile. Cleft palate can be fixed with surgery and this is what I wanted to bring awareness to today. Even donating just a few dollars can make a difference in one child’s life. I feel so lucky to have a family full of health, so I felt this was a great charity to put my money into. I would be so thankful if you guys took a little time today to read a little about cleft palate and donate if you can.
Let me know if you do in the comments, I would love to hear your stories about giving back this Christmas!!
Finally, I have to say that I LOVE these jars. I was so happy with how they turned out that I basically jumped for joy as I was shooting the photos. Oh and um, the brownies + cookies + Nutella… LIFE CHANGING… so dang good.
Also, I think I maybe had way too much fun decorating these jars. Crafts are so my thing. Just sayin.
Fudge Brownie Mix.
Servings: 24 Brownies
Calories Per Serving: 221 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 liter glass jar one
- 1 cup Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee optional
- 4 ounces milk chocolate chopped
- 1/4 cup Mini Christmas Reese Cups
- 4 ounces dark chocolate chopped
Ingredients To Add
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, 2 sticks
- 2 tablespoons kahlua optional
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
Instructions
To Assemble the Jars
- Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl.
- In the following order, layer the sugar, cocoa powder, flour/salt mix and instant coffee in your jar as cleanly as possible.
- In the following order, layer the milk chocolate, Reese's and dark chocolate. Seal the jar.
- Attach a notecard with the ingredients in the jar listed, plus the extra ingredients needed, and the directions on how to make the brownies. Decorate the jars as desired.
To Bake the Brownies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and line with parchment paper.
- Dump the contents of the jar out into a mixing bowl. Remove the Reese's, unwrap and chop into pieces. Add them back to mixing bowl.
- Add 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) melted butter, 2 tablespoons Kahlua (optional), 1 tablespoon vanilla and 4 eggs. Mix with a spatula until just combined. Spread the batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the brownies are just set. Allow to cool completely before cutting, about 2 hours. Dust with powdered sugar.
Christmas Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Servings: 28 Cookies
Calories Per Serving: 229 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 liter glass jar 1.5
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Old Fashioned Oats
- 3/4 cup Christmas M&M's
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar or brown sugar
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Ingredients To Add
- 1 cup canola oil or melted coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To Assemble the Jars
- Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.
- In the following order, layer the flour mix, oatmeals, Christmas M&M's, turbinado sugar, granulated sugar and chocolate chips. Seal the jar.
- Attach a notecard with the ingredients in the jar listed, plus the extra ingredients needed, and directions on how to make the cookies. Decorate the jars as desired.
To Bake the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
- Dump the contents of the jar out into a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand held mixer). Add 1 cup canola oil, 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla. Mix until the dough is moist and combined.
- Using your hands clump together a tablespoon of dough at a time. Use your hands to really squeeze the dough into a ball. If the mixture is not holding add another tablespoon more of oil. Place on the prepared baking sheet. If your balls are a little crumbly don't worry, they will come together while baking. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 10 -12 minutes or until set and golden. These are best right out of the oven, so eat up!
Christmas Chocolate Chip Granola.
Servings: 3 Litres
Calories Per Serving: 1686 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Bob's Red Mill Rolled Oats
- 1 cup Bob's Red Mill flaked unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 1/2 cup pistachios
- 1 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or 1 more tablespoon butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 1/2-1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a large bowl combine the oats, coconut, hazelnuts, cashews, pecans and cranberries. Toss well.
- In a skillet or small sauce pot melt the butter over medium heat until just browned. The butter will melt, foam and froth, then begin to brown along the bottom. Whisk the browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Once the butter is browned quickly remove from the heat and slowly stir in the maple syrup and coconut oil. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the warm maple mixture over the dry oat mixture and stir to fully combine. I normally stir for a good 3 to 5 minutes.
- Spread the granola out on a parchment lined baking sheet with sides and drizzle with 2 tablespoons honey. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes stirring every 15 minutes so the granola will get evenly toasted. The last time you stir the granola, drizzle it with the remaining 2 tablespoons honey. Remove from the oven and let cool five minutes. After 5 minutes spray the bottom of a flat 1 cup measuring cup or a flat bottomed glass with cooking spray. Press the granola into the pan using the bottom of the measuring cup so that you have a flat slab of granola that looks like it could be cut into bars. Let the granola sit for one hour to cool and harden. After an hour break the granola up into clusters. Stir in the chocolate chip and add to your glass jars.
- Decorate the jars as desired. The granola will keep for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Servings base on 1 litre
Homemade Salted Nutella.
Servings: 20 ounces
Calories Per Serving: 169 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups raw hazelnuts
- 12 ounces milk chocolate chopped
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- pinch of flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Add the hazelnuts to the bowl of a food processor. Process until the hazelnuts form a paste, scraping down the sides if needed. This should take around 3-5 minutes. To the food processor, add all the remaining ingredients. Process until completely smooth, scraping down the sides 2-3 times for about 10 minutes. The Nutella will seem runny, but it will firm up as it cools. Divide the Nutella between your two jars. Decorate the jars as desired. Store at room temperature for 1 week or in the fridge for longer.
Espresso Glazed Nuts.
Servings: 1 Litres
Calories Per Serving: 3170 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cups raw almonds
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 1 cup raw pepitas
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrup warmed
- 2 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 3 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 1 liter glass jar 1.5
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- Heat the maple syrup, coconut oil, espresso powder and salt together until the espresso is mostly dissolved and the coconut oil has melted.
- Spread the nuts and pepitas on the lined baking sheet and toss well with the maple syrup mixture.
- Bake for 10 minutes, toss with a spatula and bake for another 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Break apart and place in jars, then seal. Decorate as desired. Nuts will keep for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Nutritional serving based on 1 litre
Salted Pomegranate Sugar.
Servings: 6 ounces
Calories Per Serving: 12 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons flaky sea salt divided
- 1 teaspoon pomegranate juice
- 1-2 drops red gel food coloring optional
- 1 ounce jar 6
Instructions
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the sugar and 1 tablespoon salt. Add the pomegranate juice and food coloring. Use your hands to mix everything together until all is combined and red (or pink if you did not use the food coloring). Spread the mixture out evenly on the cookie sheet and let dry at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Once dry mix in the remaining tablespoon of salt. Pour mixture into jar and seal. Decorate as desired.
Gingerbread Spice Mix.
Servings: 2 ounces
Calories Per Serving: 131 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Divide the spice mix between the 2 jars. Seal and decorate as desired.
And can we all eat all the cookies…and brownies??? please?!? who said anything about sharing. 🙂
{This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!! 
}
}
This post was originally published on November 29, 2015
My favorite gift to give during the holidays u are a tray full of different holiday cookies. My little boy loves helping me make the cookies and package them up. I am asking now to donate to charities instead of gifts. But I do love receiving baking items too.
This is a wonderful post and I love your acts of kindness!
I try to donate what I can, especially around the holidays, for families who do not have the luxuries I am grateful for or to help in a time of need. My favorite gifts to give are homemade ones, whether it is a tin of baked goods, ornaments, framed pictures, etc. I enjoy receiving practical, thoughtful gifts. I am all about a gift that I can use. This year I asked for luggage since I travel a lot. Thank you for this opportunity 🙂
I always like to give and received gifts of food, wine and candles. I usually send a gift basket filled with someone’s favorites for Christmas.
My favorite gifts to give to all my neighbors are homemade cranberry nut bread. To win such a delightful gift would be a blessing.
My favorite gift to give is a homemade craft. I’ve been making special pillows – some are hearts with homemade fabric flowers, a few are for teens from tee shirts with sayings on them. I’ve given them to lonely seniors to cheer them, to ppl in the hospital, too! My favorite gift to get is a gift certificate – so many would be great that way I could have the fun of shopping, too, and make that gift card last! I love Bob’s Red Mill – I have loved their mixes, flours, powdered milk non-instant, almond meal, and many more – but I have to say I recently discovered how great is Bob’s popcorn -try it!
My husband and I create a family cookbook every year – recipes, photos, family and friend adventure highlights. It is so much fun to give those! To receive, my favorite gift is the love & hugs! 🙂
My favorite to give is something edible. Books are what I like to receive but oddly enough, rarely do.
I like to both give and receive food 😉
My favorite Christmas gift to give is to distribute cup cakes to friends and colleagues and the best gift to receive is fruits for my family and me to eat.
I will be making many of these for gifts this year, THANK YOU! My favorite gift to GIVE at Christmas is a nice pair of cozy socks and a baked good. Anything from homemade bread a pie. My favorite gift to receive is an unexpected visit from friends!
My favorite gifts to receive are anything that helps me be creative! Adult coloring books, paints, pastels, colored pencils…I love creating, so bring on the craft supplies! my favorite gifts to receive are those that I’ve been keeping in my head for months! You know, when someone offhandedly mentions wanting something and you think, “Aha! This will be a great gift for my husband! Now I just need to remember this idea until Christmas!”
Well to receive baked goods and to give electronics
For Christmas or bdays I love to give things that have meaning to the person I’m gifting to either something homemade or bought. What I like to receive for Christmas is really anything, any gift even if it’s small it’s meaningful. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes with us!
That salted pomegranate sugar!!!
My favorite gift to give is something that someone needs but doesn’t think about getting it for themselves. An example is my husband, I got him a winter coat because I would watched him shiver in his hoodies while saying “I’m fine” so many times.
My favorite gift to receive is the one where I adore a little trinket and someone noticed, even though time had passed.