If you’re trying to save money this holiday or you just want to show off your unique craft abilities, make your friends and family a little gourmet gift basket. It’s unique. It’s from the heart. And it’s a sort of tribute back to when everything used to be made from scratch.
We’re all so busy, yet we still want the best things in life – and often the best things take time. That’s what makes this gift such a treasure. A homemade gift basket gives your loved ones that homemade taste with the convenience of pre-made packages.
There are countless ways you can put these gift baskets together. I’ve provided two examples based on how much money you want to spend.
Uber-Cheap & Chic
Get mason jars and baskets at your local Goodwill, Thrift store or Walmart. Get some basic colored construction paper. Cut it to the size of an index card or smaller and handwrite the recipe instructions on it. Fold the paper in half, punch a hole in the corner and use basic wrapping ribbon to tie the card to the top of the jar.
Trendy & High-Tech
Check out your local craft shop for unique air-tight containers and try quaint stores like Cost Plus World Market for your baskets. Use your computer to print up your recipe instructions, just be sure to use a creative font, not the boring “typewriter” type of font you’re reading now. If you have computer skills, you can add individual pictures or images to your recipe. Print your recipe on thick paper. Tie your recipe card to your container with a ribbon. You can also further decorate your recipe card and/or container with scrapbooking stickers and other items available at hobby stores.
Now for the main part. The gourmet food! Here are several homemade mixtures you can include in your basket:
Homemade Cocoa Mix
- 10 cups dry milk powder
- 4 ¾ cups dry confectioners sugar
- 1 ¾ cups powdered non-dairy creamer
- 1 ¾ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
Stir all the ingredients until it’s all mixed. Store in air-tight containers. This recipe makes about 15 cups of mixture, which will amount to about 45 servings.
Instructions for recipe card: For 1 serving, mix 1/3 cup of homemade cocoa mixture with about ¾ cup boiling water. Top with whipped cream or marshmallows.
Buttermilk Pancake Mix
- 2 cups dry buttermilk powder
- 8 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 8 tsp baking powder
- 4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp salt
Mix all the ingredients together well. Store in air-tight containers. This makes about 10 cups of mixture.
Instructions for recipe card: Whisk together 1 ½ cups mixture with one egg, two tablespoons oil and one cup water. Let stand five minutes. Pour into skillet to make pancakes. Makes 10 four-inch pancakes.
Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookie Mix – per container
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup pecans (chopped)
With this you have a decorative option, using layering the ingredients to create a beautiful presentation. Mix sugar, flour, baking soda and baking powder. Pour that first into the air-tight containers. Pour the chocolate chips on top of that. Then pour the pecans on top of that.
Ingredients for recipe card: Blend well the cookie mixture with ½ cup softened butter, 1 egg and ½ teaspoon vanilla. Spoon mixture onto cookie sheet, 2 inches apart, and bake for 12-15 minutes or until tops are slightly browned.
These homemade gift baskets are a nice, personal gift that will stand out from all the other store-bought gifts that are usually given. You can brainstorm other mixes or “gourmet” items to add to your basket. Do you have a dish that is often raved about? Well write that one up on an index card and give it a unique name, like “Betty’s Bodacious Brownies” or “Sarah’s Scrumptious Key Lime Pie”. Feel free to throw in some immediate gratification gifts that will help fill up your basket, like Hershey kisses. Other items that are good to include are shopping list notepads or refrigerator magnets. These items tie in well to your basket filled with delicious food.
These days we all tend to find ourselves eating so much pre-packaged food that taste like pre-packaged food. These gourmet baskets give your loved ones that benefit of convenience along with the deliciousness of homemade food made with love.
