Make your own Christmas Prezzies!

RoseBlossom

First time trying to embed a photo...not sure if it will work-


Made hootietootie's microwave fudge on Saturday - will never go back to the traditional method!! Really happy with how it turned out, I used my candy thermometer to check it reached 113 degrees, and it needed an extra minute or two in the microwave to get there, but eventually it did. Really good flavour of Bailey's off it - is it the rice wine vinegar that enhances the Bailey's flavour? Most importantly, no elbow grease required to return my pyrex dish to a state of usefulness again! (The soda really helped!)

Tins include microwave fudge, <cough> "burnt sugar" toasted almond toffees (the dark brown bits between the fudge!), chocolate-covered marzipan balls, white chocolate lemon truffles (these were a pain as the lemon curd was homemade and very runny, so a day in the freezer didn't even have them solid!) and Baileys truffles.

Blingy

Just made this rhubarb and vanilla jam, yummy!!! Would love to find more rhubarb and I would make more. It's so easy.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/251611/rhubarb-and-vanilla-jam

biddywiddy

Giving away the first Christmas hamper today.

Here are the goodies:

GrahamThomas

Biddywiddy, that looks fantastic! The writing on the jars is a cool touch as well

Pistachios & cream

Biddywiddy, did you use a chalkboard marker for your jars? I had planned on spraypainting some chalkboard paint to jars but maybe i don't need to do that now.

Avox

The only thing I'm making this year is two drinks:

- Homemade Baileys and
- Homemade Baileys with Orange flavouring

biddywiddy

ahayes84 wrote: »

Biddywiddy, did you use a chalkboard marker for your jars? I had planned on spraypainting some chalkboard paint to jars but maybe i don't need to do that now.

I used a metallic pen I got last year (in Aldi I think). The ink is a silvery colour, but looks white-ish on the jars. I imagine a chalkboard marker would do the same job, could probably be better actually.

Faith

biddywiddy, where did you get that bottle with the stopper? I know you can get similar in Ikea but I'm really hoping you got yours somewhere more accessible!

The Black Oil

Faith wrote: »

biddywiddy, where did you get that bottle with the stopper? I know you can get similar in Ikea but I'm really hoping you got yours somewhere more accessible!

Don't know about empty ones, but Tesco have the likes of this. http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=260228916 A bit expensive if you just want the bottle. Maybe they do have empty ones...

biddywiddy

Faith wrote: »

biddywiddy, where did you get that bottle with the stopper? I know you can get similar in Ikea but I'm really hoping you got yours somewhere more accessible!

It's a Kilner bottle. Picked them up in Heatons a few weeks ago (there was 30% off the Kilner range).

The Limoncello is in a 0.55l bottle



and the Christmas Pudding vodka is in a 0.25l 'Sloe Gin' Kilner bottle.

confusticated

Faith are you based in Cork? If so, Brennan's on Oliver Plunkett St. had loads of those bottles last week. Not sure of prices though.

Faith

confusticated wrote: »

Faith are you based in Cork? If so, Brennan's on Oliver Plunkett St. had loads of those bottles last week. Not sure of prices though.

Thanks, I'm in Wales at the moment. I could wait until I'm home next week, but I wouldn't mind getting them sooner .

confusticated

Faith wrote: »

Thanks, I'm in Wales at the moment. I could wait until I'm home next week, but I wouldn't mind getting them sooner .

Ah fair enough. I doubt they'll sell out by next week anyhow if you're stuck.

catho_monster

if anyone buys those jars of cheap 67 or 69 cent Lidl jam for reusing, try out Dan Lepard's Jammy Gingerbread recipe to use up the glut of jam.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2006/nov/04/features.weekend5

I tried it with marmalade and it's delicious. Not bisquity, more cakey, but yum and Christmassy...

Blingy

Found a roll of clear cellophane type wrapping in easons. Less than 2 euro per roll.

pampootie

Mulling syrup is cooling, smells verrry allspicey but should be ok with delicious alcohol. Had that moment of realisation in work earlier that Christmas is not a lovely whimsical faraway concept, but a real day on Tuesday week that I am not fully prepared for, so not fully confident that I'm going to manage to get all my hamper stuff done. Aiming for my lemon curd and cookie jar mix tomorrow, then biscotti and nigella honeycomb on Thursday. Possibly white chocolate and cranberry cookies if my 60 hour week in retail leaves me enough energy!

pampootie

Dammit. Noticed a strange fizzing noise while doing the mama duck routine of checking on my jars and sure enough I've managed to crack one of my kilner bottles during the sterilising bit. Was put out until I realised this means I'll have to mull wine with the contents and drink it. Oh no!

Michellenman

Have made all my bits and bobs now, delighted! Just need to assemble and make tags, woo!

Pic below is cranberry and almond biscotti, vanilla cake and white chocolate snow man cake pop, festive honeycomb with red and green sprinkles and gold glitter, microwave fudge, chili sauce, apple and cranberry chutney and lemon curd there in the back. Have made enough of everything for 5 hampers and including all jars and bags and baskets etc spent just under 100 euro. It took me two days in total to do it all and will probably give another half day for putting them all together. Cant wait to see them as a finished product!

pampootie

Lemon curd made. Not too pleased with it, didn't seem to thicken properly despite 25 mins in the waterbath and then 20 in a pan over direct heat. Got fed up at that point and just fired it into the jar. Hmmn.

annamcmahon

I finally got some baby free time today and got to make lemon curd, beetroot and orange chutney, tomato chutney and jar up some mincemeat. I'm going to make mango chutney and onion jam during the week.
Not strictly food but made salt dough decorations with my toddler. They're drying in the oven to be painted tomorrow

dan185

I was set to make a couple of things for the girlfriend's step mother today, rhubarb and vanilla jam and fudge but I can't find rhubarb anywhere! I know it's off season so how have other's managed with it around this time?

Anyone suggest a decent jam to make that won't take too long (has to be done today) and tastes great?

Going to attempt the fudge soon.

ElleEm

dan185 wrote: »

I was set to make a couple of things for the girlfriend's step mother today, rhubarb and vanilla jam and fudge but I can't find rhubarb anywhere! I know it's off season so how have other's managed with it around this time?

Anyone suggest a decent jam to make that won't take too long (has to be done today) and tastes great?

Going to attempt the fudge soon.

For jam, buy a kg of jam sugar and boil it with a kg of your preferred fruit. The back of the jam sugar bag usually gives timing and stuff. You can even use fruit juice!



I have already made the onion marmalade and mango chutney. Gonna make Nigella's chilli jam and Jamie Oliver's hot chocolate mix this week, and making a "tester" batch of truffles today!!

LaChatteGitane

I am so not worthy to post in this thread.
We are having a christmas dinner this Sunday at ours. 11 adults and 4 children/teens.
I made a 'hamper' for each family/couple with cups and saucers I bought in a recycle shop. I filled some sachets with shop bought chocolates . Made lavender sachets for the undie drawers , last year's beetroot chutney and today's scented geranium syrup.
I make preserves all through the summer and give them away during the year, so my hampers are a bit mean now, but I am cooking and hosting so that should suffice.












Eat your heart out Kirsty Allsop

sdp

My Christmas gifts, ready for packing,:)
pickled eggs in red wine vinegar, Christmas pudding, orange marmalade,
piccalli, strawberry conserve, roast garlic oil, onion marmalade,green tomato chutney, onion and pepper pickle, have homemade mince pies in freezer to put in at last min, hope its enough, and thanks to this great thread, it made me keep on making bits, even when I was burning the hands of myself

sdp

LaChalleGitane, Everything looks so lovely and classy, fair dues to you,

LaChatteGitane

sdp wrote: »

LaChalleGitane, Everything looks so lovely and classy, fair dues to you,

Thank you.
But it's all fur coat and no knickers, I'm afraid.

trackguy

Got my woodwool for the hampers yesterday.

Still have sweet and salty crunch bars, punjabi curry powder and fajita mix to make but started dividing stuff up last night.

leahyl

sdp wrote: »

My Christmas gifts, ready for packing,:)
pickled eggs in red wine vinegar, Christmas pudding, orange marmalade,
piccalli, strawberry conserve, roast garlic oil, onion marmalade,green tomato chutney, onion and pepper pickle, have homemade mince pies in freezer to put in at last min, hope its enough, and thanks to this great thread, it made me keep on making bits, even when I was burning the hands of myself

Lovely sdp!! I love the Christmas labels on the jars!

Sofiztikated

I've no photos at the moment, and it doesn't look as classy as what some have done, but I made a Peppermint Bark that I've been giving to a few people as presents.

Tip for anyone having a go, get proper candy cane. I used some from Aldi, and it's more of a peppermint coated sugar stick than an actual peppermint cane. Didn't quite get the peppermintiness through into the white chocolate.

I tempered 70% dark chocolate, laid it as a base on some greaseproof, and let it cool. Melted white chocolate, and threw in the candy cane, broken into pieces, some small, some larger for a bit of a chew, and poured it over the tempered dark chocolate.

It didn't quite glue together right, but it's not bad.

Thinking my next batch of bark might have either chilli or bacon in it.

homemadecider

Where did you source the wood wool? We had a really hard time finding any, we managed to scab a bag full off our local O'Briens in the end when we were in buying our Xmas wine