homemade gifts

<p>This thick and boozy toffee sauce can be put into jars and given as a gift, or serve a dollop with warming desserts</p>

Caramel & whisky sauce

butter

soft brown sugar

can condensed milk

can caramel (we used Carnation)

ginger

milliliters whisky

<p>Put the butter, sugar, condensed milk, caramel and ginger in a pan. Heat gently until the butter melts – make sure you don’t boil the sauce. Remove from the heat, then stir in the whisky until smooth. Pour into sterilised jars and allow to cool before sealing.</p>

Crunchy, fragrant pecans are tossed in sugar and spices for this easy, crowd-pleasing recipe. These make a great snack to serve with cocktails or pack them up in jars to give as gifts. 

Sweet and Spicy Candied Pecans

White Sugar

tsp Ground Cinnamon

Salt

tsp Ground Ginger

tsp Ground Cardamom

Cayenne ((optional))

Egg White

lb Pecan Halves ((about 4 cups))

Preheat oven to 250°F / 121°C.

Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a small mixing bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, ground ginger, ground cardamom, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl egg white with a hand mixer (or standing mixer) until very light and frothy, ~3 minutes. Gently fold pecans into egg whites until evenly coated.

Sprinkle sugar mixture over pecans and stir until pecans are evenly coated.

Spread pecans out on prepared baking sheet in an even layer.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring halfway through cooking, until sugar coating is crisp.

Let cool completely on the sheet pan and then use your hands to gently break pecans apart.

Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Homemade Lavender Soap makes the perfect gift.  It is very easy to make and looks fabulous.

Homemade Lavender Soap

lb Shea Butter Soap Base (or other Melt and Pour Soap Base)

Silicone Soap Mold

Lavender

Lavender Essential Oil

Remove soap base from container and cut into...

Remove soap base from container and cut into pieces.

Place in a microwave safe container and heat...

Place in a microwave safe container and heat according to the package directions.  Once the soap is melted, work quickly as it will begin to harden immediately around the edges of the bowl.

Add 10 drops of essential oil and stir...

Add 10 drops of essential oil and stir to combine.

Sprinkle dried lavender petals into the soap mold.

Pour melted soap into the molds and add...

Pour melted soap into the molds and add additional petals to the top, if desired.

Allow soap to rest for at least 45...

Allow soap to rest for at least 45 minutes before moving.

When the soap is set, remove from the...

When the soap is set, remove from the molds and store in a cool, dry place until ready to use or package for gifts.

Homemade Vanilla Extract only has 2 ingredients, is super easy to make and will save you lots of money if you use it often. You can also package it up really pretty and it makes a lovely gift for family, friends, teachers, coworkers and more!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

vanilla beans

alcohol (vodka, rum, brandy, gin, bourbon, etc.)

container

1. Cut the ends off the vanilla beans and split them lengthwise. Don’t cut them completely in half, but cut off both ends of each bean (just a tiny bit) then draw a sharp knife down the length of each bean just to open it up a bit.

2.  Place the beans into your bottles/jars and completely cover with alcohol. If the beans are too tall to cover, cut them into smaller pieces.

3.  Shake them up and place them in a cool dark place. Set a reminder to shake them up at least once a week for 8 weeks. It'll be even better after 10-12 weeks.

4. As you begin to use the vanilla, add more alcohol back to the bottle to keep the beans submersed. If you do not plan to refill, remove the beans after they become exposed or they will get slimy and/or moldy.

5. Unopened vanilla extract with the beans will last several years as long as the beans remain covered. If you remove the beans, it will last forever. As long as it still smells good, it's good to use! 

Hi Rose! Since living abroad, in the early years vanilla extract was nowhere to be found. Through the AWC- Hamburg, Germany, they printed the recipe and I've never gone back to commercial vanilla extract. Most vodka, rum, etc. comes in 0,7 liter bottles over here. I open the bottle, add 15 split beans, re-seal it and place it in a lower kitchen cabinet.  Whenever I go in the cabinet I give the bottle a good shake and wait for it to mature. It works great for me. 
The vanilla extract remains "fresh" for a long time. After about 9 months I remove the beans and use a few of them, suitably dried, to make vanilla sugar. Some I use in making vanilla sauce or vanilla pudding. As soon as the level of my extract bottle is down to 1/4, headed toward empty, I begin my next bottle of the extract. 
Many thanks for your tips, recipes, and sharing such a bright personality with all of us.

I liked it! It's amazing! But instead of using alcohol can I use vinegar instead? Because I am a Muslim 
As far as I know vodka is kinda a lime or sour taste maybe I can replace with vinegar. What do u think rosebakes?

I bought the grade A vanilla bean, by mistake. Well my vanilla bitch still turn out or do I have to do something different.

Such a classic! And vanilla extract is SO expensive now, I love that you can make it at home.

If I want to make it in the 8 oz swing top bottles do those lids seal tight enough to do that?  Or do you recommend just making it in the rum bottle and pouring into the smaller bottle when done?  

BTW ... love your blog! 

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and I wish y’all a blessed New Year!

Question.....if I use pint jars...how many beans per jar.  And are they cut in half...so if I have 10 beans and I cut them in half for 20 beans...how many half beans per pint.

Thank you for providing a link to Vanilla Bean Kings vanilla. I just started my extract, and the beans I got from them are amazing! I am guessing the extract is going to be delicious.

Hey there! Do you use Twitter? I'd like to follow you if that would be 
okay. I'm definitely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.

Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up and also the rest of the site is really good.

Hello there! I just would like to offer you a big thumbs up for the excellent information you've got right here on this post. I'll be returning to your site for more soon.

This is the perfect web site for anybody who really wants to find out about this topic. You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I really would want to?HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic that's been discussed for many years. Excellent stuff, just excellent!

Red Pepper Jelly has just three-ingredients, is sweet, can be spicy (or not), and is the perfect thing to serve over soft cheese and set out with crackers in the fall and over the holidays. It also makes a wonderful homemade gift at Christmas. This recipe makes enough jelly to fill about three 8-oz jars (or six 4-oz jars). To adjust, click on the number next to servings.

Red Pepper Jelly

Red Bell Peppers,

Red Pepper Flakes ((add more or less according to

White Wine Vinegar

Tablespoon Unsalted Butter

Kosher Salt ((I use Morton’s))

In a food processor, combine red bell peppers and red pepper flakes. Pulse until very finely chopped.

Combine bell pepper mixture, sugar, vinegar, butter, and salt in a heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a vigorous boil over high heat. Boil mixture for 10 to 15 minutes (the longer it boils the thicker it will be - 10 minutes will give you a very loose jelly; 15 minutes will give you a more spreadable consistency). The jelly will thicken as it cools, so don’t worry if it seems loose right after boiling.

Divide jelly between jars, leaving at least 1/3-inch of headspace at the top (this is especially important if you are planning to freeze the jelly because it will expand as it freezes).

Let jelly come to room temperature and then add lids.

Refrigerate or freeze jelly until ready to use. (Jelly will keep for several weeks in the fridge and up to six months in the freezer.)

Can I heat my jars in the oven instead of the hot water bath technique?

Be careful with instructions. 1 pound 4 peppers . Double or triple recipe is 8 and 12. I found tripling recipe I had to cook 30 to 45 minutes to get the thickness I wanted. Everyone loves this on a cracker with creme cheese. Also use as a marinade for my salmon or chicken.

I just made this with Habanada peppers, Habanero flavor with zero heat. I did not change a think, made it as written, it is perfect!! I have so many peppers to use I think I'll have to make another double batch!

The 2 stars are probably because I did something wrong; but I followed the receipe and my 'jelly' turned out like taffy....too stiff and not 'jelly' but more like not quite hardened candy.  I used this recipe because I didn't want to use pectin &amp; I couldn't find the one I used about 4 years ago.  Any suggestions on what I did wrong?

I see that this recipe makes 30 servings. Approximately what measurement is a serving?

Top 5 homemade gifts recipes from across the web

The most viewed homemade gifts recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Caramel & whisky sauce

Sweet and Spicy Candied Pecans

Homemade Lavender Soap

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Red Pepper Jelly

Top 5 homemade gifts recipes from across the web

The most viewed homemade gifts recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Caramel & whisky sauce

Sweet and Spicy Candied Pecans

Homemade Lavender Soap

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Red Pepper Jelly

The most viewed homemade gifts recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine