Best Food Gifts to Bake and Give This Christmas
Salted Caramel Bars, Butterbeer Fudge, Christmas White Chocolate Bark, and More!
Every year I bake, ship, and give about a dozen batches of goodies for friends and family. Not to brag, but I’m kind of an expert. At one of my first jobs in the DC area, we baked cookies, cakes, and other treats for our top donors. The Christmas list was the biggest at over 100 shipments. Needless to say, I’ve gotten pretty good at packing and knowing what ships well.
Packaging
I love the traditional tins. This year I have these from Target. You can also find them at Walmart and dollar stores. The holiday-themed plastic Gladware-type are also good for shipping. ALWAYS secure the lids, whether plastic or tin, with tape, as they really get jostled during shipping.
I generally ship through USPS and use the flat rate medium boxes. They’re free and the perfect size for the tins I use. I fill the rest of the box with small gifts, bubble wrap, or those air bags you get with Amazon and other packages. The flat rate isn’t the cheapest option, but with the free boxes and ship time of three days or less, it works for me. I’ll be baking this weekend, December 10-11, and shipping early in the week. Of course I’d love for things to arrive closer to Christmas, but it’s not worth the post office hassle as it gets closer to Christmas.
Here are some of my favorite recipes to give around the holidays that ship really well.
Salted Caramel Bars
Every year I intend to make something new, but these are always requested. Bars ship really well, so you can’t go wrong. Salted caramel became trendy a few years ago and now it seems to be a holiday staple.
Christmas White Chocolate Bark
This is a really easy recipe I mixed together when I didn’t want to make the fudge version. Since White Chocolate Peppermint Bark is more common, I like making this for something different and the colors are perfect for Christmas.
1 pound of white chocolate melts/almond bark
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of shelled, salted pistachios
1/2 to 3/4 cup of dried cranberries
Melt white chocolate according to directions on package. Stir in pistachios and cranberries (start with 1/2 cup, add more for chunkier bark). Cool on wax paper in refrigerator until hard. Break apart and store in airtight container.
Note: I sometimes make a lower sugar version with Lily’s or ChocZero white chocolate and reduced sugar dried cranberries. These are more finicky than almond bark or chocolate melts, so do very slowly.
Toffee with Chocolate and Pistachio
Can you tell I love pistachios? My theme for Christmas every year is always “Ships Well.”
Butterbeer Fudge
Kids love these. The first year I made them I went overboard with edible gold stars and gold sugar. As long as you have the mini marshmallows, you’ll be fine. You can find them on Amazon or near hot chocolate at the grocery store. Worst case, you buy Swiss Miss with marshmallows and sift out 😜
Homemade Chex Mix
I don’t make this often because it is my favorite snack of all time and I will slowly consume the entire batch. I use the recipe on the Chex box, but with half the number of pretzel sticks, mixed nuts without peanuts, and Cheez-its instead of bagel chips. I also always use the two-hour oven method rather than microwave.
Good Enough They Won’t Care You Bought It
Harry and David’s Christmas Brunch, $99.99 — It includes “triple cheese and caramelized onion quiche, sliced Canadian bacon, cranberry orange loaf cake, Wolferman's® Original English Muffins, and raspberry preserves.” A great departure from just sweets and will be welcomed after a busy Christmas morning.
Wild Idea Buffalo Co. — I love this company and highly recommend the tri-tip, steak strips, and burgers. Great gift for your favorite carnivore!
MilkBar’s Holiday Shop — I first became a fan of this company thanks to Newt Gingrich! It was a staple for office birthdays.
Ann & Allen Gooey Butter Cake — A St. Louis original and totally addictive. Many of the flavors are good, but go with the traditional for the first time.
Bark Box — Don’t forget the pups! Bark Box has great customer service, treats, and toys.