Homemade Christmas Hamper

[Elsashmelsa]

Hi all,

Well in my head Xmas is already in full swing. Mum and I have just been having a whinge about how much children have these days (DD has so much stuff and needs nothing else) and Mum was saying about some patterns she found in the roof to make toys that she used to make for us when we were younger. I told her that instead of buying something for DD (6) or giving her money, why doesn't she make something for her?

For our wedding Mum made lovely white rabbits, wearing identical dresses to the ones that the Flower girls wore, for the flower girls to hold. I told her that DD would LOVE something like that for Xmas.

I then said that I wonder whether I should do food hampers of homemade goodies instead of buying adult presents and she said it was fantastic idea and that her and Dad would love one!!

So, I'm now on a mission but I don't know where to start. I make the Xmas cakes every year for them so that's one thing for it. I fancy making the following:

Florentines
Jam
Chutney
Pickled Onions
Honeycombe
Marshmallows
Fudge
Shortbread
Savoury Biscuits

So what I'm asking is, does anyone have any other ideas and also, any idea what (if anything) can be made a few weeks in advance???? Can anything be made and then frozen before baking (in terms of biscuits etc).

All advice gratefully received.

As an aside, I already make very good shortbread so I've got that one covered although I don't know how far in advance I can make it.

Can we have your freezable shortbread dough recipe pls Letustryagain? Thanks!

Following with great interest! I think it'll be a bit much this year as I'm having a baby mid November but will definitely be saving some of these ideas to make hampers for everyone next year. I hate buying token bits of crap that I know people aren't arsed about, and if I added up all the money I'd spend on gifts, I'm guessing it would easily cover the ingredients for a few lovely treats.

OP does your mum like fudge? You could make it a few days in advance and jazz it up with things like cranberries, xmas pudding, chocolate orange.

chocolate peppermint creams - basically fondant icing with mint extract, rolled out, cut into tiny rounds, dipped in melted chocolate - can't remember how long they last - never get the chance!
For people on their own, individual Christmas cakes , prettily gift wrapped in cellophane

Hi all,

So, attached are the links to the Shortbread Dough (tried and tested with chocolate chips in - fab) and the Seedy Oatcakes (made last night - taste amazing with some cheese on) Half of the Oatcake dough I've frozen to see how well it freezes.

I've also made Apple & Onion Chutney and homemade Mincemeat. It's all in jars ready to go.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1840638/seeded-oatcakes make sure you read the comments and change the bicarb to baking powder!!

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/shortbread_1290

I'll be making the Xmas cakes this weekend and the Jam. Then the Chilli Jam. I've also got a fab recipe for Christmas Biscotti. Although I haven't tried it yet, but this also freezes after the first bake. You can then slice and freeze and cook from frozen when you're ready.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8022/fruity-christmas-biscotti

I am going to give fudge a go. Does anyone have a good recipe for it? A friend of mine suggests a cheat version of using 'Condensed Milk' which I love. Maybe I'll just get her over here to help me make it .

Lots of people make fudge in their slow cookers. There's a slow cooker group on Facebook which has loads of recipes on it but can't for the life of me remember what it is! Will investigate

Slow cooked wonders is the name.

Quick question about jam/chutney making since I can't find the answer on google...

I bought wax discs to top my jars but they only come as small as the ones for 1lb jars. But I have 8oz jars for my chutney and sweet chilli jam. When I made it at the weekend I just put them in the top anyway and just pressed them down. But of course they are slightly too big... Should I have cut them to size or doesn't it really matter? I'm panicking now that my chutneys won't be right...

Shortbread can be made a month in advance. Ginger bread likewise, I've also made meringue kisses which can be done months ahead. Fudge all different flavours, peppermint creams a month in advance, coconut ice a month. I did this for in laws last year and will do same for my db and family this year as they are hosting us. Good luck with cooking x

Ps when making fudge I put it in the mixer after cooking to fluff it ip, makes lovely smooth fudge xx

If you want to also add some crafty additions, taking the family to a paint it yourself pottery place, putting together a set of eggcups or themed cup/bowl/plate can be a nice half term afternoon out, or longer term project.

Then there's table runners, place mats or table cloth. Embroidered jam jar covers. Felted or crochet pot holders. Patchwork tea cosy, tea towel, hand towel, mug warmers, caffetiere cosy, personalised to fit in with their home decor and with some input from children.

Anyone got other crafty ideas to inspire me? (mine might have to be posted this year., so need to rethink the jams and chutneys).

I'd really like the freezable parmesan thins recipe if possible.

Thank you Contractor. I found a wonderful Nigella recipe for fudge and she uses an electric whisk once it's cooked, but I don't have one. Is it just as easy to pour it into my usual Kenwood KMix Cake Mixer and mix it instead of using an Electric whisk?

Racundra, this recipe is gorgeous and a real winner with everyone who's tried it - very easy too!!

200g Plain Flour
125g Grated Parmesan
115g Unsalted Butter (in cubes)
1 Large Egg - Separated
Cold water

(Optional Extras: Pepper/Poppy Seeds/Cayenne Pepper/Sesame Seeds etc)

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius
2. Rub Butter, Cheese and Flour to make breadcrumbs
3. Add the Yolk and a little cold water and pull together to make a dough.
4. Dough needs to be dry but sticks together.
5. Cut dough in half and roll into two sausages
6. OPTIONAL - brush with the egg white and roll in your choice of toppings
7. Wrap tightly in cling film.
8. Freeze for 30 minutes.
9. Slice thinly and oven bake for 15 mins.

However I recently made these and froze one of the sausages for two weeks. Then sliced and baked them and they were perfect.

They are incredibly moreish, good luck if they last long enough to be presents.

I'm not sure how long they would last stored in an airtight container, but I will be baking mine on Xmas Eve and I doubt they will last longer than boxing day with my family .

Thank you so much! That looks really tasty

How about pre-made hot chocolate kits if she doesn't drink? So say, a sachet of chocolate powder, some marshmallows, a cinnamon stick for stirring, wrapped in cellophane and tied with a festive ribbon.

A bit late to the thread but I made these last year for presents Fruity Christmas Biscotti

They were great because they are twice baked and it is possible to freeze them for up to 2 months after the first baking and then finish them off when you need them. It took some of the pressure off trying to make things just before Christmas.

They were very nice and it makes a good number - 72 I think.

Dh auntie makes hampers they are lush! Dfil has an allotment and provides a lot of the fruit and veg for her. She makes piccalilli, chutney, jam, pickled beetroot, Xmas cake, a rocky road type thing, flavoured oils, horseradish mustard, pate and small Xmas cake. The contents are always varied but invariably well received!

5Foot5 - that is the recipe I found for my Biscotti ! I haven't tried it yet but I started buying all the individual ingredients a couple of months ago when I first found it so I'm pretty much ready to give it a go. I thought if I do them at the beginning of November that gives me enough time to freeze them and do the second bake. With that thought in mind, I need to start eating all the food in the freezer to give myself space for all the baking I need to freeze!!

I made my jam last week. Summer-fruit jam using the microwave recipe. It was so easy and just tasted amazing! I just bought the frozen fruit from Asda and got some Jam sugar. I've now got Winter fruits so I'm making another lot today. I also found a microwave recipe for Marmalade so I'm going to be making that too (although I'm not the oranges are quite right for it but we'll see...).

Petrova - my Mum's a real pain, she doesn't even like Chocolate???!!!

Katienana - clearly I need to get myself an allotment - all of that sounds fabulous!! I'm hoping there will be plenty of baked goodies in the hamper. I'm doing Xmas cake (I've made this so I'm just feeding regularly with brandy now...), Shortbread, Biscotti, Parmesan Thins and Oatcakes. I'm attempting Honeycombe and Fudge aswell...

So now, packaging. Anyone who has given biscuits etc for presents, how have you packaged them to keep them fresh? I've managed to get some nice Xmas food bags (from China...) with gusset bottoms (hate the word gusset...) that I can fold over at the top and seal, but I'm a bit conscious of making sure they're airtight... Any ideas?

I am giving a couple of hampers with homemade goodies to friends this year. So far I have pickled nectarines, christmas pud vodka, bramble vodka, sloe gin, plums and cherries in brandy, Christmas cake and whisky marmalade (which I made in January). I am going to test bake some biscotti as I've never made it before and if that works I will put some of that in, too.

Ooooh Shiteforbrains (it feels soooo wrong calling you that... ), do you have a good recipe for Pate? How faffy is it? I'm looking for quick and easy recipes but both Mum and Dad love Pate and I've never made it, I'm more of a baker...

I'd add a jar of savoury coated nuts. I make my own vanilla extract by getting a 1/4 bottle of inexpensive vodka and adding a whole or half vanilla pod that I've cut a long it's length. I pop the bottle in the cupboard and shake it regularly. If you've got a someone who loves vanilla vodka to drink add a whole pod to a full bottle, it's fine to drink after a couple of weeks.

Hi! I am making hampers for people this year.
So far I am including
-oreo cookies n cream fudge
-Chocolate bark topped with naice toppings
-Nice bubble baths/creams etc relevant to hamper receivers.
-Home made sugar scrub
not sure what else yet.
The baskets are my problem don't have any to use at home so might get expensive.

Penfold007 the savoury nuts are a must!!! Do you have a recipe you use or do you just google?

Shite, yes please!! Sounds amazing!

I bought all my jars from Hobbycraft along with the jam toppers and wax discs. I am just going to decorate a sturdy cardboard box for my parents hamper because they wouldn't use a real one afterwards anyway... Plus I know that my Mum will give all the jars back, she even gives me back the cakeboard from the Xmas cake when I make them each year!