Homemade food gift to take when invited for lunch...?

[Wigeon]

I am going to someone's house next week for lunch and would like to take some kind of homemade food as a gift. The couple are much older than me, wealthy and upper class, so I am feeling slightly intimidated about what to make. So far, all I can think of is biscotti, eg www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8022/fruity-christmas-biscotti. Any other ideas?

[Wigeon]

Made the biscuits! Gave the biscuits! Kept three aside for testing! They were indeed delicious and looked lovely. Thank you again, dairymoo.

They did come out quite dark-coloured - quite a bit darker than the photo - presumably because of the 150g of grated chocolate (I don't think they were burnt!). Do yours too?

[dairymoo]

You'll not regret it, they are delish. And you're right...the candied peel make them look a bit more elegant. Could dip one half in chocolate too which would be lovely.

[Wigeon]

After much umming and arhing, I have decided on the Ottolenghi spice biscuits - thank you dairymoo. But I love rocky road, so have decided to make the Nigella Christmas Rocky Road for my team at work, and give some to each of them in pretty cellophane bags with ribbons. YUM! Thank you for all the ideas.

[stephenisjustcoming]

Long biscotti are great! Perfect for dunking in hot chocolate. And the smaller ones are good presents because they can be brought out when unexpected guests come over, and be passed off with after-dinner coffee instead of pudding, as 'something i made earlier'...

Shortbread stars are always good, for the same reason. (250g flour; 50g cornflour or ground rice; 200g butter; 100g sugar) If you have a set of star cutters you can make a selection of different sizes, or make some chocolate/orange-scented/almond, then dust with caster sugar as they're cooling, and stack in a clear cellophane bag.

To be honest, if someone gave me some Rocky Road, it wouldn't even make it to tea time...

[Wigeon]

Thanks - I make a fantastic flapjack (using SoupDragon's recipe from many past threads here!), but think they say cosy-domesticated-mum-home-baking rather than sophisticated-elegant-swanning-around-posh-persons-house-career-woman, which is what I am trying to convey through the medium of gifted food...! I like the ginger shortbread semi-dipped malarky idea though - nice....

[HepzibahFlurge]

flapjacks :)

[Snowbility]

Crystallised Ginger shortbread semi-dipped in dark choc....very grown up! Wrap stacked in cellophane.

[Wigeon]

Thank you all for further replies!

Hm, it's definitely between biscotti and posh rocky road. Like the idea of slicing biscotti thinly so they aren't just hard rocks...

[stephenisjustcoming]

A lot comes down to presentation, I reckon - I often give dried cherry and pistachio biscotti at this time of year, because you can slice them into long thin fingers, showing off the red/green chunks, then put them in a nice cellophane bag tied with plenty of ribbon. Much as I LOVE chocolate truffles, it can be quite hard to present them in a way that doesn't look like your children made them, and if the recipients are of the 'ew, homemade food made in someone's filthy home and touched with someone's hands' variety whom I never knew existed until MN they might be put off by the 'touchiness' of them. Mad, I know.

[Laquila]

Really good Rocky Road, with lovely biscuits and maybe brazils or hazlenuts, and bits of truffle in it, would be lovely. Calling it tiffin might be appropriately colonial! ;)

[andadietcoke]

wigeon I've only ever made it for adults!

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Nigella took cinder toffee/honeycomb when she went to her friend for supper? That is really pretty easy to make, and people love it. It is fun too, when you put the bicarbonate in the caramel and it froths up!

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Easy chocolate truffle recipe here. And I found a recipe for Baileys truffles too.

[Snowbility]

Rocky road is just the best you cannot buy good rocky road...that to me is the essence of the best home made gift.

I'm making this one Rocky Road and of all the things I make, this is Dh's favourite - he likes dark, bitter good quality chocolate - there's no way this one is a kiddie favourite.

[Snowbility]

Or I have a triple choc cookie recipe, it contains an obscene amount of chocolate - stacked in a vertical pile with cellophane they look great and they taste fantastic.

[Wigeon]

I LOVE Rocky Road, and have just googled Nigella's Christmas one, which looked YUM, but can you give it to grown ups?!

[Snowbility]

Dh just screwed his nose up as biscotti - it's always the thing that doesn't get eaten - hard, dry biscuits....mind you I've only ever had them when I'm out, with coffee but I've never been thrilled by them.

[andadietcoke]

Nigella's Christmas rocky road is great. Easy, and yummy. I made it for a board meeting once and it went down extremely well.

[Snowbility]

I wouldn't do try hard, something simple probably shortbread made properly they are unbeatable. Rocky road with 85% cocoa - it's amazing. I'd focus on things you can't easily buy good versions of. Or you could do a Christmas pud...that's a lovely gift to receive, shop bought ones are often horrible.

[Wigeon]

Ottolenghi cookies look delicious but possibly a bit rustic looking. Although the glaze makes them look good. Am erring towards biscotti at the mo...also because I could make them in advance...

[Wigeon]

Ooh I have Jerusalem!

[dairymoo]

Ottolenghi has a fab recipe for spice cookies in his latest book Jerusalem. Can't link at the moment but I'm sure you can find them online. Look impressive, taste divine. Pretty easy too.

[janeyjampot]

Actually they do taste really nice as well. I double the spice quantity and leave the nuts in quite large chunks which makes them feel more special, I think.

[Laquila]

Another vote for biscotti. I've made chocolate and pistachio ones for the past couple of years and they go down really well. Sadly can't remember where the recipe came from, sorry! Florentines could also look lovely, or choc-dipped brandy snaps? You could allsomelt down chocolate, add interesting grown-up flavours and then break it into shards after its's cooled. Make some honeycomb and peanut brittle too and box it up with that and you've got some nicely grown-up pick n mix! White choc with goji berries, dark chocolate with sour cherries and macadamia nuts etc

[janeyjampot]

I know where you're coming from but they're always really expensive in the shops!