Homemade Food Gift: Christmas Cookie Jars

Now, I realize that my timing may be off on this. Christmas has come and gone, and if you're like me, you are in detox mode from indulging over the holidays. But, if I may…I'd like to offer up some residual Christmas cheer.

I made these festive cookie jars this holiday season after seeing them on Brown Eyed Baker's list of homemade food gift ideas. Number 2 on her list is Bakerella's Homemade Cookie Mix (Be forewarned, if you have a sweet tooth, enter this site at your own risk. You will be dazzled by the goodies she whips up!).

At the Brown Eyed Baker's wise counsel, I turned Bakerella's Cowgirl Cookie Jars into the most adorable Christmas Cookie Jars. I lucked out and found 2 cases of canning jars on Craigslist, hit up Walgreens for some glitzy tinsel, and got my arts-and-crafts on.

Homemade Cookie Mix

I wasn't going to blog about this, since it seemed as if I had missed the sleigh on timeliness, but the feedback I got after giving these has been amazing! Everyone is clamoring for the recipe. Not only are these pretty, thoughtful, and homemade gifts…they are really delicious. Don't take it from me though.

Real live testimonials:

"These are SO good. I can't stop eating them, and I've been eating cookies all day." - Carly

"Holy gods of cookie heavens have shined down upon me! Best f-in baked dessert product of this Xmas season!" - My Brother

People loved these cookies. They made them with their kids. They horded them from visitors. They ate them all in one day. Warm, gooey cookies on a cold winter's day? Now that is Peace and Joy.

Now that the holidays are over, the last thing you may want to see is another cookie. Don't fret. Give it a day or two. It will pass.

Joy to the World

Christmas Cookie Jars
Adapted from Bakerella's "Cowgirl Cookies"

Makes: 27 cookies

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup M&Ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Wet Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Stir all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add 1 slightly beaten egg, 1/2 cup melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
4. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients thoroughly.
5. Roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
6. Enjoy while warm and gooey!

To assemble the Cookie Jars:
Start with a 1 quart smooth, glass, canning jar. Layer the ingredients in this order:

1. Flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt (stir these all up before pouring in the jar so they are well distributed)
2. Oats
3. M&Ms
4. Chocolate chips
5. Brown sugar
6. White sugar
7. Chopped pecans

Pack each level down *really* tightly or else it won't all fit. You can get the most packing power after the oats layer and the brown sugar layer. I used that top piece from the lid of my food processor (the thing you use to push veggies in through the hole in the lid) to really jam it all down.

Add the chopped pecans last, because depending on how well you pack the layers, you can add more or less pecans to adjust. As Bakerella notes, better to sacrifice nuts than chocolate. But also, for practical reasons, it helps keep the white sugar from spilling out all over the place when the recipient opens the jar.

The ingredients will be flush to the top of the lid when you seal it up. To decorate the top of the jars, wrap 16 inches of decorative wire tinsel around the top. Print the Preparation instructions on little cards made from wrapping paper, and punch a hole in the corner so you can attach it to the tinsel. Voila! Instant Christmas Cheer.

Bakerella's non-secular version involves decorating with suede cord and some fabric. She cuts the fabric into 6 inch squares and the suede into 25 inch pieces. Place the fabric on top and tie ribbons around the lid to hold it in place.

It's beginning to look a lot like Xmas!

All I want for Christmas is... not another pair of toe-socks (no offense, Mom) or body lotion/soap set.

The Bay Area is rife with unique eating experiences, culinary talent, and tasty goods made with lots of love. Why not support local businesses, while giving someone a gift they won't be re-gifting?

(Ahem, for the record, if you do want to re-gift any of these, I'd gladly accept items 1 through 10).

1. CSA subscription (for the Lazy)

Bay Area: Buy Fresh Buy Local

I love having my CSA box of fresh, organic, in-season fruits and veggies delivered right to my door every other week. Many are flexible, customizable, and available for convenient delivery to your home or nearby location. A few to get you started on your search:

• Eatwell Farm (includes option for pasture-raised eggs)
• Farm Fresh to You
• Frog Hollow Farm (all fruit; during the winter, supplemented with items from the farm kitchen like granola, dried fruit, and olive oil)
• Full Belly Farm
• Two Small Farms (Mariquita)
• Soul Food Farm (pastured poultry and eggs)
• Terra Firma Farms

2. Socola Chocolatier "Holiday Chocolate Truffle Collection {on a faux bear rug}," $25 (for the Cheeky)

Socola Chocolatier, holiday collection {on a faux bear rug}

This Oakland-based, sister-run chocolate company is modern, sassy, and full of delectable personality. The 12-piece holiday assortment includes the following flavors: Hazelnut Gianduja (a milk chocolate truffle blended with roasted hazelnuts "bundled up in a fashionable nutty parka"), Hot in Hia (a champagne truffle with notes of fruit and honey, named in honor of the bubbly personality of the girls' grandmother Hia), Le Frog Neat (a smoky confection made with 10-year-old Laphroaig Scotch whisky), and Pumpkin Burnt Caramel (a warm mix of pumpkin pie spices, burnt caramel, Hawaiian sea salt and a splash of brandy).

3. Recchiuti Confections "Creativity Explored III: Toys," $21 (for the Philanthropic Art-lover)

Recchiuti Confections, Creativity Explored III: Toys

These art-adorned chocolates combine Michael Recchiuti's signature Burnt Caramel chocolate confections, with the work of Vincent Jackson, SF native and long-time artist at the Creativity Explored studio. Creativity Explored is a Bay Area nonprofit visual arts center where artists with developmental disabilities create, exhibit, and sell their art. $2 from each sale goes to support Creativity Explored.

4. Jimmyjane Milk Chocolate AFTERGLOW Massage Oil Candle, $28 (for After Hours)

Jimmyjane, Milk Chocolate AFTERGLOW

If it's a different kind of chocolate experience you're after, look no further. When heated, this candle liquefies into high-slip massage oil made with jojoba, shea butter, vitamin E, soy, aloe, and other botanical extracts. Bonus: it comes with a body brush to assist in painting the warm oil onto the skin. Extra Bonus: it smells delicious.

5. Boccalone Large Gift Box, $52 (for the Carnivore)

Chris Cosentino, Boccalone

Nothing says Happy Holidays like Tasty Salted Pig Parts. This homage to salumi contains two 8-ounce Boccalone salami (chosen from available flavors like Orange & Wild Fennel Salame, Soppressata di Calabria, Brown Sugar and Fennel Salame, and Salame Pepato), a t-shirt, and one 9-ounce jar of Whole-Grain Mustard. If the whole gift box thing isn't your style, take your pick of hand-crafted porcine delights from the Boccalone meat locker. I, for one, may or may not be maxing out my luggage weight limit this Christmas flight home on Nduja ("en-DOO-ya")...so much velvety, spicy Nduja.

6. Jessie Steele Aprons, $30.95-$33.95 (for the Lovely Hostess)

Photo by Jessie Steele, from left to right: Bib Ava Cabbage Rose Apron, Half Audrey Cherry Cupcakes Apron, Bib Gigi French Toil Apron with Terry Towel

These vintage 1940's and 50's-inspired hostess aprons are so cute and fabu, they just make me want to put on my pearls, bake a cake and drink a martini at the same time.

7. Cookbooks from Bay Area Culinary Greats (for Those Who Can Take the Heat)

Ad hoc at Home

These cookbooks will be sure to inspire some magic in your home kitchen:

• Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller
• Demolition Desserts: Recipes from Citizen Cake by Elizabeth Falkner
• Fields of Greens by Annie Somerville
• Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook by Cindy Pawlcyn
• Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson
• Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen
• The Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers.

Note: you may want to pair this gift with a laminating machine, drool.

8. La Cocina Artisan Gift Box, The Half-Pint, $35 (for the Snack-Happy Do-Gooder)

La Cocina Gift Box, The Half-Pint

These gift boxes are filled with an assortment of hand-made, sweet and salty snacks from local small food businesses enrolled in La Cocina's incubator program. Snack to your heart's content and feel good about supporting local food entrepreneurs.

9. Cooking Classes (for the Ambitious)

Group Cook

Because if you send someone you love to a cooking class, chances are good it will come back ten-fold! There are many options in SF alone, ranging in price, time commitment, and topic. For a more formal school setting, there is the highly regarded Tante Marie's Cooking School. Urban Kitchen SF hosts affordable, skill/project specific classes and workshops themed around the DIY Slow Food concept (e.g. brewing Kombucha, baking bread, composting), as does CUESA at the Ferry Building. And butchery is hot as ever, as Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats or Tia Harrison of Avedano's Holly Park Market can tell you. SF Station also has a comprehensive of culinary schools and social cooking classes in the city.

10. Unique Dining Experiences (for the Hungry)

Photo by Outstanding in the Field

And finally, you can't go wrong with a fantastic meal. There is no shortage of phenomenal restaurants in the Bay Area, but if you dig a little, you can also find some interesting out-of-the-box options. Outstanding in the Field offers gift certificates (although, be sure to stay on top of the 2010 schedule once it's announced because these stunning dinners book up quickly). For something more stealth and mysterious, check out the underground supperclub scene at The Ghetto Gourmet.

So what are you waiting for? Now Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen...

Happy holidays, happy gift-giving, and happy eating to all.

Some people look forward to Christmas all year. They start designing their Holiday cards before the dye on their Easter eggs has even dried. Thanksgiving isn't treated so much as a reflective day spent with friends and family, but rather as an appropriate time to start dragging out the Holiday decorations.

I know people like this, but I am not one of them.

My favorite December day happens to be today, known in the Commonwealth countries as Boxing Day or, more religiously, as the Feast of St. Stephen.

In brief, Boxing Day custom dictates that those of the privileged classes give something back to the little people-- those folks who spend the year cleaning their toilets, corraling their children, and fetching them lattes. Little tokens of thanks are offered, like thoughtful long distance phone cards, cash, and things generally gone unused and unwanted by the rich. A dear little tradition, if you ask me.

Upon first hearing about the holiday without actually knowing anything about it, I thought the name implied the much-looked-forward-to boxing up and putting away of Christmas decorations. Upon deeper reflection, I decided it was a day spent putting unwanted Christmas gifts back in their packaging to be returned at the soonest possible opportunity.

In a way, I suppose it is such a day, only it is easier if you simply re-gift such items and hand them over to people who have nothing and, therefore, will be grateful for the sudden windfall of, say, a toaster that burns the words "I love you" into their bread. They will think you really care. In fact, they will be reminded of it daily.

In light of today's theme, I have come across several re-giftable food-related items, a few of which I thought I'd share. If you have received anything particularly horrible this season, I would very much love it if you would share it, if not with your cleaning woman, intern, or CPA, then with me.

The Darth Vader toaster is a tough one. There is a certain geek chic to it I find (mildly) appealing, but the fact the the photo displays a piece of bread that, apart from the area charred by the dark side, looks stale and untouched. I would be inclined to re-gift this to my sister, whose Jedi name is Loreen Shadowchaser and has a sideline business of creating startlingly accurate reproductions of light sabers which are highly regarded in certain circles. The toaster is available at shop.starwars.com for a mere $54.99.

The Brownie Edge Pan sounds like a delightful gift for brownie lovers, but the uncut logs of brownie look more like uncut logs of brownie after having been digested. I can't think of anyone upon whom I'd wish to foist this item, which is available at Get Organized for $19.80 (reduced from $19.98).

If one really wants to pamper one's banana, the Banana Bunker is just the ticket at only $4.95 (or, if you want to shield and coddle a whole bunch, $19.95 for five). Available in fashion colors, your friends and co-workers will point out the obvious, condom-like qualities of this gadget which you will never live down. Ever. Even if you get a new job and move to another city.

The Automatic Martini Shaker can be found at Get Organized for $49.98. Get Organized, if you didn't know, seems to be an unending font of gadgetry, spewing forth page upon page of unbelievable crap, as well as truly useful items. The Automatic Martini Shaker strikes me as a totally useless gift, of course, but especially for the wealthy, who have other people make their martini's for them anyway. Perhaps one might give this to one's favorite bartender with the thought of preventing the inevitable repetitive stress injury that will befall him or her a few years down the road. A thoughtful re-gift if there ever was one.

This last present, I think I would keep-- it's just too clever not to. Who doesn't need a useful, not-so-subtle memento mori around the kitchen, especially if one is, say, carrying a boiling kettle of oil from stove to the countertop? Sadly, these Sylvia Plath oven mitts (once available at etsy.com for $28.00) have been sold out for weeks. The popularity of this item gives me hope, namely the hope that there are others out there just like me-- people depressed enough by all the Holiday Cheer Pressure that piles upon us every year. Maybe, like me, they just want some quilted, poetic in-joke to cushion their heads as they lay them on the still- warm oven door, after the last gingerbread man has been baked, inhaling the sweet smell of another Christmas completed.