3 Edible Homemade Holiday Treats to Gift This Year

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! What better way to celebrate the holidays than edible Christmas gifts for the whole family? We have a few gift ideas you can make at home that everyone can enjoy. As the holidays are approaching around the corner and the cold winter air is upon us. Let’s get started!

Chocolate Pretzel Rods

These are always a good edible gift when you don’t know what to give to your friends and loved ones. Who doesn’t like sweet and salty? All you need is just a few items. 

• Snyder’s pretzel rods
• Ghirardelli chocolate melts
• Christmas themed sprinkles
• Peppermint
• Scissors
• Piping bags
• Silicone baking mat or parchment paper
• A spoon

Now you don’t have to use those exact brands for your ingredients, you can choose any kind of pretzels or chocolate you would like. You will want to melt your chocolate melts either in a plastic measuring cup or over the stove. If you choose to melt your chocolate over the stove you will need a pot with boiling water and a metal bowl to go over your pot. You’ll then want to place your chocolate melts in the metal bowl and consistently stir so it doesn’t stick or burn. This is called the double broiler method. Once your chocolate is melted you can then remove it from the heat and place it next to your other items. 

Next, you want to grab your pretzel rod and your spoon. Dip the pretzel rod into your bowl of melted chocolate and use the spoon to cover most of the pretzel with the chocolate. You don’t have to cover the entire pretzel, you can leave one end without the chocolate so it’s easy to hold onto without it being messy. Then you can place your chocolate-covered pretzel on your baking mat or parchment paper and decorate it with crushed peppermints, sprinkles or drizzle with more chocolate using your piping bag. Once the pretzels are completely dried you can place them in a decorative container or in festival bags to hand out to your friends and family. 

Christmas Chocolate Truffles

Truffles are the easiest, sweet treat gift ideas for the holidays. Especially, if you have kids in your life you can get them involved in making these delicious treats. 

• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 14 ounces canned sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup sprinkles
• Parchment-lined baking sheet

First you will melt the chocolate chips, condensed milk, and vanilla extract the same way you would in the first recipe with the double broiler method. Stir your chocolate mixture until smooth. Refrigerate the chocolate mixture for one hour until slightly firm. Once you take those out of the refrigerator, portion the mixture using a two-teaspoon measure scoop to keep the truffles even in size. Roll into balls and roll into the sprinkles to coat. Place your truffles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for one hour to set. 

Dark Chocolate Bark with Strawberries and Pistachios

This dark but sweet treat is easier than ever to make. You can customize the berries or add other ingredients if you would like. It’s your own personalized treat!

• 16 ounces dark chocolate
• 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries, chopped
• ½ cup chopped pistachios
• ½ cup chopped toasted coconut
• 8-inch baking pan
• Wax paper

Melt your dark chocolate either in the microwave or over the stove using the double boiler method. Stir and melt the chocolate until smooth. Place wax paper on your baking pan and then pour the melted chocolate into the baking pan. Sprinkle the chopped strawberries and pistachios evenly over the melted chocolate. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until firm. Take the chocolate out of the baking pan by grabbing the ends of the waxed paper and break the chocolate into pieces. You can then put these broken chocolate pieces into festive bags to give as a gift. Store at room temperature. 

If you have any questions or would like to sign up for cooking classes, contact the best culinary school in Utah, Salt Lake Culinary Education today!