It’s Christmas Eve, and I don’t know about you, but by now I’ve read about 793 different blog posts with titles like “Top 10 Gifts for Vegans” or “25 DIY Gift Ideas” or “100 Best Cookie Recipes of All Time.” There’s even been a whole book written about edible vegan gifts!
I live for stuff like this, and I get a lot of inspiration from others. This year I had kind of a sensory overload though, from the sheer volume of beautiful and thoughtful ideas I came across. In the end, I decided to just keep it utterly simple when it came to my own gifting.
That is how these Holiday Candy Cups were born. The flavor variations are endless, but the pictures below show my Toasted Almond, Mint Chocolate Cookie, Sweet and Salty, and Coconut varieties.
I first made these candies for our holiday party last weekend, and then made some more to pack into adorable little tins to give to coworkers.
If you would like to read more about how I made the Holiday Candy Cups pictured above, please click over to Chic Vegan and check out my guest post there today 🙂
As I mentioned yesterday, I also decided to create some more chocolatey goodness in the form of Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods with assorted toppings.
Chocolate covered pretzels with crushed candy canes
You can obviously be as creative as you like with the toppings on these. I ended up going with half toasted coconut and half crushed candy canes. I wanted to do some with a peanut butter drizzle but ended up being a bit too pinched for time. Maybe next year!
I am gifting these in holiday mugs like so:
The pretzels are really yummy (I know because I had, um, the broken ones), and I think the gift came out looking pretty and festive too!
One other thought on the subject of DIY gifting…
Like most people my age that I know, I don’t have a ton of cash to throw around on gifts. It can be hard enough to buy for your immediate family and closest friends, but I find the difficulty is compounded when trying to factor in people from work, extended family, neighbors, etc. Often times these are people you don’t even know that well.
In those situations, edible and other handmade gifts really are an economical way to spread holiday cheer a little further beyond your immediate circle!
Case in point: the mugs in which I packed the pretzels cost 80 cents apiece at my craft store. EIGHTY CENTS ya’ll. And they were not junky; they were clean, sturdy, and dare I say attractive. At a price like that, I can afford to give a gift to all of my coworkers, our mail carrier, and my favorite bartender rabbi too! Plus, it’s a pretty safe bet that each of those people (assuming of course that he or she is a human) likes candies and cookies.
Oh also, the chocolate that I used for the pretzels came from Trader Joe’s. It is good quality, vegan dark chocolate, and it comes in a 1-lb. bar that costs $4.99. You really can’t do better than that.
Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I am sending each and every one of you my warmest wishes at this festive time of year. Happy Holidays!
A.Cook in the Making 