Homemade Gift Goodies

Christmas is one week from today. How is that possible?! Time is just flying by. In the midst of being so busy, I am so glad I took the time to make some homemade goodies for my friends at work last week. The smell of these nuts roasting in the oven made me finally feel like I was slowing down and doing something festive for the season. Plus, I love to get my craft on!

I bought inexpensive bottles of wine and downloaded free wine label printables from Better Homes and Gardens and Martha Stewart. I simply cut them out and applied to the wine bottles with double-sided scrapbook tape. I didn't even need to remove the existing labels - easy peasy!

Aren't they festive!?

The only thing to be mindful of is selecting wine bottles with labels that aren't gigantic so that the wraps will cover it.

To go with the wine, I wanted to make an easy snack and these 2 nut recipes sounded so delicious. It's just a coincidence that both have chipotle in them. It does happen to be one of my favorite flavors though! I packaged them in cellophane gift sacks tied with ribbon and a tag.

Below are the recipes!

Chocolate-Drenched Chipotle-Roasted Nuts

(click here for printer-friendly recipe)

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp water

2 tsp minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (I removed seeds)

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 cup pecan halves

1 cup walnut halves

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 Tbsp shortening

1/4 cup white chocolate morsels, melted

Note: I doubled this recipe to make a larger batch

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium-size nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in butter. Add nuts, and gently stir to coat. Spoon coated nuts in a single layer onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 250° for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread nuts on wax paper or parchment paper to cool, breaking apart large clumps as nuts cool.

Melt semisweet chocolate morsels and shortening in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Toss cooled nuts in semisweet chocolate until well coated. Return nuts to wax paper, and let harden. Drizzle white chocolate over nuts (do not toss). Let harden.

Tip: Speed up the chocolate hardening process by popping the jelly-roll pan into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Recipe from Southern Living

Chipotle & Rosemary Roasted Nuts

(click here for printer-friendly version)

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil
3 cups whole roasted unsalted cashews (14 ounces)
2 cups whole walnut halves (7 ounces)
2 cups whole pecan halves (7 ounces)
1/2 cup whole almonds (3 ounces)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves, divided
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Brush a sheet pan generously with vegetable oil. Combine the cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice, and chipotle powder on the sheet pan. Toss to coat the nuts evenly. Add 2 tablespoons of the rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss again.

Spread the nuts in one layer. Roast the nuts for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large metal spatula, until the nuts are glazed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 more teaspoons of salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary.

Toss well and set aside at room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking as they cool. Taste for seasoning. Serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight containers at room temperature. 

Recipe from Ina Garten in Food Network Magazine

Happy gifting!