‘Tis the season for great gift ideas!
I love homemade treats as Christmas Presents. They are unique and special, which you want every gift to be, but also they taste so much better then store bough anything! This year I made homemade granola and chocolate sauce. The gift bags are from Michael’s and are Martha Stewart’s line.
They are both super easy and delicious. I could not stop eating the granola, the olive oil, honey and salt made it addictive! And the chocolate sauce was a recipe I thought my mom came up with, but then I found it in Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook (the directions are taken from there). My mom uses powdered sugar, about 2 cups = 2/3 granulated sugar, and that is delicious too. I could, and frequently do, eat this with a spoon out of my fridge, we always keep a jar in there.
Olive Oil Granola
Olive Oil Granola (taken from Real Simple Magazine, for print version click here):
Ingredients
- 6 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- kosher salt
- 2 cups dried cherries (or other fruit)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300° F. Toss together the rolled oats, pepitas, honey, oil, sugar, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon salt.
- Bake on two rimmed baking sheets, tossing occasionally, until golden, 35 to 40 minutes; let cool.
- Mix in the dried cherries. Store at room temperature for up to three weeks.
Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients:
3/4 c. chocolate chips
1/4 c. butter
2/3 c. sugar
1 5 oz can evaporated milk (2/3 c.)
Directions:
In a small heavy saucepan melt chocolate and butter over medium heat. Add the sugar, gradually stir in evaporated milk until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Boil gently over low heat for 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Serve warm over ice cream, store in refrigerator.
!!~!!~!!~!! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year ~!!~!!~!!~!!
P.S. I had promised 12 days of posts for the 12 days of Christmas. Snowstorms, sickness, and Rob’s grandfather passing away made this impossible, but I did enjoy stepping up the blogs and have a few great ones saved to share with you after the new year.
No Comments