20 Homemade Christmas Food Gifts to Give in a Jar or a Box

My grandma’s sugar cream fudge, made with brown sugar, cream and pecans. You let it boil hard without touching it, and the icing sugar does the rest. It sets in the fridge, then you cut it into squares and pack them in a box.

A relish of cucumbers, onions and carrot, colored with turmeric. It stays crunchy, never mushy, because you chop everything in the food processor in small batches. A jar of this will make any hot dog lover happy.

Milk and dark chocolate truffles flavored with coffee liqueur and hazelnuts, rolled in cocoa. The ganache needs to be properly firm before you shape the balls, so leave it alone in the fridge. A small box and you’re done.

Maple apple butter cooked in a plain pot, no slow cooker, with cinnamon and cloves. The peels stay in for color and vanish under the immersion blender. It thickens as it cools, a lovely spread to give away.

Gingerbread cookies with molasses, ginger and cinnamon, in a dough that rolls out beautifully. Soft or crisp depending on the bake, finished with royal icing. A box of these under the tree gets noticed.

Fancy dry rubs: barbecue, lemon, Jamaican jerk and blackening spice. Mix the spices in a bowl and jar them, and whoever receives them just has to rub their meat. Perfect for the brother-in-law who’s always at the grill.

A creamy chocolate fudge with crispy bacon and a pinch of sea salt. Sweet and smoky-salty in the same bite. It melts together over low heat, sets in the fridge and makes a change from the usual fudge.

Beets roasted in the oven instead of boiled, which concentrates their sugar, then pickled in cider vinegar and cinnamon. You jar them while they’re still warm. A beautiful ruby jar for anyone who likes a little tang.

Stovetop popcorn coated in a brown sugar and maple syrup caramel, with a splash of maple liqueur or dark rum. It bakes low and slow in the oven, stirred now and then, and comes out properly crunchy.

A blueberry jam with fresh ginger, vanilla and a little dark rum. Frozen blueberries work too, so you can make it in the dead of winter. Pour it into jars once it’s fully cooled and keep it in the fridge.

Dark chocolate melted right on the baking sheet in the oven, a pecan half pressed into each one, a little flaky salt on top. No double boiler, no molds. Hardly any ingredients, and it looks like it came from a chocolatier.

Autumn fruit ketchup, with tomatoes, apples, pears and peaches simmered slowly with maple syrup. The spices do all the heavy lifting. Keep it in the fridge or can it to enjoy all year long.

Melt-in-your-mouth vanilla shortbread, no egg, thanks to the cornstarch. Weigh your flour, that’s the whole secret: too much and they turn out dry. Cut with cookie cutters, they make lovely Christmas gifts.

Red onions pickled in vinegar, honey and peppercorns, ready after a short rest. One Mason jar is all it takes. They go in burgers, salads and anywhere else that’s socially acceptable.

Puffed rice bound with chocolate-hazelnut spread, cookie butter and peanut butter. No oven needed, just press it into a pan and let it set in the fridge. The kids will devour them.

An amber, see-through apple jelly with no store-bought pectin. Let the juice drip through without ever pressing the apples, or it turns cloudy. And the leftover pulp becomes applesauce, so nothing goes to waste.

A panettone with no sourdough starter, studded with raisins and cranberries soaked in dark rum and orange and lemon zest. The crumb doesn’t collapse as long as you weigh your ingredients. A big Christmas loaf to give wrapped up.

A maple bacon jam with apples, onions and beer. Sweet, salty and smoky, it goes on toast, on a burger or next to a cheese. Cook the onion low and slow without browning it, patience really pays off here.

A dark brown sugar caramel sauce with butter and cream, made in a single pot with no thermometer. Stir without stopping. It thickens as it cools, so pour it into a Mason jar and tie a ribbon around it.

A dry rub with brown sugar, smoked paprika and cayenne, mixed in a bowl in no time. Crush every lump of brown sugar so it spreads evenly on the meat. It keeps for months in an airtight container.