Bake It Up Baby! : Domestic Cents

So … my next frugal gift-giving idea is to bake something! I know, ground-breaking advice right?

What I want to give you are some ideas to class it up. Let’s forgo the disposable plate covered in plastic wrap and make those goodies look worthy of gift-giving. When I talked about gift baskets I urged you to think outside the basket, remember? Well, this time I’d like you to think outside the plate.

The first thing to consider is what you are giving. If you can pair the gift with the container it’s extra appealing. For instance, if you are giving cookies you could use a fun cookie jar. Bread could be given in a bread basket. How about flower-shaped cookies in a new vase!

While those are great ideas if baking for one or two people, if you are baking for a number of people then they could get a little pricey, completely counteracting what I’m promoting here. So here are a few non-disposable plate ideas to toss your goodies into.

A Homemade Gift Box – Here are some really nice ones from Do It Yourself Gifts. Of course you could always buy some. They sell them in bundles this time of year.

A New Dish – a pie plate or serving dish (from somewhere cheap, but cute like Chirstmas Tree Shops)

A Cup – this works well for smaller treats (like the Buckeyes I’ve listed below), you could use a pair of wine glasses, a coffee mug or a teacup

A Tin – works especially well for fudge

Something Whimsical – like a sand pail or a flower pot

A Homemade Kitchen Towel – Cut out a rectangle (kitchen towel-sized of course) from a cute, cotton fabric and sew the edges, then wrap your treat (which is already wrapped in plastic wrap) in the towel and finish with a long piece of ribbon wrapped gift-style around it. This one is so easy and looks so thoughtful. Again, I’m sure you could purchase some hand towels inexpensively if you wanted to do that instead.

With that, I’d like to share two recipes that are fantastic for gift giving.

The first one is called Brownie Biscotti. It’s not my recipe though, so I’m not going to publish it I’ll just link you there. The only modifications I make to the recipe are to add a pinch of salt and drizzle with melted white chocolate. If you have coffee drinkers on your list they will LOVE these. I package them in favor bags I purchased in the wedding/craft section at a department store. Two biscottis fit perfectly into one bag.

The second recipe was shared with me by my friend Jeana. I LOVE these.

Buckeyes

2 sticks butter, softened
1 lb. peanut butter
Approx. 5 cups confectioners sugar
12 oz. chocolate chips
1/3 bar of parafin wax

Directions: Mix the top three ingredients together and shape into walnut-sized balls. Refrigerate 1 hour. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Melt the wax separately, then add to the chocolate and mix well. Stick a toothpick into each peanut butter ball then dip into chocolate mixture part way. Refrigerate then gently smooth over toothpick holes.

Do you have any great ideas for packaging baked goods? I’d love to hear them!

Why I do what I do ~ At the library today my daughter wandered into the “big kid” section of the children’s area. I stopped myself from redirecting her back to the “little kid” books when I saw her thoughtfully sit on the floor and pull out a couple books. She sat for about 10 minutes looking through them. Next thing I knew she stood up and brought me a book about horses and said, “Mommy I want this one.” We’d already chosen an “age-appropriate” book to borrow, but I wasn’t about to deny this one. My daughter had opened my eyes to the way I occasionally redirect her preferences. The book is full of pictures of horses and she loves it … of course she does, she picked it out.

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