Diet, Dessert and Dogs

Welcome to Week 3 of A Gluten Free Holiday 2011, the holiday event created by Amy and shared each week by yours truly (and four others–check below for all the participating blogs)!  This week’s topic, Gifts of Good Taste, is hosted by Alta of Tasty Eats at Home. Hop on over to see what edible gifts Alta has to share, or to link up your own favorite gifts-of-food recipes (and be sure to enter the giveaway while you’re there!).

I thought this would be a perfect week to share some of my own favorite recipes on the blog that would also make fantastic homemade–and edible–gifts.

Before we get to the food, though, we’ve got another cookbook giveaway! 

The book Alta is giving away this week is Artisanal Gluten-Free Cupcakes by Kelli and Peter Bronski.  So if you’re a cupcake fan, or if you want to win a great gift for someone else who is, enter the giveaway by leaving a comment on Alta’s blog or by linking up a recipe there.

And now, the food. . . .

In my younger years, I made almost all of my gifts myself (edible or otherwise).  Of course, the fact that I was a student living in penury (I won’t say I was a “starving” student, because with my love of dessert, that was never even a vague possibility) was one factor contributing to my motivation for making everything from scratch (unlike today, when the motivation is trying to remain free of the dreaded candida symptoms).

[Matcha Chocolate Truffles]

More importantly, though, I always believed that homemade gifts demonstrated how much you cared about someone, giving to them both your time and your thoughtfulness.  Since time is at a premium for all of us these days, we have to choose wisely–both what we’ll make, and to whom we’ll be giving it! 

For those very special people on your lists, you might want to mix up one of the following.  (NOTE: Some of these recipes are made with spelt and/or higher glycemic sweeteners such as sucanat or maple syrup.  Recipes with an asterisk * fall into that category; the rest are gluten free and lower glycemic.)

[Marzipan-Topped Shortbread Cookies]

Sweets:

• Chocolate Macaroons*
• Cinnamon Spiced Coconut Bark
• Coconut-Raspberry Truffle Cups
• Fudge Two Ways*
• Halvah
• Hazelnut Melting Moments
• Jam-Filled Turnovers*
• Love Bites (ACD-friendly chocolate fudge)
• Marzipan-Topped Shortbread Cookies*
• Matcha Chocolate Truffles (with ACD option)
• Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
• Spiked Sweet Potato Truffles or Truffle Cups*
• Tutti-Fruiti Christmas Cookies*

[Raw Chocolate Almond Butter]

Condiments and Spreads:

• Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread
• Raw Chocolate Almond Butter
• “Notella” (Chocolate Hazelnut Spread)
• Brandied Apricot-Ginger Spread 
• Cranberry Preserves
• Walnut-Cacao Nib Butter

[Spicy Nori Snacks]

Savory Snacks:

• Spicy Roasted Seeds
• Spicy Nori Snacks (a personal favorite)
• Grain-Free Hazelnut Cilantro Crackers

To see what the other Gluten-Free Holiday 2011 participants are serving up today, check out their blogs:

Amy at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

Maggie at She Let Them Eat Cake

Hallie at Daily Bites

Kim at Cook it Allergy Free

And my previous Gluten Free Holiday 2011 Posts:

I: Healthier Over the Holidays (Date-Free Date Squares)

II: Thanksgiving Favorite (Plumberry Sauce or Jam)

“Mum, it’s great that you’ll be making some homemade gifts this year. . . so does that mean Chaser and I will be getting homemade peanut butter treats? Mmm!”

Last Year at this Time: Roasted Chestnut and Parsnip Soup (gluten free;   ACD Stage 2 and beyond)

Two Years Ago: Apple and Red Wine Soup (gluten free; ACD Stage 2 and beyond)

Three Years Ago: Let Them Eat Eggplant (Caviar) (gluten free; ACD all stages)

Four Years Ago: How to Lose Weight without Even Trying

© Ricki Heller, Diet, Dessert and Dogs