Homemade gifts for this Holiday Season, I thought it would be a great idea to share some homemade gift ideas that you could make in your kitchen, as opposed to buying at a store or online. These are perfect for giving to the foodies in your life, your friends and family who enjoy cooking, or simply anyone that enjoys Mexican food and homemade meals.
Regardless of who you give them to, these thoughtful, homemade gifts will show your loved ones just how much you care for them.
Before you start cooking, though, consider having the proper gift-wrapping supplies ready. Things like ribbons, jute twine, mason jars, food-safe cello bags, craft paper, and gift tags or labels. Also, if you’re giving gifts in glass jars, consider some boxes or a basket to protect them.
Now, here’s the list of ideas for homemade gifts from your kitchen:
Homemade Salsas and Tortillas as a gift.
You might think that homemade tortillas or salsas could not be a good thing to gift, but you will be surprised about how welcoming people are when they receive them!
You know that salsas and tortillas go hand in hand, and that nothing beats the taste and quality of a homemade tortilla or salsa. I’m sure that people receiving these as a gift will really appreciate your time and efforts in the kitchen.
- Flour Tortillas
- Corn Tortillas
- Salsa Verde
- The Restaurant Style Salsa Roja
- And spicy Salsa Taquera
- Bottle Red Hot Sauce
- Adobo Sauce
- Tortilla Chips
Treats & Baked Goodies, the homemade gifts from Your Kitchen
Christmastime is a popular season to bake and share those sweet baked goods, so here are some goodies that you can bake and give as a gift, wrapped in decorative bags, tins, or baskets decorated with ribbons, tags, or labels. These will be festive gifts for your friends and family to enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or chocolate!
- Polvorones
- Polvorones Sevillanos
- Wedding Cookies
- Griddle Cookies (stove top cookies)
- Buñuelos
- Buñuelos de Viento
- Pineapple Pie
Pickled Peppers as a Homemade Gifts
Mexican food is very often referred to as spicy, but a lot of times the actual dish is not spicy, and instead we like to add things like salsas or picked peppers to add some spiciness to the meal. If you know of someone that loves to make their food spicy, check out the follow recipes:
- Pickled Habanero Peppers
- Bird Peppers in Vinegar
- Pickled Jalapeño Peppers
- Pickled Red Onions (they’re actually not spicy at all, but they also make a good gift)
Want to surprise your friends and family with something very special this Christmas season? Make them something that shows that you really took some time to make, like tamales!
Other Treats that Make Great Gifts:
I hope that these gift ideas help you out with your Christmas list, and that your friends, families, and neighbors enjoy them!
For the Buñuelos recipe in Spanish, click HERE and for a
J. D Stinson
Sister,
Many thanks for all your hard work. Your authentic, honest, and sincere recipes and methods warm the heart of this Tejano, now living in cold Minnesota, who has been making (and happily, eating) Tex-Mex for most of my long life. Keep up the great work, and maybe...just maybe...more Americans will see the beauty and honesty of true Mexican cooking. All the best to you and your family during this Christmas season.
Ramona Banuelos
My son took on a vanity project. He is making blue corn tamales just because he is fascinated by blue corn. Unfortunately he is gong to discontinue the tamales he sells out of the family business because they don't make money. Tamales are labor intensive and if you add quality ingredients they are expensive to produce. I suppose I will have to make my own tamales at some point.
Crevel E
Mexican home made cuisines are amazing. The pics of all dishes are looking amazing and yummy.
Thanks for the post.. Enjoyed reading it.
Carmen Fierro
hello,
I can wait to try many of your recipe's some just reading make my mouth water. can you help me with 2 questions
1. when I make pork or beef tamales it seems as they take for ever to steam the Masa always looks doughy when I check I a have tried wetter and dryer and still it is over 3 hours.
2. My flour tortillas I know when my mom and grandma made them the tortillas always were still soft and pliable on day 2 and day 3 mine hard hours after making them what am I doing wrong.
Thank you for your help.
Mely Martínez
Hello Carmen,
Thank you for visiting the blog.
I'm not sure what type of masa are you using to make your tamales, is this fresh masa or masa harina. If it is masa harina, what brand, and type. There are many factors that affect the cooking time. Maybe you are adding too much water to the pot, or to the dough. But, tamales usually are done in about an hour.
For the flour tortillas, are they still hard after you reheat them?
carmen fierro
Hello Mely,
Thank you for responding; in my area I have access to Maseca instant masa I wish I could get fresh in my area. I have made it so its just a little thicker then peanut butter, and I also have made it just a little thinner then peanut butter. I have never thought about the water I add to my pot I usually fill the pot just below the holes of my rack. They just never look done to me, when I check the masa it never seems to pull away from the husk as mentioned in recipes. as for the flour tortillas I just remember being able to reaching into my grandmother sartén and the tortilla was still soft from her making them the day before. if you dont finish mine at dinner they are to hard afterwards for even warming up but I am still trying for projects
Mely Martínez
Hello Carmen,
For the tamales, definitely, you are adding more water to the dough or the pot that needed.
For the flour tortillas, reduce the amount of shortening to your recipe, and try not to add flour to your working surface.