DIY Christmas presents: quick, easy and delicious!
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| Xmas decoration |
Christmas!!! It is coming! And for once, I am not stressed and delayed with my presents and I even enjoy a lot to prepare them! How do I do? Well, this year I decided to make my own presents for the family!
To be honest, I simplified quite a lot the brainstorming for finding the perfect present for everyone, and opted for a similar present for the whole family!
I made one present for the guys, and another one for the ladies.
I also made a smaller present for the friends who are far away and for whom it was more complicated to send a big parcel!
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| Homemade Granola, DIY Xmas gift |
1/ For the guys, granola!
Because guys are strong and tough, they love to have an energetic breakfast! And you will love it so much, that you will make a second batch only for you!
Ingredients for 6 portions:
- 320 gr. (3 cups) of rolled oats
-180 gr. (1.5 cup) of nuts not salted not roasted
- 90 gr. (1 cup) of grated coconut
- 90 gr. (1 cup) of seeds mix
- 1.5 tsp. of salt
- 100 ml (1/2 cup) of maple syrup
- 4 tbsp. of coconut oil
- cinnamon, grounded cardamom and vanilla extract
- raisins, chocolate chips and cocoa nibs
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| Add the chocolate chips and raisins at the end |
1/ In a large bowl get together all the ingredients except the chocolate chips and raisins.
I added walnuts, pecan nuts, hazelnuts, almonds whole and sliced, sesame seeds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
2/ Stir and mix well everything. Pour in a baking tray folded with some kitchen paper.
3/ Cook at 150ºC for 30 to 45 minutes, till all the granola is golden and roasted. You can stir half way to make the color more homogeneous.
4/ Let it cool and add the chocolate chips and raising. Store in sealed glass jars. I opted for some French Le Parfait jars, but Mason jars or Wreck jars are beautiful as well!
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| Hot Chocolate by Appetit Voyage |
2/ Ladies and their decadent hot chocolate mix!
Who´s not dreaming of a generous hot chocolate ready to enjoy during the holidays!
I found 2 different flavored mixes to add some variety to the presents, beside my favorite one, the pure dark cocoa.
I paid more attention to the container, choosing some handmade beautiful glass Christmas balls!
My favorite Hot chocolate mix would be: 3 tbsp. of pure cocoa powder, 1 pinch of chili flakes, cinnamon and cardamom.
I added for everyone some different layers like: grated coconut, brown sugar, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, fancy sugar snowflakes shapes.
Just let your imagination making variations of layers and colors thinking also about the favorite flavors of your beloved.
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| Mulled Wine spices mix |
3/ Mulled wine spices
Another winner for a totally DIY present, everyone will enjoy!
Actually, I saw in a delicatessen shop last weekend a mulled wine spices mix, it was quite simple and very expensive. So it gave me the idea to do my own mix!
Ingredients for 6 to 8 mixes:
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 12 to 16 cinnamon sticks
- 12 to 16 star anise
- pink peppercorns
- black peppercorns
- Madagascar peppercorns (optional)
- 12 to 16 cardamom pods
- 12 to 16 cloves
1/ Choose orange and lemon not treated after harvest. Slice thinly the orange. Peel the lemon.
Place the slices and peel on the grill of your oven at 90ºC during 2h. Keep an eye and take out smaller slices or the lemon peel when totally dry.
Let it cool.
2/ In small bags, put 2 orange slices, a piece of lemon peel, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 star anise, a pinch of each different peppercorn peppers, 2 cardamom, 2 cloves. You can and replace the spices depending on your own taste.
3/ Add a couple of brown sugar tablespoon if you eat sugar, but I would rather recommend to not and advise to use honey instead!
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| Handwritten recipe |
4/ I wrote for each one, a quick recipe about how to use the spices. It was looking like:
- Pour 1 bottle of red or white wine or a bottle of apple juice for a non alcoholic version. Put it a medium heat.
- Add some slices of your favorite fresh fruit like apple or orange.
- Add the my special homemade spices mix, with a couple of tablespoons of honey.
- Stir and let it simmer for at least 20 minutes. It is ready to enjoy!
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| Mulled Wine |
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