6 gifts you can easily make on your own

Sometimes the best holiday gifts are the ones that come from your own two hands. And whether you need a special treat for a friend or a family member, it’s hard to disappoint with a gift that’s edible as well as incredible.

Anne Cornell, the chef/instructor for Relish Culinary Adventures in Healdsburg, packaged up a wide range of DIY recipes last month for local residents to use to create all kinds of delicious gifts.

“People love the idea of crafting and making their own holiday gifts because it’s more personal,” she said. “These make good hostess gifts, and it’s a fun thing to do with your friends.”

The projects ranged from extremely easy – the Citrus Salt, Vanilla Sugar and Vanilla Extract have just two ingredients each -- to more challenging baking projects like Rosemary Pine Nut Biscotti and Toffee Brittle with Chocolate and Sea Salt.

“I wanted to mix it up,” Cornell said. “There’s baking and candy making, if you want to do something more complicated. But I wanted to give people options, so you can scrape vanilla beans into a jar, or here’s how to make limoncello.”

The class was popular among mothers and daughters, as well as working women looking for gifts for their co-workers.

“So often, if you work, you want to give your friends and co-workers something small, and this is perfect,” said Sheryl Seel of Windsor. “These are gifts that can be enjoyed and won’t create clutter.”

The projects do require some advance planning: a shopping trip for ingredients and containers, such as bottles and boxes, ribbons and labels. You can also find most of these online. (See sidebar for sources.)

The Citrus Salt can be made with a flake salt, such as Maldon, or a finer Japanese Sea Salt, which can be found at Asian markets. To make it, you simply zest a citrus fruit of your choice into the salt and let it air dry for a few hours.

“It’s good on fish, chicken, salads and roasted vegetables,” Cornell said. “You can also marinate goat cheese in it.”

The Vanilla Sugar is also a no-brainer. To make it, simply scrape the seeds of a whole vanilla bean into the sugar, then bury the bean as well and let sit for one to two weeks. You can use it as you would any granulated sugar.

“You can bake with it,” Cornell said. “I use it in everything.”

The Lavender Limoncello is slightly more complicated, but still easy enough for beginners to tackle. You simply peel Meyer lemons and limes, then add them with some lavender (or other herb, like rosemary) to vodka in a container and let stand for four weeks.

Then you make a simple syrup and strain the lemon/alcohol liquid into the cooled syrup. The Limoncello can be enjoyed by itself after a meal, or in combination with food.

“I will probably drizzle it over olive oil cakes,” Cornell said.

The Rosemary Pine Nut Biscotti, blending sweet and savory flavors, uses a bit of semolina flour or fine cornmeal to give it an extra crunch.

“This is my favorite flavor of biscotti,” Cornell said. “I like to make the logs skinny and long, so the cookies stay small for gift giving.”

Although it’s a little more work, the Toffee Brittle with Chocolate and Sea Salt delivers a big bang for the buck. And it’s not all that difficult. You just have to make sure you bring the toffee up to the correct temperature, then let it cool.

“It’s really important to take the toffee to 300 degrees for a hard crack, ” Cornell said. “You add nuts to it, let it cool, then sprinkle the chocolate on top and let it melt.”

It’s also important to use a good-quality bittersweet chocolate, such as Guittard, Ghirardelli or Valrhona.

“I’ve never known how to make toffee brittle, and now I do,” said Seel, who brought her daughter Catherine, 13. “We’re going to go home and make some for gifts... but we may want to keep some of the toffee for ourselves.”

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Citrus Salt

Makes 1¼ cups

1 cup flake salt, such as Maldon or Japanese sea salt

3 tablespoons citrus zest (any kind)

Mix salt and zest in a bowl; work zest into salt with your fingers to release oils and flavor. Spread on a baking tray. Air-dry until dried completely, 2 to 4 hours.

Can be made two months ahead if kept airtight at room temperature

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Homemade Vanilla Extract

Makes 8 ounces

3 vanilla beans

8 ounces alcohol such as vodka, bourbon, brandy or rum

Split each vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Place the vanilla beans in a clean jar or bottle. Cover them with alcohol, making sure they are completely submerged.

Cover the jar or bottle and give it a good shake. If you want a clear extract you can strain the seeds out using a coffee filter.

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Vanilla Sugar

Makes 2 cups

1 vanilla bean, whole or scraped

2 cups granulated sugar

If the vanilla bean is whole, slice down the side of bean with back of knife and scrape seeds into airtight container with the sugar. Bury bean in sugar and seal tightly with lid. Let sit for 1 to 2 weeks. Use as you would regular, granulated sugar.

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Lavender Limoncello

Makes about 1 gallon

15 Meyer lemons, or a mixture of lemons and limes (peel only, no pith)

3 tablespoons lavender or rosemary

2 liters Everclear or vodka

6 cups sugar

6 cups water

Put the lemon peels, lavender and Everclear or vodka in a container and let stand for four weeks. Strain the mixture into a decanter.

Mix the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the het and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool before adding to the lemon/alcohol mixture. Garnish with a long twist of fresh zest or a sprig of lavender or rosemary. Store in the freezer for up to one year. Serve in small aperitif glasses.

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Rosemary Pine Nut Biscotti

Makes about 20 cookies

1½ cups all-purpose flour

? cup semolina flour or fine cornmeal

? cup pine nuts

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 large eggs, at room temperature

? cup sugar

? cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine all-purpose flour, semolina flour (or cornmeal), pine nuts, rosemary and baking powder in a large bowl, mixing until rosemary is evenly distributed throughout.

Whisk eggs, sugar, oil and salt in a medium bowl just until combined and uniform (but not until the sugar dissolves).

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a 12-by-2½-inch log. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 15 to 20 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Slice the log crosswise into ½-inch thick slices; place them cut-side down on the baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate and continue baking for 10 minutes more. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer the biscotti to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Toffee Brittle with Chocolate and Sea Salt

Makes about 3 pounds

4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cups sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups nuts (pecans, peanuts, etc) toasted and chopped

2 cups bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cacao) finely chopped

? to ¼ cup coarse sea salt, such as Maldon

Thickly butter a rimmed metal baking sheet. Set aside.

In a heavy metal saucepan (4 to 5 quarts), melt together the butter, sugar and salt, whisking until smooth. Over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes and then constantly for 1 to 10 more minutes, until the mixture is a deep golden color (the hard-crack stage, or 300 degrees on a candy thermometer). Watch the mixture carefully during the last few minutes and stir thoroughly to prevent the mixture from burning.

Immediately stir in the chopped nuts, then carefully pour the hot toffee into the center of the greased baking sheet. With a silicone or metal spatula, smooth the toffee flat until it’s about ½-inch thick.

Let the toffee cool for a minute or two, then sprinkle the chopped chocolate over the surface of the toffee. When the chocolate has melted (about 4 to 5 minutes), spread it evenly across the toffee with the spatula.

Let cool for another 10 minutes or so, then dust the chocolate with the coarse sea salt. Sprinkle just a bit first; if the salt melts into the chocolate immediately, wait another few minutes. The salt should stick to the chocolate without vanishing.

Place the tray of toffee in the freezer and freeze until the chocolate layer is firm, about 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and break toffee into pieces. Layer between sheets of parchment paper and store in an airtight container at room temperature. The toffee will keep for about two weeks.

Notes: Since candy syrup is very hot, use only metal and silicone equipment for making this brittle. And be sure to soak all the utensils as soon as you’ve poured out the molten candy, or you’ll wind up with rock-hard candy stuck to your pots and tools.

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com