Homemade Gift Ideas For the Baker in the Family

One thing we have in common is we all have to eat. What better gift than some fresh homemade baked goods given as a gift to your friends, office, family, church members or school teachers.

It's not as hard as you might think to bake a batch of muffins or cupcakes. There are many mixes and shortcuts available. And even without the mixes and the shortcuts, you can make things like banana bread or coffeecake in under an hour, not counting baking time.

Many of these ideas are kid friendly too. Spend quality family time letting your kids frost some cupcakes or stir in the cranberries. They will be so proud when you share their baking. And the broken cookies can be eaten along the way.

The busier people get, the less they seem to bake. So if you are one of those fortunate people with both time and talent you can be the baker in your family.

I know many jokes are passed around about the follies of fruitcakes. But one year my boyfriend decided to bake fruitcakes for all his office staff. Since neither of us drink we were determined to find a recipe that did not include alcohol. And after a few tries I googled one up. He started collecting all types of candied fruits from grocery stores and farmer's markets, and he made some truly wonderful moist and juicy fruitcakes. We handed out fruitcakes for about three years until the demand outweighed his desire to be chained to the stove throughout December.

This year I'm going through a gourmet cupcake phase. If you see how much those fluffy little suckers are at gourmet shops, you also might be motivated to make your own.

I've seen enough shows saying you don't really save money by mixing your own cake mix, so I just buy the boxes of cake mix. They make perfectly fine cupcakes. I always use those little paper baking cups. For a good selection check your kitchen supply store.

The fun comes when you frost them. You can make your own colored sugar easily. Put a few tablespoons of sugar in a locking baggie along with a few drops of food coloring. Close the bag and mush the mixture around in your fingertips until the color is blended. Remember you can mix red and yellow to make orange, red and blue to make purple and blue and yellow to make green.

Frost the cupcakes with white frosting and sprinkle the colored sugar on top. Or buy some of the ready made toppings like chocolate jimmies or confetti and sprinkle over the top.

You can also put gummy animals on top of cupcakes after baking.

Sometimes I like to mix up yellow cake mix, fill the cups, and then drop a few drops of liquid food coloring on each cupcake. Then I swirl the color around with a toothpick before baking. When you bite into them they have a beautiful swirly tie dye effect inside.

Wilton sells a cupcake stand to display all your fluffy wonders.

I buy plates at thrift stores and garage sales and use those for cupcakes I'm giving away. Then I never have to worry about getting the plate back. Or you can save those shallow cardboard boxes that six-packs of sodas come in and fill them with cupcakes.

Other things you can bake include cakes, muffins, pies, tarts, brownies, pastries, cookies, bread and breadsticks. Display small items in baskets lined with a clean dishtowel. I have had great success with the Krutzease mixes for blueberry and cranberry muffins.

I've also made great banana muffins from scratch. Banana bread isn't all that hard either. There are literally thousands of recipes available on the internet. I'll list some of my favorite recipe websites below.

Before you open anything, make sure you have all the ingredients on hand.

Don't trust an old oven to keep the right temperature. Buy a thermometer to hang inside the oven.

Don't be an absentee baker. Stay in or near the kitchen and check your baked goods at least once halfway through the baking time.

Pre-heat your oven so the temperature is stable when you put the food in.

Teach your children about kitchen safety.

Use oven mitts.

Set a timer so if you forget you are baking, the timer will remind you.

Use fresh ingredients and real butter. It does make a difference.