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When it comes to holiday gift-giving, homemade gifts are the best! Whether you’re giving to the hard-to-shop-for or just looking for easy ways to give quality, personalized, unique gifts on a budget, homemade is a sure bet this season!
What I love most about homemade gifts is that they allow you to share your unique talents with the world. From cooking to crafting, homespun gifts let you add love and intentionality to each present you give. And what’s more festive than that?
Which is why I’m constantly seeking new ideas for homemade gift-giving ideas each holiday season. Today is no exception as I’ll be showing you how I’m re-doing the traditional ho-hum holiday gift-giving basket with a few quick DIYs. Including homemade potpourri jars, a festive recipe for Honey Walnut Bars, a delicious, heart-healthy holiday treat, featuring my favorite holiday time honey treat, the Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey Globe Jars.
Here’s how I put this awesome homemade gift-giving basket together:
One of my favorite basket fillers is homemade Honey Walnut Bars. I love gifting these bars because they are thick and caramelly, while still gluten-free and paleo-friendly with a nutty, crunchy, chewy, scrumptious twist!
The crust is made with coconut flour, which helps provides a firm, shortbread-like crust. It’s prebaked until golden brown before being topped with the Honey Walnut topping, so it keeps that nice crunchy bite!
For the filling, I make a quick caramel using coconut sugar, maple syrup, and Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey, and coconut oil together. Which makes a smooth, creamy sauce. Once my sauce is cooked, I turn off the heat and add almond milk, flax meal, almond flour, organic vanilla extract, and Himalayan pink salt. Then whisk together to combine.
The flax meal and almond flour help the sauce filling up without fillers. The walnuts are added at the end and stirred into the mix and then the whole shebang is poured over the cooled crust. It’s baked for 30 minutes until the sauce is bubbly brown.
Then for the hardest part: waiting for them to cool off! Once cooled and firm, slice them into squares and try not to devour them all in one sitting. Afterall, you need a square for your gift basket!
When ready to add to my gift basket I cut 3×3″ squares and placed them into a giftable, clean mason jar. You can also bake your bars ahead of time and refrigerate your bars in jars until ready to give.
I also added a jar of DIY Organic Holiday Potpourri. In my blend, I like to use organic, fresh, whole cranberries, star anise, organic Ceylon cinnamon sticks, fresh, bay leaves, whole nutmeg, clove organic sprigs of rosemary, and dried orange slices.
I like to dry my own orange slices in my dehydrator. Which is super simple to do. Just set your dehydrator, or convection oven, to 125 degrees Fahrenheit, and dry low and slow for 8 hours. When preserved and jarred, these orange slices will last up to 1 year. They taste wonderful in tea, can be strung up to make beautiful holiday garland, and of course, can be used to make festive holiday potpourri!
To finish up, simply jar your organic ingredients in whatever amount you like. I like to layer my jars with the orange slices acting as a leveling seal between layers. Be sure to add directions to your lid. I find that a dry erase marker works well in doing so.
To make potpourri yourself at home, add 8 cups water and simmer on your stovetop or crockpot. Since you are used fresh and dried ingredients, its best to create your potpourri the day of an event or that of gift-giving or to refrigerate, or even freeze it, until ready to give.
I also like to add a Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey Globe Jar to my gift-giving basket. Especially for the foodies on your holiday list, this honey makes the perfect inexpensive gift! You could also pair them with a tin of organic grocery store tea and a jar of dried orange slices, for easy holiday gifts for service workers, teachers, neighbors, and friends. But also be sure to pick up a few of these jars for yourself – you’ll want to because this honey is just that dang good!
Have you ever seen the Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey Globe Jars? These beautiful glass jars are filled with raw, filtered, organic honey. Honey that is not heated or processed in any way. And what really makes this honey product stand out is that it comes with some real honeycomb inside!
See the honeycomb in there – it’s totally edible! And who wouldn’t want to receive a little something sweet this season? You’ll be the bee’s knees to everyone on your block this year if you gift them Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey Globe Jars. This honey is an easy, inexpensive, gourmet gift during the holidays!
I also like to enjoy Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey on toast. I drizzle some honey all over toast. If I’m lucky, I’ll get some of that awesome honeycomb on my toast too! The comb has a soft texture that’s totally delicious! This honey is also perfect for hot biscuits, French toast or pancakes! Remember, the comb is the fun and festive part of this unique honey-tasting experience. It can also be used to make a great sore-throat syrup too!
You’ll also want to store your honey at room temperature, such as on a kitchen counter or in a pantry, pie safe, or cabinet. If the honey crystallizes (the natural process of the glucose molecules aligning into crystals), don’t fret. Just place the glass jar in warm water and stir until smooth again.
To add a fun touch to the Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey Globe Jars I’ll be adding to my gift baskets this year, I added a crochet cozies. This allows my recipient to be able to re-use their honey jar as a fun votive holder after their honey has been enjoyed! Tasty and zero-waste is the way to go!
To make this cozy, I used 100 yards of organic, cotton yarn and a 4.00mm (size G) crochet hook.
Begin by chaining 40 SC (single crochet stitches), then join your first chain stitch to your work to form a ring. Making sure to not twist your work as you turn. Continue working on the round until your cozy reaches the desired length of your particular jar. With fewer rows for smaller jars and additional rows allotted for taller jars. Remember, candle cozies are meant to be snug so your looking for a cozy without much slack. That ensures each cozy will have a uniform look!
Finish off your cozy by slip stitching the outer rows of stitches and weave in loose strands. I also like to add a small crochet ribbon. which can be made by creating a double line of 80 SC (single crochet stitches), to the front of my cozy. Then just add it to your basket!
To arrange my basket, I laid out paper shreds in the basket and then set the wrappings to the side. Then it was time to make the Honey Walnut Bars! I do this by adding my basket wrap, twist tie, and gift tag. And done! An amazing, affordable, gift-giving basket anyone would love receiving!
This season, be on the lookout for Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey Globe Jars. they can be found in the Hispanic aisle of your local Walmart store. You’ll be glad you did!
Friends, I hope this post will inspire you to consider making your own gift baskets this season and to also try the amazing Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey. Now I want to ask, have you tried Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey globe jars? Do you plan on making any festive crafts for the holiday season? Comment below and share your ideas with us!
Connect with Don Victor®:
- 1 cup coconut flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup Don Victor® Orange Blossom Comb Honey
- ⅓ cup coconut oil melted
- ⅓ cup organic almond milk
- 2 tablespoons flax meal
- 2 teaspoons almond flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¼ cup walnuts; chopped and whole for texture
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Grease an 8x8” square pan with coconut oil.
- Combine the honey and coconut oil and whisk until fully combined.
- Stir in the almond flour and salt until smooth and dough-like ball forms.
- Press the dough into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer to baking rack. Completely cool.
- For the filling, combine the coconut sugar, honey, and coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk to combine. Cool slightly.
- While it cools, whisk together the almond milk, flax meal, almond flour, organic vanilla extract, and salt in a small bowl.
- Add the flax mixture and whisk to combine.
- Stir in the walnuts. Stir to combine.
- Pour the pecan mixture over the cooled crust and bake for 30 minutes.
- cool before servings.
- Enjoy!
- These bars can be made ahead of time and frozen up to a year in advance. Bar will keep in the fridge for one week. Enjoy!
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