Thursday, October 14, 2010

Hand Made Gifts

A little departure from quilting for a moment. Judy L is asking, what we're making for folks for Christmas. I generally make baked goods, but the fun part is that I put them in Chinese take-out boxes that I've decorated. I bought a bunch of them, so I don't have to make them. They're available at some restaurant supply stores, but if you want to make your own, here is a small pattern, you can enlarge.

One of the favored items I put in them is caramel corn. It's yummy and a recipe from my father-in-law.

1 cup butter, 2 cups brown sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup light karo syrup, 6 quarts popped corn (put into a 250 degree oven). I  use a foil turkey baking pan, because I don't have a large enough roaster to hold all the corn easily.

Melt the butter, stir in the sugar, karo syrup, and salt. Stir constantly and bring to a full boil. Turn to low, let it boil for 5 minutes with no stirring. Put it in a large pot, add the baking soda and vanilla--it will foam up. Pour over the popped corn, stir well. Bake it form 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes to make sure all the corn is coated.

I've added nuts to the mixture after it's in the oven; you could also think of other yummy things to add, but the caramel is so wonderful, it really doesn't need much else.

When the 1 1/2 hours is up, spread it out on waxed paper on the counter top to cool, then bag and give away.

8 comments:

Sarah Vanderburgh said...

Giveaway! My family will love this treat! Thanks for sharing.

Judy Laquidara said...

Oh, that's a neat idea. Thanks for the link!

Lynne4444 said...

What a great idea. Thanks for the recipe!

Unknown said...

Love that idea.

Wordfiend said...

I have always loved handmade gifts. And I love making them, too, and thinking about the recipient while I do so.

Allie said...

What a great idea! I usually make ginger snaps from my grandma's recipe, everyone always asks for them so we spend a couple of days baking HUGE batches. Love the carry-out box idea!

Jamie Janow Elfert said...

Love the little boxes -- I hate cooking, but I see FQ's for friends. Thanks for the cute idea.

jayayceeblog said...

I absolutely love caramel corn ... thanks for the recipe! And the cute idea of using chinese take out boxes!!!

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