Weekend kitchen

As we near the end of the year and the festive giving season I like to have a few edible gifts prepared. Ready to go for thanking those people in our lives that go the extra mile – teachers, work colleagues, family, friends and others. I have shared a selection of edible gifts here over the years and enjoy the creative process of coming up with new ones.

Although our festive main meals tend to focus more on fresh salads and barbecue foods these days, for sweet treats I still lean towards the more ‘‘traditional’’ flavours. Spices, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate and citrus are what I associate with this time of year. Ingredients that store well so therefore can suit both hemispheres of festive cooking.

Some of these ingredients can be on the pricier side, and not what I would always use for everyday cooking but this is the time of year where I will splash out a little more to share with others. These two edible gifts can be prepared ahead of time and store well for wrapping and gifting over the coming weeks. You may want to double the recipes to have plenty to share.