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Holiday Gift Guide Volume II

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the sweet miscellany holiday gift guide volume 2: treats to share & enjoy

As promised, here’s the second volume of the gift guide focusing on homemade treats to gift or enjoy on your own. Every item is gluten free and vegan with some even being grain free as well. There are cookies (of course), but there are also items like homemade applesauce and blood orange marmalade that will last longer into the new year. To cover your high vibing hippie homies, there’s a superfood white chocolate bark and homemade tulsi chai with whole spices. And because I’m still really proud of it, you can always gift the mini seasonal cookbook I collaborated on with my brother. You can find it here on Amazon for only $6 🙂

the sweet miscellany holiday gift guide volume 2: treats to share & enjoy

  1. oat thumbprints with cranberry ginger jam (gluten free & vegan) — these look festive and taste like the holidays. You can package them up in a tin to give away or serve them on a platter. And, you can even make little jars of the cranberry ginger jam to give away separately.
  2. fresh mint & toasted coconut chocolate chip cookies (gluten free & vegan) — nothing says the holidays like fresh mint and chocolate paired together. These little cookies might look humble but they make up for it in taste. Package some up in a jar tied with twine or in a tin. Or, make a batch for yourself and enjoy them with a little hot cocoa.
  3. vanilla spice sugar cookies (gluten free & vegan) — the elusive gluten free & vegan roll out sugar cookie dough! This one uses coconut sugar in place of cane sugar for a nice caramel flavor. You can roll them out and decorate them with sprinkles or go the quicker route and scoop and smash the dough with a fork. Either way they’re a delicious cookie.
  4. lime scented macadamia banana bread (gluten free & vegan) — this banana bread hints at the tropics with flavors of lime and macadamia nuts. You can make one large loaf or a few mini ones to give away. Ever had french toast made with banana bread? Now you have your holiday morning breakfast all sorted out 😉
  5. candied ginger snow balls (grain free & vegan) — you can’t get any more festive than with a cookie that looks like a damn snow ball! These babies are grain free and filled with spicy-sweet chunks of candied ginger.
  6. minty coconut dark chocolate patties (grain free & vegan) — these are essentially the hippie version of a york peppermint patty but with whole foods and no chemicals. No baking is required for these so you can give your oven a rest. the sweet miscellany holiday gift guide volume 2: treats to share & enjoy
  7. superfood white chocolate bark (grain free & vegan) — if ever there was a hippie-fied high-vibing chocolate bar, this would be it. For this bark you make your own white chocolate with cacao butter and top it with good shit like hemp seeds, goji berries, golden berries, and pistachios. This does best when chilled so keep that in mind.
  8. blood orange marmalade (grain free & vegan) — If you want to re-connect with the lost art of preserving, here’s your chance! Though it’s a long and tedious task, making marmalade is a very meditative and rewarding process. Plus, if you take the time to process the jars in a water bath, you have shelf stable goods that will last up to a year.
  9. homemade applesauce (grain free & vegan) — applesauce is legitimately the easiest thing to make and preserve. Since apples have the perfect amount of naturally occurring pectin and acid, they don’t need any additives to make them shelf stable once processed in jars. You can also add any spices you like and still have them be shelf stable. Cardamom applesauce? Hell yes.
  10. tulsi chai concentrate (grain free & vegan & caffeine free) — there is no comparison to the crap called “chai” in a carton versus the kind you can make at home with whole spices. With this version you can sweeten it yourself (or not), and, since it uses tulsi, it is caffeine free. You can either gift the dry mix in a jar with instructions for brewing, or gift the concentrate itself. And, if you just really want the added caffeine, swap in your favorite green or black tea for the tulsi.

Holiday Gift Guide Volume I

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the sweet miscellany holiday gift guide volume 1: my favorite makers & shakers

I typically don’t like to encourage the sort of consumerism that is rampant this time of year. But, I do like to support small businesses, especially ones that produce original and awesome products. I decided to feature several of my favorite makers for a gift guide of sorts. Maybe you use it for others, or maybe you use it to get a little something for yourself. Or, maybe you send it to someone else as a *wink, wink, nudge, nudge* sort of list. I’ll be releasing a second volume to the gift guide in the coming days that will focus on recipes from the blog and items suited for homemade gift giving 🙂

the sweet miscellany holiday gift guide volume 1: my favorite makers & shakers

  1. THRO CERAMICS — I found Erica’s work earlier this year and have become smitten. She makes every piece herself in her studio up in East Texas. I love the simple yet beautiful design of each piece and will definitely be adding more to my collection.  Pictured above are her mugs.
  2. MARBLE & MILKWEED — I’ve expressed my love of Briar’s products on the blog before (check out this post) but I’ll go ahead and re-iterate how much I love everything she makes! If I had to pick a favorite I would have to say it’s the modern chai no. 1 (pictured above). It’s the first thing I ever ordered from her shop many years ago and I’ve been a fan ever since. If you’re a cardamom fan, you’ll love the mini rose and cardamom gift set (also pictured above).
  3. NATIVE BEAR — I’ve been a fan of Leela’s prints since my early Etsy days, but I’m especially loving her tea towels and planner lately! I actually picked up her wise palm tea towel at Hauswitch up in Salem, MA but you can order it directly from her shop. Pictured above is her blooming poppies tea towel.
  4. SIMKA SOL — This is yet another awesome lady I’ve been a fan of since the Etsy days. Not only does the owner Sara illustrate and print each piece by hand, she sews them all as well. And, she only prints using eco-friendly water-based inks. I love the unique and original look of all the pieces I own, but I think my favorite are my cactus leggings. Pictured above is the banquet regale big tee in ecru.
  5. URBAN MOONSHINE — I found this woman-run company recently and am really smitten with the original digestive bitters (pictured above). This year I’ve been really interested in herbal medicine and though I don’t make my own tinctures yet, I’ll happily order them from this company for the time being. If you tend to have any sort of chronic digestive issues or have a million food sensitivities like me, I highly recommend the digestive bitters.the sweet miscellany holiday gift guide volume 1: my favorite makers & shakers
  6. WAKENED APPAREL — This is a unique company in that each item sold has a portion of its profits donated toward a certain cause. For example, the sedona blanket throw (pictured above) is not only beautiful, but 10 percent of the proceeds will go towards the International Elephant Foundation which works to protect the preservation of elephants worldwide. I’ve been keeping their yellowstone blanket on my bed at all times 🙂
  7. LEAH DUNCAN — Since Leah is based in Austin, the state of Texas and it’s native flora and fauna feature prominently in her work. I especially love the wildflowers of Texas poster (pictured above) as well as her agave leaves print. If you order her Texas shaped floral poster, 25% of all sales go towards the Greater Houston Community Foundation Harvey Relief Fund.
  8. A WILD SOAP BAR — I remember picking up some of this soap on a trip to Austin last year because I loved that it prominently featured a lot of Texas plants. It’s quickly become one of my favorite items and is currently the only soap I buy and use in the shower. All of the products are cruelty free and biodegradable and any of the ones I buy are vegan as well. My favorites are the desert sage (pictured above), sassafrass, and seaweed.
  9. BC BURNINGS — Though there are custom options and other designs available, I’m partial to this don’t mess with Texas flag (pictured above). All of the flags are made by hand and dyed with coffee up in Montana. And if you feel so inclined to purchase the don’t mess with Texas flag, 100 percent of the sales will be donated to the J.J. Watt Foundation for those affected by Harvey.