Baby boy gift basket

No need for a boy

With or without fancy wrap and trimmings, these recipes represent the heartfelt meaning of a holiday gift--a sacrifice of time, an offering of your best and the joy of remembrance. For these cooks, each recipe is a much anticipated tradition.

When Carrie Treichel makes batches of her Fruitcake Cookies each Christmas, she doesn't worry about wrapping the gift her friends, neighbors, doctors and other special people in her life have come to expect.

"You don't have to put them on a fancy plate," says Carrie. "They know what's coming!"

Elizabeth Chanslor recalls that one of her husband's favorite gifts came in a cleaned-out Crisco can. "His stepmother gave him a can full of her Creamy Pulled Candy every year," says Elizabeth.

Once she learned how to make the candy herself, she began giving it as gifts too. "I just ask people to save their tins, and I go collect them and fill them up," she says.

Loaves of bread or herbed roasted nuts are gifts Sylvia Varney likes to share year round. As a herb farmer, she prepares a simple wrapping that allows her to tie on her calling card--a sprig of fresh herb.

"For bread, I just wrap the loaves and tie them up with some raffia, then attach a sprig of an herb that's used in the bread," she explains.

Regardless of the way you present your homemade goodies, you can be sure they'll be enjoyed--and expected again next year! If you don't have a favorite gift-giving recipe, try one of these treasured traditions.

Elizabeth Chanslor of Paris, Ky., estimates she has made about 150 pounds of Creamy Pulled Candy each year for more than 40 years. "It keeps best in food tins, and it freezes real well," she says. But Elizabeth offers a word to the wise-- make it on fair-weather days.

ELIZABETH'S CREAMY PULLED CANDY

4 cups fine granulated sugar Pinch of salt

1 cup boiling water

1 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large heavy saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover and cook, without stirring, over high heat 3 to 5 minutes. Uncover and slowly add whipping cream, keeping mixture boiling; do not stir. Reduce heat, and continue cooking until mixture reaches hard ball stage (2600).

Remove from heat, and immediately pour syrup onto a lightly buttered marble slab. (Do not scrape mixture from sides of pan.)

Sprinkle vanilla over surface of hot syrup; let stand 3 minutes or until edges begin to set. Begin scraping syrup with a metal spatula into a central mass; continue scraping and folding until vanilla is blended.

Pull mixture with fingertips, allowing a spread of about 15 inches between hands; then fold mixture in half. Repeat pulling and folding until consistency changes from sticky to elastic. Begin twisting while folding and pulling. Continue pulling until ridges on twists begin to hold their shape, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Pull candy into a long rope; using kitchen scissors, cut rope into 1- to 11/2inch segments. Place candy on waxed paper, and cover with a towel. Let stand overnight or until candy becomes creamy. Store in an airtight container. Yield: about 2 pounds.

Note: Do not double recipe.

Years ago, Clementa "Ment" Florio of Wadmalaw Island, S.C., received a gift of Benne Seed Wafers from a friend in Charleston. Ment's friend shared the recipe too, and now the wafers are a tradition for her as well. "When my children and grandchildren come home for Christmas, they always want some of Granny's benne seed cookies," she says. "Just remember, the thinner you make them, the better they are."

BENNE SEED WAFERS

1 cup sesame seeds

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Cook sesame seeds in a heavy skillet over medium heat 5 minutes or until toasted, stirring often.

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Stir in sesame seeds, egg and vanilla.

Combine flour and remaining 3 ingredients; stir into butter mixture. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

Shape dough into 1/2-inch balls, and place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Flatten to 16-inch thickness with floured fingers or a flat-bottomed glass. Bake at 325 deg for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Yield: 10 dozen.

Sylvia Varney of Fredricksburg, Texas, gives gifts from her herb farm year round. "I like to package my gifts so that when the food is eaten there's still a gift from me that can be used," she says. To make a simple wrapping for Rosemary Walnuts, Sylvia covers the hole in a clay pot and pours in the nuts. She tops the pot with an upsidedown clay saucer and ties the two pieces together with raffia, making a bow at the top. "Then I tie on a sprig of rosemary," she says.

ROSEMARY WALNUTS

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 tablespoons very finely minced fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

2 cups walnut halves

Line a jellyroll or shallow roasting pan with foil. Combine butter and next 3 ingredients in a shallow foil-lined baking pan. Bake at 400 deg until butter melts; remove from oven. Add walnuts; toss to coat.

Bake 6 to 9 minutes or until walnuts are lightly toasted, stirring at 3-minute intervals. Let cool. Package in an airtight container. Yield: 2 cups.

Susie M.E. Dent of Saltillo, Miss., gives gift packages of her French Market Soup Mix each year. Because it's no-cook and shelf-stable, it's easy to prepare in just a few minutes or well ahead of the holiday rush. You can package the bean mix in a jar or a plastic food storage bag with the recipe attached. For a more elaborate gift, include the beans and the recipe in a basket with onions, fresh garlic, chili peppers, a can of tomatoes, a soup mug and a garlic press.

FRENCH MARKET SOUP MIX

1 pound dried navy beans

1 pound dried pinto beans

1 pound dried Great Northern beans

1 pound dried green split peas

1 pound dried yellow split peas

1 pound dried black-eyed peas

1 pound dried lentils

1 pound dried baby limas

1 pound dried large limas

1 pound dried black beans

1 pound dried red beans

1 pound dried soybeans

1 pound barley pearls

Combine all beans. Divide into 14 (2cup) gift packages; present with the following recipe for French Market Soup. Yield: 14 (2-cup) packages.

FRENCH MARKET SOUP

2 cups French Market Soup Mix

2 quarts water

1 ham hock

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 (16-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 chili pepper, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup lemon juice

Sort and wash 2 cups bean mix; place in a Dutch oven. Cover with water 2 inches above beans, and soak overnight. Drain beans; add 2 quarts water, ham hock, salt and pepper.

Cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Add remaining ingredients; simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove ham hock from soup. Remove meat from bone, chop meat and return to soup. Yield: 2 1/2 quarts.