A gourmet gift guide
By MOLLY THOMPSON – mmtthompson@ucdavis.edu
The hardest people to shop for are always family members. Especially the ones that are just far enough removed that you don’t really know their lifestyles, but close enough that you’re still obligated to get them a Christmas present. Like, what am I supposed to get for my great uncle? I haven’t seen him in years and he lives in Maryland — I have no idea what he wants.
All in search of holiday gifts, look no further, for I have the perfect solution to all of your holiday gift-giving woes: Christmas cookies.
Okay, I know I’m not reinventing the wheel here, but hear me out. I’m not talking about whipping up a batch of Toll House chocolate chip cookies and calling it a day, that’s not going to impress anyone. I’m talking about an all-out, handmade gourmet curation of love and cinnamon and pure Christmas spirit. Ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your Santa hats — allow me to introduce you to my annual Christmas Cookie Extravaganza.
For the past three years, I’ve spent my December crafting a flight of eight unique cookies that I give to my extended family members for Christmas. Every year I come up with new recipes, so it continues to be something they look forward to. There are never-ending possibilities here, so it can always be novel.
To really make it a good gift though, it has to be more than just a casual cookie — it has to be a whole experience. I love finding recipes that intrigue me and altering them to herald festive flavors or figuring out how I can put my own spin on something that’s been done before. You can easily get your gingersnap cookie fix at Trader Joe’s, but chewy ginger cookies with dried apricot and crystalized ginger are best enjoyed from scratch. The plain biscotti in the jar at the coffee shop might as well be purely for decoration, but cherry almond biscotti half-dipped in dark chocolate, when tied with a shiny ribbon, is a delicacy.
The effort you put into it is what gives it value, as much as the product itself. This isn’t an easy gift; It takes hours of time and a lot of ingredients. But the love and dedication that goes into it makes it invaluable. When the cranberry-orange jam that fills the gingerbread thumbprint cookies is made from scratch, it becomes a vessel of thought and care. When you go out of your way to make toffee from brown sugar and butter instead of buying it at the store to mix into sugar cookies with butter pecans, you aren’t just baking — you’re communicating your affection.
Food as a medium can be really effective. It’s often community-centered, and it can evoke poignant sense-memories. We associate certain flavor palates with events, points in time or feelings, so in giving confections as a gift, you’re also giving a deeper experience. You said these were brown butter and persimmon sugar cookies? That’s weird, because to me it tastes like sitting in a pile of torn-up wrapping paper on Christmas morning while my family admires their presents. This one is cranberry and maple? All I taste is Taylor Swift singing about “sweet dreams of holly and ribbon.” It’s truly the gift that keeps on giving.
Beyond the cookies themselves, the Christmas Cookie Extravaganza is about the whole package. Cookies are great for the holidays because they’re easy to pack and ship, which is how I distribute most of mine. I stack them in dollar-store tins adorned with cute, festive patterns, fill in the extra space with tissue paper, put the tins in flat-rate USPS boxes and stuff every spare crevice of the boxes with packing paper so nothing gets rattled around during transit.
To make it feel more polished and cohesive, I also make a bright, fun menu to tie a proverbial bow on the whole shebang. Canva (my beloved) has endless holiday templates, and I always get compliments on how professional the menus look. I take photos of the cookies and erase the background before I put them on the menu, which I think really impresses my grandparents. Seriously, I get more praise on the menus than on the cookies.
In aggregate, the Christmas Cookie Extravaganza all comes together to make the perfect gift (in my humble opinion). It’s clearly curated with care, it’s wholesome and enjoyable, it facilitates sharing and familial bonding, it’s memorable and it allows you to show off your skills. Even if your aunt doesn’t think your dulce de leche gingerbread linzer cookies are anything to write home about, she’ll probably at least think you have a future in graphic design.
Selfishly, I love it because it lets me flex my best creative muscle. Cookies are so versatile; The sky’s the limit when it comes to what you put on your menu. I have so much fun coming up with flavor profiles and the best forms to showcase them, and I enjoy the actual baking process even more. Gift giving is my love language, and this is my favorite way to express it. Yes, it takes a lot of work and energy and time, but more than that — a whole lot of love goes into it. Putting in that effort and creativity is an act of love, and that’s what makes any gift worthwhile.
Written by: Molly Thompson — mmtthompson@ucdavis.edu
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by The California Aggie
