Your Inner Kitchen Santa

‘Tis the season for gift giving and I, for one, love to give edible gifts. Homemade gifts are so heartfelt and are really quite simple to make. For example, you can easily whip up delicious herb infused dipping oil in one afternoon, or make a few bags of chocolate bark for your friends. Here are some of my favorite homemade gifts to make. What are yours? —

Peppermint Hot Fudge Sauce – The perfect ratio of chocolate, butter, cream and sugars.

Meyer Lemon-Ginger Loaves – For dessert or breakfast.

Easy Italian Herb Infused Dipping Oil
12 leaves fresh basil, completely dried
4 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs rosemary
4 sprigs oregano
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
3 cups good quality olive oil

DIRECTIONS: Divide the sprigs up between 2 12-ounces bottles. Add the kosher salt and pepper to the olive oil and pour it into the glass jars until they are each nearly full.

Kelsey Banfield, the Naptime Chef, will be releasing her first cookbook in March 2012. Titled The Naptime Chef: Fitting Great Food Into Family Life, the book will feature full-color photographs and plenty of mouth-watering naptime recipes. Stay tuned!