Hey, Holidaytime Hump Day! Today we’ve got a roundup of some really lovely recipes that may come in handy for some homemade gift giving. I’ve waded through a few favorite food blogs for treats that aren’t just the classic cookie - because, well, those will always be perfect go-to classics, and you probably already have perfect go-to favorites. I’m not going to try to compete with those here. This post just gently whispered to me that it “doesn’t want any trouble,” so, respectfully, there it is. 

If you can forgive the lack of strong classic cookie presence, here are some sweet alternatives to add a little flavor to your gifted goods repertoire this year. Also, I’ve gone for some less goo-ey, less messy picks, possibly to this list’s detriment, but they’re meant to be easily gift-able. Anyway! Do what you will with them - wrap them in some nice paper; put them in a pretty box; eat them all yourself! Do what you need to do. 

1. Let’s start with Lara Ferroni. Lady loves doughnuts, and that’s good for us all. For some sweet little doughnuts, mightn’t I suggest the ricotta drop doughnuts with fresh cherry sauce? Alternatively: beignets with fudgy chicory coffee sauce. OR, most appropriately: holiday doughnuts!

Two other Ferroni offerings:

- Chocolate guinness cakes with whiskey caramel (which make for cute little individual jar gifts).

- Sweet bay bread pudding. Mhmm.

2. Next up: Cookie + Kate with a perfect vegan (and optionally raw) fudge recipe. Super tasty, super gift-able.

3. Can’t go wrong with Seven Spoon’s spicy sweet caramel corn.

4. Pastry Affair: Molasses cookies with ginger cream cheese filling. 

5. And a few from the always lovely Farmette:

- Smokey Irish Eggnog. Not my particular style, but if you’ve got an eggnog fan in your life, this looks like a good call.

- Spicy farm fresh donuts!

- Hot cross buns. Hot cross buns.

- A (dairy) rose by any other name would smell as sweet: Milk Jam / Confiture de lait / Dulce de leche. Delicious little gift.

6. And thennnnn: Farmette’s Milk Jam is the perfect segue into Food in Jars, which offers heaps of recipes for lovely, jar-able treats:

- Rosemary lemon / lavender honey syrups.

- Plums in honey. (Would I like this? I’m not sure. But giiiiiirl.)

- Blueberry ginger jam.

- Sugar toffee with chocolate and toasted walnuts.

7. From Bon Appetit:

- Buttery roasted chestnuts. Can’t go wrong.

- Three recipes for jarred DIY holiday kitchen gifts that look preee-ttttty perfect: 

( chocolate hazelnut spread / ambrosia sauce / hot and sweet mustard ) 

8. Another sweet, simple and tidy gift: salted sugar fudge from Honest Cooking.

9. And finally, reeling it all back in with a few of Chasing Delicious’s more holiday-specific recipes:

- Gingerbread snowflake cookies, a beautiful, jazzed-up classic. 

- Mini pumpkin whoopie pies, if you are so inclined.

- Peppermint holiday meringues.

- Cinnamon twists. Shut it down! This is all I need.

Oh, also: if you find yourself stuck and in need of some substitutes, Chasing Delicious has put together this super handy guide of ingredient swap outs for flour, dairy, sugar, and other basics (scroll down past the chart for more detail).

There it is, Hump Day! That’s all I’ve got.

Happy Holidays / enjoy!

- Maggie

Got a beer enthusiast in your life? On the lookout for a fun gift idea for said beer enthusiast? The Urban Brewery etsy shop has a few options for home brewing, including this simple single gallon brewing starter kit.

Then, a starter kit compliment (or just a perfect beer-y gift on its own): Brooklyn Brew Shop’s Beer Making Book. Mmm-hmm.

And lastly, to balance out this all brewing brouhaha: a simple, practical gift for the more mobile beer lover on the go.

There it is. Good luck! Lock it down, lovers of beer lovers. 

- Maggie

Everything Tidy: French artist Armelle Caron plays with and pulls apart the notion of urban identity, deconstructing the iconic layout of several gridded cities in a clean-cut visual accounting for. Urban anagrams, of sorts. 

- Maggie

Also, while we’re on a gentle Friday Planet Earth kick: if you’ve missed the winners of August’s National Geographic Traveler photo contest, head over here and take a look.

- Maggie

The Glorious Plight of the Buffalo Bills: Anyone catch Ben Austen’s Buffalo Bills writeup featured on Grantland recently? It’s an interesting look at the inseparability of Buffalo’s economics and its football team, and delves nicely into some of the city’s history over the course of its personal journalism.

As someone who’s wildly out of touch with football, its rules, and its culture, I found Austen’s outside perspective a fascinating read for more than a few reasons. Can some real football fans sound in on this?  

While the rest of the media packed up, I asked the mayor about his critical decision in 2009 to welcome Terrell Owens to Buffalo with a grand ceremony. Several teams had already discarded Owens, each thrilled to see him leave. But after the Bills signed the receiver, Mayor Brown stood shoulder-to-shoulder with T.O. in front of the Grecian columns of the city’s famed Albright-Knox Art Gallery. There he presented Owens with a key to the city. It seemed a bit much, I suggested, to say nothing of premature. Owens ended up catching just five touchdown passes in one season with Buffalo, a dispiriting 6-10 campaign. The mayor nodded sagely. Then he spoke about Terrell Owens as he did credit ratings and capital improvements, without a grin or a drop in his oratory.

Read the full piece here. 

- Maggie