It's the most wonderful time of the year, as they say. That is, unless you ordered the latest gadget too late, and now it's stuck in supply chain limbo.
Or if you are the kind of person who leaves their shopping until it's down to the wire, like Daniel Gritzer, the culinary director of Serious Eats.
"I am very much a last-minute gift giver, scouring the internet and thinking of all the things I'd probably have thought of four months ago to then not be able to remember them, and have to fake something else in desperation," Gritzer says.
Whatever your struggle, we have got you covered this holiday season.
We have asked Gritzer and other food makers and crafters to make the case for going the homemade route this season and have provided the following recipes and project instructions:
Gritzer says when he first published his recipe for oven dried grapes, many readers asked: "Why in the world would you oven dry grapes when you could just buy raisins?"
He says it's a valid question, but the dried grapes are pretty special.
"You get caramelization that happens on the surface of the grapes as they dry in the oven. So it's fruitier and it's brighter and it's fresher than you would get from a box of raisins on a supermarket shelf," he says.
Gritzer's notes: The precise cooking time can vary quite a bit depending on the size of your grapes (larger ones will take longer to dry than smaller ones) and how your oven functions (some ovens are prone to big temperature swings, which can speed up and/or slow down total drying time). Make sure to check in on the progress of your grapes periodically to avoid any mishaps.
This recipe was originally published by Serious Eats.
If you're feeling a bit more festive, New York Times food writer Priya Krishna recommends the trusty holiday classic: cookies. Specifically, she says Dorie Greenspan's World Peace Cookies 2.0.
"If someone gave me a jar of cookies the size of a fire extinguisher, I would be so thrilled," Krishna said.
They're a chocolate cookie with a salty note and Krishna says, "they're impossible to hate."
Dorie Greenspan's notes: Although making these cookies is easy, each batch seems to have its own quirks. It's always easy, it's just not always the same. Sometimes the differences have to do with the cocoa. (I usually use Valrhona Dutch-processed cocoa because I love its flavor and color, but I've made WPCs with many kinds of cocoa—they're always good, not always the same.) Sometimes the differences have to do with the butter, and often the temperature of the butter—it's best if it's at cool room temperature, but sometimes I miss the moment when it's just right. My advice is to mix the dough for as long as it takes to get big, moist curds that hold together when pressed. Often this happens quickly; just as often, it takes more time than you think it should. Go with it. Also, when you roll the dough into logs, check that they're solid—squeeze the logs to see if there are hollow spots. If there are, ball up the dough and roll into logs again. Plan ahead: The logs of dough need to be frozen for at least 2 hours or refrigerated for at least 3 hours. Storing: Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for 5 days at room temperature (they will get a little drier, but they're still good) or for up to 2 months in the freezer.
Excerpted from Baking with Dorie, by Dorie Greenspan.
If your sweets doesn't have a sweet tooth, Gritzer and Krishna suggest making chile crisp — a spicy, crunchy, sweet, nutty, savory condiment they say you'll want to eat on everything.
"People have done ice cream sundaes topped with chile crisp," Gritzer says.
Krishna makes dumplings ever year at the holidays.
"So chile crisp would be a perfect thing to gift me," she says.
This New York Times Cooking recipe, by Genevieve Ko, is highly customizable, especially to your desired degree of heat.
It makes about 1 1/4 cups and takes about 10 minutes.
This recipe was first published in The New York Times.
If working in the kitchen isn't your thing, fear not. We also have crafts.
For Aris Rossi, a crafter and school teacher who runs the Instagram page Sailing Into Second, a go-to gift is a "spa in a jar".
She fills a mason jar with things like nail polish, nail files, or bath bombs.
"I'll throw in some of my favorite toiletries or just fun spa gifts and wrap a big bow around it," she says.
Finally, for those on your list who don't like anything homemade, Ursula Carmona, who runs the DIY blog Homemade by Carmona, suggests combining something store bought with something a tad crafty.
"I have three teenage girls and they don't want anything homemade," she says. "They just want cash, cold, hard cash."
But, maybe she'll make a bag to stash the cash.
"You don't have to be great at painting. You don't have to be great at a lot of things in order to do something as simple and special as that, " Carmona says. "And I think the receiver will still appreciate those sweet little touches."
It's the most wonderful time of the year, as they say, unless you ordered the latest and greatest gadget too late and now it's stuck in supply chain limbo.
Or maybe you're like Daniel Gritzer.
DANIEL GRITZER: I am very much a last-minute gift giver and have to fake something else (laughter) in desperation.
KELLY: Gritzer is the culinary director at Serious Eats. We spoke with him and other food makers and crafters who make the case for going DIY this season.
CORNISH: One homemade gift Gritzer recommends - raisins.
GRITZER: I call them oven-dried grapes, which got some reactions from readers saying, why in the world would you oven-dry grapes when you could just buy raisins? And that is a valid question, but they're pretty special.
CORNISH: OK, let's hear him out.
GRITZER: You get caramelization that happens on the surface of the grapes as they dry in the oven, so it's fruitier and it's brighter and it's fresher than you would get from a box of raisins on the supermarket shelf.
KELLY: If you're feeling a bit more festive, New York Times food writer Priya Krishna recommends the trusty holiday classic - cookies.
PRIYA KRISHNA: If someone gave me, like, a jar of cookies the size of, like, a fire extinguisher, I would be so thrilled.
KELLY: Same, but not just any cookies. She wants Dorie Greenspan's World Peace Cookies
KRISHNA: They're like a chocolate chocolate cookie with, like, a really nice, salty note to them. They're impossible to hate.
CORNISH: And impossible to hate seems like a gifting goal we can all aspire to.
KELLY: Indeed. What's not to like about chocolate chocolate cookies?
CORNISH: But let's just say your beloved does not have a sweet tooth. Gritzer and Krishna both suggested making chile crisp - the bright, burnt amber condiment infused with chile flakes.
GRITZER: There's a bit of shopping you maybe have to do to get your chiles and doing some garlic slicing and shallot slicing and things like that. But it's highly customizable and easy to make.
KRISHNA: I have, like, a tradition where I make dumplings during the holidays, so chile crisp would be a perfect thing to gift me (laughter).
GRITZER: Of course, there are exceptions to this, but if you have it, you can put chile crips on anything. People have done ice cream sundaes topped with chile crisp.
KELLY: Sweet and spicy sounds good. But if shallot slicing is not for you, fear not. Crafter and schoolteacher Aris Rossi suggests digging out some art supplies, some blank cards and making homemade greeting cards.
ARIS ROSSI: And that way, the recipient can go through these and any time they need, you know, a thank-you card for a co-worker or friend, they can pick out a card that works for them.
CORNISH: Her other go-to gift - a spa in a jar.
ROSSI: It's just a little mason jar full of spa goodies like nail polish, nail files, things like that, bath bombs. Wrap a big bow around it and hand it off as a really nice spa-at-home-day gift.
CORNISH: If homemade sounds like a recipe for disappointment for your loved ones, well, we've got you.
URSULA CARMONA: I have three teenage girls and they don't want anything homemade. They just want cash (laughter) cold, hard cash. That's it.
KELLY: Same for the teenagers in my house. That is Ursula Carmona. She suggests mixing something store-bought, like a gift card, with a crafty element.
CARMONA: One year, I put together jars, and I just filled it up with various little ornaments. And I just stuck a gift card right in the middle of that and wrapped it with a bow. And it made a cute, homemade but not really gift card type of gift.
CORNISH: Daniel Gritzer says if even that stresses you out...
GRITZER: If they're so petrified to make anything, maybe they could just gift a very nice chocolate bar or something (laughter).
CORNISH: Just wrap it nicely, like, with a bow.
KELLY: You can find recipes and photos of what these gifts could look like at npr.org or look for ALL THINGS CONSIDERED on Facebook and Twitter. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.