3 homemade holiday gift ideas for Gluten-Free Wednesday

Get crafty this holiday season with homemade gifts from the kitchen. We’ve compiled 25 great ideas, from quick and simple gifts (perfect if you’re working with kids) to more intricate projects that call for a little extra time and patience. Some gifts will last for weeks, perhaps more. Others are best eaten within a day or two.

The following are three of our gluten-free favorites:

SRIRACHA SALT: Flavored salts are a simple way to please the avid cook on your list, and flavorings can vary to include ingredients such as dried spices and herbs, fruit and chiles. For a Sriracha-spiced salt, slowly toast Sriracha-soaked kosher salt until it is dry and crumbly. Use the salt to add a little spice to your seasoning, sprinkle it over a dish for a colorful garnish, or even use it to rim a cocktail glass.

SALTWATER TAFFY: Cook sugar, corn syrup and water with a little cornstarch (to smooth out the texture) to 255 degrees, whisk in a little butter and flavoring, then carefully pour the mixture onto a prepared, heat-proof surface and set it aside until it’s cool enough to handle without burning your hands. Add some food coloring if you’d like, then begin to pull the taffy — stretching, folding and stretching the taffy again and again. Cut the taffy into bite-sized pieces, wrap, and you’re set.

GRANOLA BARS: Take your favorite granola recipe and convert it into bars. Keep in mind that, as opposed to traditional granola, which is spread out on a sheet pan and slowly toasted, homemade granola bars will need additional baking time to give them a chance to set, and they will probably be more delicate than the packaged bars you find at the store. Vary the flavorings and sweeteners to suit your tastes and use up ingredients you have on hand. Where many recipes contain wheat bran or other binders that contain gluten, this recipe substitutes flax seed to make the bars gluten-free. You can find the recipe below.

Note: If you are sensitive to gluten, check all ingredients to make sure they are gluten-free before using, as many may contain trace gluten (such as spices, a number of which include flour as an anti-caking agent), and/or are produced in facilities that also process gluten-based products.

Click on the photo gallery for more homemade gift ideas:

1/21

German springerle are formed with wood or ceramic molds to create patterns such as snowflakes, acorns, Santas or the “little knights” after which they’re named. Recipe: Springerle cookies

  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

2/21

Delicious when freshly baked, this citrusy sweet loaf -- made extra-special with a marzipan filling -- is also delightful if the flavors mellow for several days. Recipe: Stollen  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

3/21

Does it get any better than caramel corn? It’s the sort of stuff that turns even sophisticated adults into greedy kids. Recipe: Caramel corn  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

4/21

Flavor biscotti with chopped toasted hazelnuts and grated fresh orange zest before dipping it in melted chocolate. Recipe Hazelnut biscotti  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

5/21

Mix and match the decorated pretzels for gift bags. Recipe: Snowflake pretzel rods

  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

6/21

This granola is not as sweet as you might be used to. It would be nice sprinkled over vanilla ice cream for dessert or over Greek yogurt for an afternoon snack. Recipe: Cherry-almond-coconut granola  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

7/21

Fragrant, yeasty holiday panettone -- studded with colorful bits of dried and candied fruit -- is festive just to look at and sweetly satisfying to eat. Recipe: Pannetone

  (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

8/21

Now you can drink your beer and eat it too. Flavor this crunchy brittle with a good dark beer, such as a stout or an amber ale, for rich caramel notes. Beer brittle  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

9/21

With a delicate, crisp crust enveloping a wonderfully ooey-gooey filling, this amazingly rich brownie takes perfection and coats it in chocolate, and then drizzles over even more chocolate just for good measure. Recipe: Brownies  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

10/21

For basic marshmallows, omit the cinnamon; or substitute a flavoring of choice (lemon, almond or coconut in place of vanilla). The marshmallows can be cut into any shape desired. Recipe: Marshmallows  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

11/21

Dried apricots and fresh sage add subtle flavoring to this classic cookie. Recipe: Apricot biscotti  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

12/21

Vanilla-scented fig bars are wonderfully sweet homemade gifts, and the recipe is a worthy addition to any cookie repertoire. Recipe: Fig bars  (Carlos Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

13/21

Brown sugar shortbread has caramel and molasses notes. This recipe makes enough dough for two pans of wedge cookies or bar cookies, so you can try a pan of each variety if you’d like. Recipe: Brown sugar shortbread  (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

14/21

These classic cookies, flavored with sliced almonds, will keep for weeks in an airtight container. Recipe: Almond biscotti  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

15/21

These light, flavorful meringues are wonderful to give or even to just keep for yourself. Recipe: Chocolate pink peppercorn meringues  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

16/21

Thomas Keller’s chocolate bouchons have a texture somewhere between dense cake and denser brownies. Recipe: Chocolate bouchons  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

17/21

The classic cookie, perfumed with subtle hints of vanilla and almond. Recipe: Mother’s biscotti  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

18/21

Candied citrus peel, glacé cranberries and spirit-soaked fruits are easy to make and are thoughtful gifts for the home baker. Recipe: Candied fruit  (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

19/21

Pack a batch of cookbook author Paula Wolfert’s prunes in Armagnac into a Mason jar. (Awesome over vanilla ice cream or crepes.) They’ll be ready to eat in two weeks: You can include that on the “don’t-open-until-Christmas” card. Recipe: Prunes in Armagnac  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

20/21

Make homemade granola using Christine Moore’s excellent recipe in her new “Little Flower” cookbook, changing the mix of the nuts and dried fruit depending on what appeals to you at the moment. The granola mix makes a terrific gift, packaged in cute storage jars. Recipe: Homemade granola  (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

21/21

Looking for something a little more calorie-conscious? Let’s revisit flavored popcorn. You’ll find that these recipes for chile-flavored popcorn and rosemary-garlic popcorn make for quick, health-conscious gifts and snacks. Recipe: Flavored popcorn  (Bob Carey / Los Angeles Times)

GRANOLA BARS (GLUTEN-FREE)

Total time: 55 minutes, plus cooling and chilling times | Makes 16 to 24 bars

Note: From Noelle Carter. If you are sensitive to gluten, check all ingredients to make sure they are gluten-free before using, as many may contain trace gluten (such as spices, a number of which include flour as an anti-caking agent), and/or are produced in facilities that also process gluten-based products.

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons ground flax seed

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup sliced almonds

1 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup maple syrup or honey

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

½ cup dried fruit, cacao nibs or chocolate chips, if desired

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, toss together the oats, ground flax, pecans, almonds and coconut. Stir in the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Pour over the maple syrup and oil, mixing well to combine. Add dried fruit, cacao nibs or chocolate chips, if desired.

3. Grease two 8- or 9-inch-square baking pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper, allowing the paper to come up 2 sides of each pan. Grease the paper. Divide and press the mixture into the pans to form a firm, even layer. Bake until the the mixture is toasted to a nice golden brown, and the top feels somewhat firm, about 45 minutes; the bars will continue to firm up as they cool.

4. Remove and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting into bars.

Each of 24 bars: Calories 274; Protein 5 grams; Carbohydrates 32 grams; Fiber 4 grams; Fat 15 grams; Saturated fat 4 grams; Cholesterol 0; Sugar 16 grams; Sodium 103 mg

Love cooking as much as I do? Follow me @noellecarter

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