Jazz up food gifts with help from the Internet

Almost everyone loves the personal touch of a homemade gift, and food gifts rank close to the top of most-enjoyed presents.

In recent years, gift-giving cooks have found an extra edge on the Internet, where recipes and other tools for homemade food gifts abound.

One of the most creative and up-to-date ways to reach cooks and gifters online comes from the culinary division of Texas Oncology.

After developing a healthier version of the classic biscotti, they posted a step-by-step demonstration on YouTube to clarify the process for busy bakers.

The video explains both how and why bakers and gift-givers should make their holly jolly biscotti: The cookies are made with a blend of white and whole wheat flour to add fiber and pack in antioxidants and vitamins with dark chocolate and fresh orange juice. Using olive oil instead of butter or shortening also improves the nutritional profile.

“Nutrition plays a major role in promoting good health,” Dr. Vasu Moparty, a medical oncologist at Texas Oncology’s Methodist Charlton Cancer Center, said. “Holly jolly biscotti is a classic holiday treat that is rich in fiber, vitamin C and proteins.”

To make giving holly jolly biscotti even easier, the Texas Oncology Web site, TexasOncology.com, also features a downloadable recipe card that makes a colorful addition to a gift of the cookies.

Whole Foods Market also blends homemade and high-tech, with two dozen “Gifts from the Kitchen” recipes for sweets, spice blends and herb teas on its Web site, WholeFoodsMarket.com. Each recipe is matched with colorful downloadable gift tags that include serving suggestions for each gift.

The Whole Foods recipe for cranberry-pistachio oatmeal lace cookies mix calls for layering dry ingredients in a quart jar.

The mix, accompanied by the gift tag with instructions for turning the mix into several dozen crisp cookies, can be made in advance and kept ready for last-minute gift-giving.

To make the gift even more special, adding a spatula or a small bottle of homemade vanilla extract is a nice touch. (A teacher of our acquaintance said adding a gift card would be an even nicer touch, but Whole Foods overlooked that point.)

Because the cranberry-pistachio oatmeal lace cookies are not as sweet as many holiday treats, giving a batch of them ready-made also is likely to be appreciated since they will stand out from the more sugary goodies.

For an even more tart sweet treat, the Whole Foods gift list features sugared cranberries, a unique use for fresh cranberries.

The cranberries are marinated in a cinnamon-spiced syrup, then rolled in superfine sugar. The finished berries look like tiny snowballs, but under the crisp sugar shell, the soft, tangy berry is anything but bland as snow.

In our coastal humidity, sugared cranberries are best within the first day or two, making them better as a hostess gift than as something to wrap or ship. The gift tag suggests using the cranberries for garnishing desserts as well as eating like candy.

Homemade gifts never go out of style, and with a little Internet updating are even more giver- and recipient-friendly.

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Cranberry-pistachio Oatmeal Lace Cookies

Bright colors and fragrant spice make these cookies a particularly delicious gift. Layer the dry ingredients in a jar then use a ribbon to attach the simple instructions for finishing the dough and baking the cookies. Mix up the nut and fruit combination if you like. Dried cherries and walnuts or pecans would be a great pair. Package this cookie mix for gift giving with our downloadable gift tag.

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup rolled oats 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup granulated cane sugar 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup shelled pistachios 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled slightly 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 egg

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cardamom, baking soda and salt.

Carefully spoon half each of the flour mixture, oats, cranberries, sugars and pistachios into a (1-quart) jar to make colorful, even layers then repeat process to make the same layers a second time. Seal jar until ready to use.

To make the cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, vanilla and egg, then add contents of jar and stir until combined.

To form each cookie, drop 1 tablespoon dough onto a baking sheet, spacing cookies 2 to 3 inches apart.

Bake until cookies have spread out completely and are deep golden brown and cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Carefully transfer to a wire rack and set aside to let cool.

Makes about three dozen cookies.

Nutrition per serving (1 cookie/19g-wt.): 80 calories (30 from fat), 3.5g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 15mg cholesterol, 55mg sodium, 11g total carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 7g sugar), 1g protein

— Recipe courtesy of Whole Foods Market

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Sugared Cranberries

3 cups sugar 2 cinnamon sticks 6 whole cloves 3 cups water 3 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed 1 cup superfine sugar

Mix sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves with water in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for 1 minute, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Stir in cranberries.

Cover and refrigerate for about 8 hours.

Drain cranberries. Reserve liquid, strain out cinnamon sticks and cloves and use as a simple syrup to add a holiday touch to cocktails.

Place superfine sugar in a bowl and gently toss in cranberries, coating evenly.

Place cranberries on a baking sheet to dry, about 1 to 2 hours.

Store in an airtight container for one to two days or package for gift giving.

Makes 3 cups.

Nutrition per serving (about 3oz/95g-wt.): 200 calories (0 from fat), 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 0mg sodium, 51g total carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 50g sugar), 0g protein

— Recipe courtesy of Whole Foods Market

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Holly Jolly Biscotti

3 eggs 1/2 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons orange juice 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons orange zest 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, olive oil, orange juice and vanilla until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together both flours, sugar, orange zest, baking powder and salt.

Add dry mix slowly to wet ingredients until mixture forms a ball.

Turn out dough mixture onto a well-floured surface and knead a few times.

Fold in pecans and chocolate chips in alternating batches until evenly distributed.

Divide dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a log about 9 inches long, then press flat until it is about half an inch tall and 3 inches wide.

Transfer logs to baking sheets and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on wire racks for 20 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, slice each log on the diagonal into half-inch pieces. Return to oven and bake on each side for about 10 minutes.

Slices should be golden brown. Remove from oven to cool.

— Recipe courtesy of Texas Oncology