Spending time with family and friends during the Christmas season is usually easy, but knowing what to give those on your list can sometimes be a challenge. Giving a homemade and edible gift is always a great choice.

Everyone loves food, especially during the holidays. From pancakes in a jar to two-ingredient crockpot apple butter, these 10 Christmas treats make the best holiday gifts.

Plus, if you aren’t at ease in the kitchen or you just don’t have time to bake, there’s no need to worry – we’ve included some great local places right here in Decatur, IL to purchase premade holiday treats.

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1. Pancakes in a Jar

With winter setting in, the thought of homemade pancakes on a chilly morning is enough to make getting out of a warm bed worth the effort.

These perfect pancake recipes from Good Life Eats will be a favorite with family and friends alike. You can package them in jars by following the simple instructions, or simply put the homemade mix in baggies and wrap them up like any other gift. Your friends will thank you every time they make this yummy breakfast.

2. Hot Cocoa Mix In a Jar

There’s just something about a good cup of hot chocolate that warms the soul. Maybe it brings back memories of visiting your grandparents during the holidays or sitting around a campfire with your friends. Whatever the memories, chances are they’re pleasant. 

Jamie with My Baking Addiction has created a hot cocoa mix that’ll tantalize your taste buds and get those memories stirring.

Pair this creative gift with a cute (or manly – guys like hot chocolate, too!) mug, and this gift will be an all-time favorite!

3. Cookie Cutter Fudge

"Chocolate is comfort without words." –Ursula Kohaupt

Fudge is chocolate, right? This is the perfect gift that needs no words. Crafty Morning's creamy peppermint fudge is a two-for-one Christmas gift you can make for your family and friends. 

Follow the recipe, and as the fudge cools, spoon it into cookie cutters. Not only will you be giving the gift of chocolate, but the cookie-cutter is a nice touch for your loved ones to use next year. Who knows, maybe they’ll make you Christmas cookies next year.

4. Crockpot Apple Butter

Apple butter is a fall favorite that easily carries over into the Christmas holiday season. Spread a little of this on a homemade biscuit, or top off a scoop of vanilla ice cream with it, and you’ll be in heaven.

Making this treat is so easy. Check out the recipe from Victoria at A Modern Homestead. All you do is slice your apples thin and cook them in the crockpot with some sugar all day. That’s it! 

Homemade apple butter can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks or canned (easy instructions included) and enjoyed later. Either way, it’s a tasty treat anyone on your list will enjoy.

5. Slow Cooker Spiced Nuts

Another wonderful treat to make in the crockpot are these spiced nuts. There is nothing like the smell of cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and vanilla to welcome in the holidays. The only thing better than smelling spiced nuts cooking is eating them.

With this delicious recipe, you can customize the nuts by using pecans, walnuts, cashews, or a nice mix. Honestly, any nuts you choose are delicious when using this super-easy slow cooker recipe from Stacie and Jessica at The Real Food Dietitians.

Be creative with your packaging by using Christmas treat bags or boxes that can be found online or at Hobby Lobby.

6. Chex Mix Christmas Crack

It’s pretty hard to beat a good mixture of sweet and salty, making this a favorite of many, young and old!

This perfected blend of Chex cereal, pretzels, Bugles chips, M&Ms, white chocolate, peppermints, and, of course, Christmas sprinkles will have all your gift recipients begging for the recipe. 

Check out Princess Pinky Girl to learn how to make a big batch of this Christmas crack to put in a lovely Christmas tin, and voila! You have an excellent homemade Christmas gift ready to go.

7. Cinnamon Roll Caramel Corn

Chunguh, a recipe specialist with Damn Delicious, incorporates simple, fresh ingredients such as brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and real butter, turning them into something spectacular. This super easy recipe uses ingredients you probably already have on hand. 

Try out Chunguh’s Cinnamon Roll Caramel Corn recipe this Christmas season, but be sure to save some for gifting!

8. Snickerdoodle Bread

Who doesn’t love a slice of good bread, especially during the holidays? Kristyn’s take on an old favorite, Snickerdoodle cookies, is a sweet bread that will quickly become a new favorite. 

Her recipe on Lil’ Luna is an easy, quick bread – no yeast required. It takes a total of 40 minutes from start to finish and makes four mini loaves. That is four gifts down unless you want to enjoy a loaf yourself.

9. White Chocolate Lemon Bread

Another wonderful treat from Kristyn at Lil' Luna that screams Christmastime is this White Chocolate Lemon Bread. The beautiful blend of white chocolate and lemon is a mouth-watering dessert your friends and family are sure to love.

The soft, flavorful, lemony goodness is finished off by poking holes in the top of the loaf and letting the homemade glaze seep into the bread — a perfect touch for this unique creation. 

If you’re a fan of lemon, this will be a recipe you make again and again.

Now that we've given you two bread recipes, it's essential to know how to package them. You'll want them to stay fresh and look beautiful. Celebrating Everyday Life explains how to do this. 

Follow Jennifer's easy step-by-step instructions, and your bread will look as good as it tastes!

10. Cranberry Honey Butter

How could we give you such tasty bread recipes without giving you a wonderful butter recipe to spread on it?

While all of these recipes are wonderful, we may have saved the best for last. This easy-peasy spreadable butter will be the hit of any meal, as long as you have some bread or crackers to spread it on.

This Taste of Home recipe will keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks and frozen for as long as three months. 

To truly appreciate the goodness this Cranberry Honey Butter offers, you must try it for yourself.

Pre-made Treats Perfect for Gifting

Are you short on time? Is baking not our thing?

As promised, here are some local businesses in Decatur, IL that make it easy to gift treats for the holidays. 

Del’s Popcorn offers a wide variety of sweets from flavored popcorn, assorted candies, nuts, and fudge, to freshly made caramel apples.Photo credit: Del’s Popcorn

Two good options in Decatur for baked goods are Bodine’s Baking Company and Mowry Baking and Candy Company.

Do you have a coworker that’s crazy about iced cookies? What about Uncle Albert that loves his peanut brittle? Either of these bakeries will provide you with top-notch baked goods to give as a special treat to anyone on your gift-giving list. 

Whether you do your own baking or pick it up from a local bakery, you can’t go wrong with a tasty treat as a gift this holiday season. Choose your favorites and give them a try. Oh, and don’t forget about your own family – they will love these goodies too!

Will you be making any Christmas treats this year? Let us know in the comment section below!

Other articles you’d enjoy:

• Shop the Best Local Christmas Gift Ideas in Decatur, IL
• 10 Christmas Recipes Illinois Natives Can't Live Without
• 12 Unique and Festive Christmas Decoration Ideas