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Flavored Finishing Sea Salts
Next in my ongoing series with for Free People of Giftable Recipes, is a simple adaptable recipe/DIY for homade finishing sea salts. These would make the perfect gift for any food-lover (dare I say, foodie, I kinda hate that word). You can really have fun with the flavoring on these, creating your own to suit the tastes of the recipient. Or change it up and make flavored sugars, too.
Plus, you can really have fun with the packaging on these. Package in cute jars, wrap paper or fabric around the lid, finish with ribbons or twine and make fun handmade tags or labels, to really personalize the gift. I kept it simple and just painted the lids with chalkboard paint so I could write what was inside. I plan to actually give these as gifts this year, so I will make some fun personalized gift labels for whoever these end up going to.
Flavored Finishing Sea Salts
Vanilla Sea Salt
This smooth and aromatic salt would be great to rim drinks, for the top of truffles, caramels, cookies and other sweet treats, and don’t let it fool you, it would be great with savory items as well.
1/2 cup sea salt
2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise and scraped, seeds reserved
Remove beans from vanilla pod and mix thoroughly with sea salt. Package in an airtight container of your choice.
Sezchuan Peppercorn Sea Salt
This spicy salt has a kick plus a nice earthy rustic flavor and it would be great on grilled veggies, meat and seafood, popcorn, homemade chips, veggie burgers, stir-fries, etc.
1/4 cup Sezchuan peppercorns (aka Sichuan peppercorns) or any other peppercorn of your choice
1/4 cup sea salt
Dry roast the peppercorns over a medium/high heat in a dry skillet on the stove top for 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool then add to processor (a spice grinder or mortar and pestle would also work) and grind to the size of the sea salt, add the salt to incorporate, pulse a few more times. Package in an airtight container of your choice.
Citrus Sea Salt
This bright and fresh flavored salt would be great on vegetables, grilled or roasted chicken or seafood, shellfish, steamed rice, chocolates, cookies etc.
1/2 cup sea salt
1 tablespoon fresh citrus zest from well scrubbed fruit such as lime, orange, lemon, grapefruit or any combination of those (I used Organic Navel Oranges)
Mix together the zest and the salt, making sure there are no large clumps of the zest. Spread out evenly on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Allow the citrus zest dry out in the oven at 200ºF for about 60 minutes. Once cooled, package in airtight container of your choice.
Lavender Sea Salt
This fragrant and flavorful salt would be great on sweet treats like truffles, chocolates, ice cream, shortbread cookies, scones, etc. Also try it in savory dishes like roasted squash, herbed flatbreads or with grilled chicken , lamb or salmon, etc.
1/4 cup dried lavender (make sure it is culinary grade lavender)
1/2 cup sea salt
Add the dried lavender to your food processor (a spice grinder or mortar and pestle would also work) to quickly chop the lavender, then add the sea salt, whir it together a bit, then package in an airtight container of your choice.
These recipes were originally shared on the Free People Blog BLDG 25. Share your thoughts below on how you would use these particular sea salts or what flavors you would try making yourself?
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Dark Chocolate Peppermint Truffles – Gluten-free + Vegan
What better gift to give than the gift of chocolate, right? These dark chocolate peppermint truffles are sure to leave a smile on any chocoholic’s face. Especially when they find out you made these just for them.
These truffles are simple to make and they are naturally both gluten-free and vegan. Additionally, they are low in sugar and very simple to make. A few ingredients, a few minutes at the stove and that’s about it. You can even play around with the recipe and leave out the peppermint and roll them into other goodies, like chopped nuts, coconut, melted chocolate or chocolate bits, etc. Make this recipe your own and customize it for whomever will be receiving it.
[print_this]Dark Chocolate Peppermint Truffles – Gluten-Free + Vegan
makes about 24+ truffles (depending on their size)- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (the canned kind)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 10 ounces high quality vegan dark chocolate (70% cocoa) – chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- dash of sea salt
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
In a double boiler, heat coconut oil and coconut milk over a low/medium heat, whisking until just melted and well incorporated. Add the chocolate, stirring continuously, not allowing it to heat too quickly. Just as soon as it is melted, remove from the heat and stir very well to make sure it is all well incorporated. Add in the vanilla and peppermint extracts and salt.
Pour into a 8″ baking dish or a pie pan and refrigerate until the mixture is mostly set , but still pliable. Using a 1″ melon baller or a tablespoon, scoop out the chocolate and roll into balls using your hands, set them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Once all have been rolled, place the sheet into the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes, up to overnight.
Place the cocoa power onto a small plate and roll the balls in the cocoa powder to coat, you can also put the cocoa powder in your hands and roll them around that way. Store the finished truffles in the refrigerator.
These truffles will keep up to two weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Allow to come to room temperature for about 15 minutes, just before serving.
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This recipe was originally shared on Free People blog BLDG 25
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Homemade Chai Concentrate – Gluten-free (Vegan + Sugar-free Options)
This month for my ongoing monthly series with the Free People blog BLDG25, our theme is giftable recipes. Tasty gifts you can make and give to your loved ones, a holiday party hostess, co-workers, neighbors, etc. What better way to say “Happy Holidays” than with delicious treats, right?
This first recipe is a classic Tasty Yummies recipe, that many of you have likely seen on here before, but it had to be shared again, as it is one of my most popular and it makes a wonderful gift. I myself have made and gifted it to quite a few chai lovers and it was very well received each time.
The great thing about this chai concentrate as a gift, is you can either make the finished concentrate and give it in a cute vintage bottle or jar with some cute twine or ribbon and a hand made tag, or if you are worried about giving a refrigerated item, you can out together a cute cheesecloth pouch full of the spices with the tea bags and wrap it all up with twine and print the instructions for the recipient to make their own batch when they are ready.
Head over to the Free People blog to see the full recipe and check back each week through the month of December for other giftable recipes.
