Homemade Gift Ideas: Simple Gifts and Cowboy Cookies from Jennifer Worick
It's Homemade Gift Week! Start early for maximum holiday fun with minimum holiday frazzle. Previously in the series: Lime & Cardamom Rum from Cicchetti, Flavored Sugars from Herbivoracious & Urban Pantry, Sweet Macadamiana and Limoncello from A.J. Rathbun.
If there is ever a moment in your adult life where you feel less than capable, consider turning to local Seattle author Jennifer Worick. Here’s just a partial list of the books she’s written: Nancy Drew’s Guide to Life, The Prairie Girl’s Guide to Life, The Action Heroine’s Handbook…and it continues.
So if you’d like to try some homemade gifts, but are feeling a little unsure about your abilities, her new book Simple Gifts might be a great place to start.
It’s got ideas for all kinds of crafts, like sewing a market tote, knitting an apron, making a vanilla body scrub, mixing custom spice rubs or baking up organic dog treats. The ideas can be frugal too – Jennifer notes “The salted caramels [in the book] are the bomb and you can make about 100 for $10-15.”
Want to check out a couple of Jennifer’s crafty ideas online? See these ideas you can try in your very own kitchen: a Creamsicle Body Rub and a “last-minute” gift idea for bath bombs.
You can also meet Jennifer on November 11, when she'll be doing a signing of Simple Gifts at the Secret Garden bookshop.
And who doesn’t love cookies as a gift? Jennifer was kind enough to share this recipe for Cowboy Cookies, direct from her own grandma, so you know they have to be great! Packaged in cellophane and tied with a ribbon, these would also make a great (and economical) gift idea.
Cowboy Cookies
From Jennifer Worick
Makes about 50–60 cookies
Coupled with a glass of ice-cold milk, these cookies will delight young and old. Just try not to eat them all in one sitting.
- 2 sticks (I cup) margarine, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups oatmeal
- 1 package semi-sweet chocolate chip
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat together the margarine, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, then add to the margarine mixture. Fold in the oatmeal and chocolate chips.
- Grease and flour a cooking sheet. Place ping-pong-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart and bake for 8 minutes. Since oven temperatures vary, keep a close eye on your first batch. As the first hint of browning, take them out. They should be very soft and doughy. Carefully remove cookies with a spatula and allow to cool on a wire rack. Store cookies in an airtight container to keep them soft.
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