Homemade gift-ideas

What’s more festive than hanging these cookies on your Christmas tree, or displaying them in the centre of your holiday table? Plus, they make the perfect hostess gift! Our recipe is made with traditional buttercream icing, but these butter cookies are also delicious as is – especially seeing as we add a drizzle of citrus liqueur to the batter, for a spicy warm flavour you won’t be able to resist!

Citrus liqueur christmas cookies 

Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking: 6 to 8 minutes
Servings: 5 Dozen

Pair it

This spirit combines Cognac and orange liqueur made with bitter oranges from the Caribbean. Known and loved for the past 150 years, Grand Marnier is both refined and versatile. It’s so versatile, in fact, that you can pair it with a vast selection of sweets: fine chocolates, panettone, tarts and ice cream. You can also bake with it; it’s a welcome addition to many recipes, such as these cookies. A bottle of Grand Marnier + our Christmas cookies = the perfect gourmet gift to give this holiday season!

We added our own twist to this recipe inspired by New York’s Jim, by soaking the raisins in rum. This gives the bread a deliciously moist texture. When offering this yummy treat as a gift, simply wrap it up in a pretty kitchen towel and tie it with a ribbon, or serve it up in a cardboard box covered in wrapping paper. Keeps for up to several days.

Rum-raisin bread

Preparation 30 minutes | raising: 18 hours
Cooking time 50 minutes
Servings 1 loaf

Pair it

Chic Choc spiced rum can be used in the recipe, but is especially great when paired with it. Made in Québec, this amber nectar is named in honour of the breathtaking mountain range located on the Gaspé Peninsula. It’s the first-ever Quebec rum produced with indigenous spices, including peppery green alder and boreal spices. It offers notes of caramel, innamon, ginger and, of course, boreal spices. It can be enjoyed straight up or on the rocks.

This classic recipe is simple to create and makes the perfect gourmet gift for the holidays. It keeps easily for three or four days, and the port can be replaced by brandy or sherry if you prefer. This pâté is delicious served with onion compote.

Pistacho and port chicken-liver pâté

Preparation 25 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes

Pair it

American Pinot Noir Robert Mondavi Private Selection showcases a broad mouthfeel with aromas of ripe fruit and spices that pair perfectly with the pâté’s rich texture and the port’s fruity notes. A gift that is sure to please the red wine lovers in your life!

Even beginner bakers will be able to whip up this decadent fudge. Made using store-bought dulce de leche, this sweet treat explodes with a dynamic-duo flavour we all love: dark chocolate and bourbon! This recipe can be made several days in advance and keeps well in the fridge.

Caramel-bourbon fudge

Preparation 15 minutes | refrigeration: 2 hours
Cooking time 10 minutes
Servings 64 pieces approx.

Pair it

This Tawny Warre’s Otima port exudes notes of hazelnut and caramel, with a lovely touch of spices. It’s best served chilled in a regular, or dessert wineglass. Like all ports, it pairs beautifully with veined cheeses, but is an excellent accompaniment to this bourbon-infused fudge with subtle notes of caramel.

photos: Marie des neiges Magnan