Homemade Teacher Gifts

Homemade teacher gifts straight from your kitchen to the teacher's plate. I love baking with my children. I do not mind the mess but I do mind having delicious cookies around the house and eating them (I don't have great self-control). So I found a great solution... Bake and give away!

For teacher appreciation we baked a variety of cookies and put them in the teachers room with a thank-you note and drawings.You can also make personal packages and give each teacher their own goody bag. Here are our favorite recipes:

Sweetheart Cookies

Ingredients

Oil for Greasing
7 oz (200 g) Plain Flour
1 oz (25 g) Custard Powder
2 oz (50 g) Caster Sugar
5 oz (150 g) Butter at room temperature
1 Egg Yolk
4 tbsp Seedless Jam (strawberry is our personal favorite)
Icing Sugar to decorate

Directions

1. Turn on oven to 325 F (160 C), grease baking sheets with oil.

2. Mix dry ingredients together (i.e. flour, custard powder, caster sugar) in a bowl.

3. Cut up butter and add to the bowl. Mix well with your hand or a mixer to make small crumbs.

4. Stir in the egg yolk to create a smooth dough.

5. Knead the dough on a surface sprinkled with a little flour.

6. With the rolling pin, roll out the dough.

7. Use the large cookie cutters to cut out the large circles. use the heart shaped cutter to cut out the heart from the center of half the circles.

8. Spread jam on the whole circle, place the center cut out heart circles on top.

9. Place on the baking sheet and bake until golden color for approx. 13-18 minutes

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Ingredients

200g of Chocolate (milk, dark or white)
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
20 Strawberries

Directions

1. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. (Make sure you stir frequently)

2. Dip strawberries in the chocolate

3. Place strawberries on a plate and let them cool down.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Ingredients

200 g of Chocolate (milk, dark or white)
1 bag of Pretzels (small ones work the best)

Directions

1. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. (Make sure you stir frequently)

2. Dip pretzels in the chocolate

3. Place pretzels on a baking sheet and let them cool down.

Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients

5 oz (150 G) White Chocolate
3 1/4 oz (80 g) Unsalted Butter
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Egg Yolks, lightly beaten
1 1/2 oz (40 g) Icing Sugar

Directions

1. Break up the chocolate. Cut butter into small pieces. Slowly melt chocolate and butter in the double boiler. Stir frequently.

2. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

3. Put the egg yolks in the mixing bowl. Add warm chocolate mixture to the eggs. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator till firm (about 8 hours).

4. With a spoon scoop up the chocolate and roll between your palms and shape it like a ball. Continue until you have used the whole mixture.

5. Roll the balls in icing sugar and set on a sheep of baking paper.