For every immediate family member on your list, it always seems there are three more you don’t know as intimately but who are no less deserving of a token of your gratitude (think: teachers, neighbors, and that random coworker who gave you a present, leaving you obligated to reciprocate). This year, skip the generic gift starter pack—candle, bath salts, bottle of wine—and give them something made with love.
We asked four well-known locals to share their go-to giftable goodies. With these recipes—all of which can be made in bulk, packaged beautifully for easy transportation, and given with a handwritten note—you’ll be set for the season!
Sea Salt Caramels
Sinclair & Moore
Sea Salt Caramel Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, plus extra for greasing the pan
2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup light corn syrup
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp vanilla
Course sea salt for sprinkling on top at the end
Instructions:
1. Line an 11×7 inch pan with parchment paper and generously grease with the extra butter.
2. In a heavy pot fitted with a candy thermometer on the side, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, stir in brown sugar, salt, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk using a rubber spatula so you can easily scrape the sides of your pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to boil.
3. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook the caramel to a temperature of 240°F. Make sure to carefully monitor the temperature as it cooks, overcooking the caramels will make it too hard, undercooking will make it too soft.
4. When you have reached the correct temperature, immediately remove mixture from the heat. Stir in the vanilla. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Top the caramel by sprinkling course sea salt over the top of the candy before it firms. Let cool for several hours.
5. Using the sides of the parchment lining the pan, lift the sheet of caramels out of the pan and cut into small rectangular pieces. Wrap with squares of parchment or waxed paper.
More, More, Moore!
Sinclair & Moore made their name as a wedding planning and design company based in the Pacific Northwest. But after relocating to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2022, husband-and-wife owners Steve and Jamie Moore unveiled yet another evolution of their firm when they expanded to include home and lifestyle offerings. “This was birthed from the love of creating beauty within our home and celebrating the big and small moments of life with our children,” says founder and creative director Steve Moore. On their website, you’ll find recipes (including for their sea salt caramels, featured on the previous page), useful tutorials on how to make the holidays memorable, and step-by-step instructions for throwing a signature Sinclair & Moore celebration. “We don’t want to just inspire people,” says Steve. “We want to show them how we do what we do so they can create with confidence.”
“The perfect little treat to make and gift during the holiday season. We love packaging our caramels in small kraft jewelry boxes wrapped with a beautiful paper.”
—Steve Moore, Sinclair & Moore
“Cindy’s Gone Nuts”
Cindy Rachofsky
“Cindy’s Gone Nuts” Recipe
Ingredients:
6-8 cups of walnuts
Fresh sage and rosemary
1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions:
1. Place 6-8 cups of walnuts in a mixing bowl. (Can be as many or as few as you like)
2. Chop fresh sage and rosemary to your liking and add to the bowl.
3. Toss the mixture with olive oil and place on a sheet tray.
4. Cook for 35 minutes at 325°F. Then turn off the oven and leave in for 10-15 minutes.
“We make these roasted walnuts as a family often; it takes a village! I like to make and freeze them, then buy a beautiful wooden bowl to deliver them in.”
—Cindy Rachofsky, The Rachofsky House
“Mama’s Hearth Syrup”
Jason Alan Smith
Mama’s Hearth Syrup Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of filtered water
1 1/2cups Demerara sugar
In teabag if possible: (ok if loose leaf)
1 tsp cardamom pods or powder
1 tsp pink peppercorn
Loose in syrup:
2- 2in/2in lemon swath
1 bay leaf
1 vanilla bean
Instructions:
1. Bring all ingredients to boil on the stove. Bring to a second boil for a richer flavored syrup.
2. Rest in a pot on the stovetop. Let the syrup cool to the touch, and strain through a coffee filter and funnel into a glass storage bottle. (3 cups will fill a 750 ml bottle.)
“This syrup can be used with black tea and cream in the morning or in an old fashioned at night. Feel free to float some ingredients in the bottled syrup. Make it yours!”
—Jason Alan Smith, Mama’s Medicine
Pomander Packs
Kimberly Schlegel Whitman
Pomander Packs Recipe
Ingredients:
Tall reusable jars
Oranges
Cloves
Ribbons
Gift tags
Instructions:
1. Layer oranges, cloves, and ribbons inside the jars.
2. Embellish with handwritten gift tags.
“These ‘pomander packs’ make beautiful decorations and smell incredible. Cloves and oranges are layered inside the jar, and the instructions are tied to the gift tag.”
—Kimberly Schlegel Whitman, Trunk Curated
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