Gifts from Your Kitchen -- Nuts to You!

Nuts can feature in lots of easy to make gifts from your kitchen, and unlike many other holiday treats, they actually pack a powerful nutritional punch and have health giving properties (in fact walnuts are the ONLY whole food given a qualified health claim by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration).

The holidays are a great time to pick up fresh walnuts, almonds, pecans or other nuts, as most crops are fresh from the harvest.

For gift giving, try one of the following recipes. While a recipe may specify one type of nut over another, know that you can usually swap out for your favorites or what you happen to have on hand. Package in cute little ribbon tied bags or jar gussied up with ribbons or decorative lids. Or click here to check out FabulousLiving.com's creative gift wrapping channel for lots of fun and creative ideas and projects for gift wrapping and packaging.

Gift-Worthy Nut Recipes:

• Walnut Cluster Snack (pictured top of this post) -- Clusters of crunchy oats and walnuts baked with tender dried fruit make a great snack on the go.
• Southwest Spiced Walnuts -- These walnuts have kick from spices and cayenne.
• Indian Spiced Walnuts -- Curry and cumin add exotic flavor to these toasted walnuts.
• Candied Pecans -- This nut recipe makes a perfect gift or nice element to your dessert spread.
• Cinnamon Spiced Pecans -- Here is a tasty party snack that also makes a terrific gift, on its own or tucked into a gift basket.
• Painkiller Nut Clusters -- These tasty snacks are great for the beginning of a meal or for dessert.
• Louisiana Pecan Pralines (pictured at right) -- The flavor of these pecan pralines will take you back to old New Orleans.
• Early Texas Pecan Pralines -- Wrap these pralines up for a homemade gift, serve them for company or enjoy with the family.
• Candied Pecans -- This nut recipe makes a perfect gift or nice element to add to your dessert spread.
• Sugar Free Glazed Almonds -- A treat for diabetics and those on low carb diets.
• Coconut Pecan Granola -- This not too sweet granola adds a delicious crunch to yogurt, makes a delightful topping for fruit crisp and is also perfect on its own.
• California Walnut Granola -- Making your own granola -- it's quick, easy, healthy, and tasty.