Banner food: Homemade gifts for the holidays

And don't forget the gifts.

This year, why not be prepared?

The same snacks and treats that you have on hand for parties and the unexpected drop-in guests can be the perfect homemade gift.

Simply wrap up homemade Southern Pecans, Caramel Corn or White Chocolate Candy in a holiday tin and it's a nice, pretty, tasty gift. And it's a gift that can be on-hand for someone that you forgot to buy for, or for someone who surprises you with a gift.

So try the recipes on today's food page out and make this holiday season a bit less stressful for yourself, and save a yourself time and hassle by having treats -- and gifts -- on hand at all times.

Southern Pecans

3 egg whites

1 cup sugar

1 pound pecans

1/2 cup butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat egg whites. Add sugar a little at a time while beating to form a meringue texture. Be sure sugar crystals are dissolved. Fold in the pecans. Melt the butter in a 10-by-15 cookie sheet with sides. Spread pecan mixture in pan and bake. Turn every 15 minutes and sprinkle lightly with salt. Total baking time should be 45 minutes. -- Recipe by Patricia Jones, Bonita Springs

Reindeer Chow

3 cups Cheerios

3 cups Rice Chex

3 cups Corn Chex

2 to 3 cups dry roasted or

cocktail peanuts

1 pound M & M's

2 pounds white chocolate

Place the Cheerios, Chex, peanuts and M & M's in a large bowl. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler -- do not cook. Pour the melted chocolate over the dry ingredients and mix very well with a spatula. Spread out onto wax paper which has been placed on cookie sheets. Break into pieces and pack in a tin or Tupperware box. -- Recipe by Marlene Kuhn, North Naples

Caramel Corn

6 to 7 quarts popped corn

1 cup butter or oleo (2 sticks)

2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a 2-quart sauce pan over medium heat stirring until sugar dissolves. Continue to boil until firm ball stage (248 degrees). Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. It will foam up. Pour the sugar mixture over the popcorn and stir well. Then either caramel the corn in a brown bag in the microwave for seven minutes, stirring every two minutes, or in a shallow pan in a 250 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. -- Recipe by Bobbie Gurnsey, Smith's Creek, Mich.

White Chocolate Candy

21/2 cups unsalted peanuts

21/2 cups unsalted pretzels

2 (12-ounce) packages white chocolate

Place the peanuts and pretzels in a large bowl and set aside. In a sauce pan, add the chocolate on low heat and melt completely. If using a microwave, set on medium power and stir halfway through cycle and melt until smooth. Immediately pour chocolate over peanuts and pretzels, mixing well. Spread in a well greased cook sheet in a thin layer. Cover with wax paper and chill in the refrigerator for two or more hours. Remove from the refrigerator and break into small pieces. Store in plastic bags. -- Recipe by Sylvia Middlebrook, Naples

Peanut Butter Crunches

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 (12-ounce) box cornflakes

In a five quart sauce pan, mix the sugar and corn syrup. Heat to boiling over high heat, stirring frequently. Boil for one minute. Remove sauce pan from heat and stir in peanut butter until blended. Add cornflakes, stirring gently to coat. Working quickly, drop mixture by the 1/4 cup, 2-inches apart on a countertop lined with wax paper or foil. Shape each cookie with fingers into a rounded mound. Let stand 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature. Store in airtight container. You could place a Hershey Kiss or a Chocolate Star on top if the mixture is warm. -- Recipe by Marlene Kuhn, North Naples

Aunt Olive's English Toffee

1 pound butter

11/2 cups sugar

about 10 ounces whole

unbleached almonds

about 3/4 pounds Hershey's

milk chocolate

finely chopped pecans

In a large pan, put the butter, sugar and almonds. Bring to a boil, and keep boiling while stirring almost constantly. Cook until candy reaches hard crack stage -- 300 degrees. Quickly pour onto cookie sheets, then move almonds about until evenly distributed. Put Hershey's Milk Chocolate on top and spread when heat of candy softens it. Sprinkle finely chopped pecans on top of chocolate then press lightly to embed the pecans in chocolate. In Florida, it usually need to be refrigerated to cool in order for the chocolate to harden. When cold, break into pieces. -- Recipe by Dottie Vekasi, from "Love at First Bite," the cookbook of First Presbyterian Church of Bonita Springs

Peanut Clusters -- Chocolate Candy

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup margarine or butter

1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups Quaker Quick Oats or

Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 cup Planters Peanuts (regular, dry

roasted, unsalted or light salt)

3 squares (3-ounces) Baker's semi-sweet

chocolate, coarsely chopped

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Mix sugar, milk and margarine in a two quart microwave casserole. Microwave, uncovered, on high for two to three minutes or until boiling. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until blended. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cooksheets (if mixture becomes too stiff, stir in one to two drops of milk). Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until firm. -- Recipe by Gloria Kennedy, from the "Celebrate Literacy Cookbook: Recipes From Our Families to Yours" a cookbook from the Literacy Council of Bonita Springs

Contact Features Editor Kristen Smith at 213-6043 or kmsmith@naplesnews.com