There are plenty of pretty cookie and confectionery recipes online for making foodie gifts. If you are Martha Stewart and have all the time in the world, my favorite is chocolate.

However, if your peeps have discerning palates, and your kitchen consists of half a wall and a toaster oven, fret not, for there are a few DIY gifts for budget-watching, cooking-inept food snobs…

Luxe Granola:

Granola is a great gift. While everyone else is receiving an abundance of desserts, rarely do people receive healthy breakfast goodies. This gift has a long shelf life (compared to baked goods) and a large margin of error.

I like to use variations of  Alton Brown’s granola recipe. This recipe is brilliant; you can switch out almost every element to suit your preferences. Need less sugar? Substitute brown sugar for Splenda blend, or use raw agave syrup instead of maple syrup, etc. Like a more intense flavor? Add some almond or maple extract. Just remember that any nuts or grains, you toast with the oats, and any dried fruit, you add at the end…

Making this stuff makes your home smell wonderful, and since you need to let it bake for awhile, the timing is forgiving.

Package your granola in nice little cellophane baggies and tie with ribbon, raffia, etc. Don’t have those? Grab some extra coffee bags at the nearest shop that sells caffeine by the pound.

Gourmet Spice Mixes:

Ok, if you don’t have a kitchen at all, you can still impart some chef-worthy gifts. Make your own spice rubs for cooks, or cocoa or cider mixes for those who are equally incompetent in the kitchen as you. Buy herbs and spices in bulk (those giant containers at the grocery store will do).

Find some recipes online like these for spice rubs or these for cocoa and cider. Copy/paste the recipes and print in some pretty font on cardstock.

Mix the ingredients for the dry ingredients and put them in a tin or jar. Decorate the lid with a nice label, raffia or just your recipe. (If you’re crafty and broke, wrapping paper and empty Altoid tins work too).