Fruit and nut pairings for cookie gift baskets

Everybody has a favorite cookie. We have all at one point of time or more licked of the cookie crumbs because we just can’t get enough of these baked delights. They come in a variety of shapes and some people are avid cookie cutter collectors.

Cookie gift baskets are a no brainer gift idea whether we give them or receive them. Baking cookies is therapeutic for many people, while other can simply order a custom made batch online. But we are all looking for new flavors while gorging on the old classics. Here are 5 fruit and nut pairings that are innovative and will help you create innovative gift baskets for your loved ones.

·         Chilies and peanuts

Chilies are not vegetables but fruits. In Thailand most dishes are served with freshly sliced chilies and crushed roasted peanut. In cookies, you can use a chili that is not very hot. It will provide a nice hum to your cookies and the fattiness of the peanuts will help counter that. If you are not adventurous enough to use fresh chilies, add a dash of tabasco sauce to your usual peanut butter cookie recipe and transform it into a gourmet delight. This is a flavor combination that will make for interesting 4 July gourmet gift baskets.

 

·         Almonds and apples

Freshly grated apples in cookie batter help make cookies moist and have a better crumble. Almonds will help add that bit of texture and crunch to soft cookies. Also apples can sometimes be too tart, depending upon the kind of apples used. The smoothness of the almonds will help create a more rounded flavor.

 

·         Pears and pistachios

We all have a favorite pear cookie recipe that comes wrapped and packed in cookie gift baskets. But you can create your very own. Pears in cookies are best used canned as fresh pears can often be too chewy. Pairing the subtleness of pistachio nuts with pears is a new trick that you must try. Pears provide this candy like taste to the cookies and pistachios help break that sweetness.

·         Walnuts and cranberries

Cranberry cookies and walnut cookies come separately when you order gift baskets for women. But you should totally combine these two flavors together in your own kitchen. Walnuts have an intense waxy nuttiness to them while cranberries are chewy and slightly sour. These two complement each other well and can be used in other dishes as well.

 

·         Pecans and goji berries

Pecan nuts are used more in pies rather than cookies as part of gourmet gift baskets. These small nuts can be chopped up or even made into a toffee before putting then in cookies. Adding a handful of dried goji berries will not only make for prettier cookies but will add bite to them. Pecans are waxy and can be bitter sometimes and goji berries provide a citrusy freshness to the cookies.